Menstrual Hygiene

Some women fail to get used to the monthly mess of periods. They feel conscious about changing pads, risk of spotting on cloths, bloated feeling and increased mood swings.

With the damp and warmth environment of the area, risk of bacterial infection increases considerably. Hence, menstrual hygiene is of utmost importance.

Product Choice

So as to prevent spotting on clothes product of use must be chosen carefully. For regular blood flow sanitary napkins can be used. For heavy bleeding tampons should be used. Like sanitary napkins, tampons too come in different sizes, example junior, regular, super and super plus. These are somewhat comparable with regular, XL, double XL, etc.

The product thus chosen must be changed regularly. Tampons have often been associated with toxic shock syndrome (TSS). Most women use super sized tampons and do not bother to change for more than 12 hours.

This greatly increases the risk of growth of bacteria Staphylococcus aureus responsible for TSS. Hence, changing the tampon every 4 to 8 hours is necessary. The pad must be changed once it starts to feel a little wet or after 5-6 hours of use.

Menstrual cups are another easy option. These come primarily in two varieties-reusable and disposable.

Choosing home made cotton pads are not recommended. They make you feel wet and may often cause inflammation of the skin of the area due to constant contact of the skin with the wet environment.

Certain fabrics used to manufacture menstrual products have shown to cause cancer. Therefore, always use best quality product.

Baths

In homeopathy it is recommended not to take cold water baths during periods. The is believed that the warmth generated in the body during this period may get disturbed with the cold baths leading to slight swelling of the body which may appear as weight gain temporarily.

Instead, sponge bath should be taken and the vaginal area should be cleaned with warm water and gentle soap.

It has been found that some women smell a little different during periods. Make sure to put on an all-day deodorant/perfume. Keep the pubic hair trimmed so that no blood element sticks to it.

If menstrual hygiene is ignored, it may affect the sex life.