Period hygiene: You should change your sanitary napkin these many times!

PERIOD HYGIENE: It goes without saying that during periods, you are required to maintain cleanliness and hygiene. Not only does it impact your health but maintaining proper hygiene is also important to prevent certain diseases like UTIs or yeast infections. Hence, the primary and most important maintenance requires changing your pad frequently during a menstrual cycle.

HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU CHANGE A PAD? According to health experts, you must change your sanitary napkin once in four hours. If you’re using tampons, they must be changed once in two hours. But these hours cannot be generalized as it also depends on the quality of your sanitary napkin and individual needs. Some women might have a lighter flow and a few may experience heavy bleeding. Hence, change it according to your requirement.

WHAT ELSE SHOULD BE KEPT IN MIND? Indeed, you must change it according your requirement but make sure that you don’t use one sanitary napkin for a longer duration. This is because once menstrual blood has left the body, it gets contaminated with body’s innate organisms. Not only during your heavier days but even when you are experiencing a light blood flow, the blood gets contaminated as your pad is damp. Hence, organisms tend to multiply in moist and warm conditions and this could lead to vaginal infections, urinary tract infection and skin rashes.

CHANGE IT FREQUENTLY: You may experience instances where you could have a lesser blood flow. But it doesn’t mean there's no need to change your sanitary pad. You must change your pad at regular intervals as it would help in staying hygienic.

CHOOSE ONE SANITATION METHOD AT A TIME: On heavier days, women tend to use two sanitary napkins, pad and a piece of cloth and sometimes, tampons with sanitary pads. Though this may help during a heavy flow but is not a healthy option. Two sanitation methods would absorb more amount of blood and you’re unlikely to change pads at regular interval. This could lead to infections and vaginal rashes and if you are using a tampon, you could even become prone to TSS (Toxic shock syndrome).

THE IDEAL WAY: During your menstrual cycle, change pad at regular intervals and avoid using one pad for more than 3 or 4 hours. Discard used sanitary pad properly as it may become a breeding ground for bacteria and infections. Wash your hands every time you change your sanitary pad or use toilet. If you find a pad rash or an infection, seek medical attention.