Menstrual Hygiene Day is an annual awareness day on May 28 to help break the silence and build awareness about the fundamental role that good menstrual hygiene management (MHM) plays in enabling women and girls to reach their full potential.
Here are 6 facts on menstrual hygiene:
- The day “28” was selected to acknowledge that 28 days is the average length of the menstrual cycle. Menstrual hygiene day was initiated by a German-based NGO WASH United in 2014.
- Your vagina is not supposed like to smell like roses. You don’t need feminine hygiene wash and products. The vagina is self-cleaning with regular cell turnover and a highly-tuned pH and microbiome.
- Wash your vagina with cool to warm water.
- Wash from vagina to anus not the other way around as it can lead to transmission of bacteria.
- Correctly dispose of used sanitary products. Wrap sanitary napkins properly before discarding them, so the bacteria and infections do not spread. Don’t flush them since it will block the toilet causing the water to back up, spreading the bacteria all over it.
- In developing countries, girls having sanitary products is not enough to keep them in school. Many schools lack adequate water, sanitation and hygiene facilities. For example, 83% of girls in Burkina Faso and 77% in Niger have no place to change their sanitary menstrual materials at school.
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