The 28 May marks menstrual hygiene day globally and annually. This specific day is dedicated to educating and informing people especially girls and women about menstruation.
Menstruation is the periodic shedding of the lining of a woman’s uterus. This occurs monthly for about 3-7 days to every normal and healthy woman. The average age to get a period sits at around 12.5 years old but there’s precocious puberty which is girls getting their period as young as 7 or 8 years old.
I remember having my first period fourteen years ago and to be honest, I kept silent because I didn’t know how to talk about it. But thanks to school, I knew how to exactly go about it without telling my parents which seemed to work for sometime.
It’s a normal occurrence not to say natural and a blessing to womanhood. It’s so unfortunate that up to date, menstruation is considered a taboo among some cultures where the girls or women are stigmatized, in more worse situations girls drop out of school because of lack of access to sanitary products needless say, lack of sanitary awareness.
It’s on days as these that we bring the knowledge and end the silence and stigma on menstruation and bring to your understanding on how to go about Menstrual Hygiene Management. Hygiene is very vital from this point on as the blessing could easily become a predicament if not handled well. Below are tips on how to maintain good hygiene during a period;
- Ensuring that the sanitary product is safe for use whether its pads, pads or a cloth sanitary towel.
- Changing your pad or tampon every 4-6 hours or when it is full and plus keep checking for stains as it might be heavier. Leaving it too long might result into bad odour and irritation like rashes or even risk urinary tract infections
- Washing of the genital area daily. It’s important to keep the area clean and remove any harmful bacteria that remains after removal of sanitary products.
- Disposing off of used sanitary products correctly after use. Wrap the used product in a few layers of tissue upon disposal. Don’t flush as this might clog the drainage system. Cloth sanitary towels must be washed clean with disinfectants like vinegar to kill germs and dried under direct sunlight.
- After toilet use, wipe correctly from front to back and not back to front if need be, wash the genitals with clean water.Most importantly, wash your hands with clean water soap.
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