May 28, is Menstrual Hygiene Day, which serves as a neutral platform that brings together individuals, organisations, social businesses and the media to create a united and strong voice for women and girls around the world, helping to break the silence around menstrual hygiene management.
Poor menstrual hygiene increases the risk of getting infections (including sexually transmitted infections), and passing on of blood-borne diseases such as Hepatitis B and HIV/AIDS. Therefore, the need for such campaigns is important to reduce the exposure of individuals to these, and other risks. Poor menstrual hygiene not only affects physical health, but also social and mental well-being.
Commercial menstrual pads can be too expensive for many girls and women from low-income settings to afford and many result to using alternatives like reusable cloth, often washed without soap or clean water, posing a health hazard.
In 2010, The World Health Organisation (WHO) published guidelines on the integration of water, sanitation and hygiene into HIV programmes, which also included recommendations on safe management of menstruation (Section 2.5).
The following is an excerpt from this document:
“Any items soaked with menstrual blood – sanitary pads, towels, rags or cloth – must be disposed of appropriately. Soiled materials that will be reused must be cleaned appropriately. Blood-soaked materials that cannot be reused must be completely burned or discarded in a pit latrine.
Necessary steps for managing menstruation are listed below:
• Soak up blood with sanitary pads, rags or other local materials used.
• Do not store soiled rags for more than a couple of hours. Bloody rags will start to smell, and will attract insects and flies.
• If a woman is bed bound, keep clean rags, washing water and a container for soiled rags near the bed.
• Always protect the hands with gloves or plastic bags when touching someone else’s blood, and always wash hands with soap or ash after handling or disposing of materials contaminated with menstrual blood to prevent virus transmission; this is critical even when gloves or bags are used.
• Dispose of blood-soaked materials that cannot be reused (sanitary pads, etc.) in a pit latrine or burn these materials completely.”
As well as affecting the immune system, HIV infection may also affect the hormonal system of women living with HIV and some may experience menstrual changes, especially those with a low CD4 cell count and/or a high viral load. (Source: AIDSMAP)
CHS encourages proper menstrual hygiene to reduce the risk of infection for all women and girls and especially for women living with HIV.
