Female hygiene is important and must be maintained both at home and at work. A look at the statistics shows that the percentage of female workers worldwide is 48.5%. A hygienic workplace contributes significantly to a healthier work environment, reducing the likelihood of employees becoming ill.
The reason why most women do not come to the office during their period is financial constraints, which often mean they cannot buy hygiene products. Companies should ensure that free pad or tampon dispensers are placed in the workplace. Such actions by companies create a positive environment for women. In addition, the availability of sanitary products in the workplace can save a woman if her period starts unexpectedly.
In India, people still have many preconceived notions and misconceptions about menstruation.Due to lack of menstrual hygiene facilities, including availability of sanitary napkins and menstrual education, twenty-three million girls drop out of school annually in India.Especially in rural areas, to maintain hygiene is a challenge. Some of the hygiene practices that should be followed during periods could therefore be:
- Change sanitary napkin every 4-6 hours
- Wash your underwear thoroughly or separate the underwear you used during those 5-6 days
- Properly dispose of used sanitary napkin, especially in public places
- Keep yourself clean by taking a bath daily
- Wear clean and dry underwear
- Dispose them properly to prevent the spread of harmful germs from the decayed blood in the pads.
- Always, save the napkin wraps to dispose the pads or use an old newspaper to dispose the used napkins/ pads.
- Always wash your hands before & after changing your pads.
In addition, companies should place sanitary napkin vending machines in their washrooms to meet the emergency needs of female employees during an unexpected crisis. The vending machines provide immediate access to sanitary napkins when female employees are struggling with menstrual cramps.
In today’s world, menstrual hygiene education is also very important, as the lack of menstrual health awareness is both a social problem and a health disaster. Because talking about menstruation is suppressed, the belief that people are unclean during their periods is widespread. Inadequate menstrual hygiene is the cause of menstrual-related stress and infections of the reproductive organs. It also often leads to women and girls staying at home, being excluded from public places, or being considered unlucky or harmful to others for about a week each month.
Poor menstrual hygiene can lead to serious health risks, such as infections of the reproductive organs and urinary tract, leading to infertility and birth complications later in life.
