The human body is a delicate and complex system. The menstrual cycle is a special characteristic of female maturity that brings both blessings and possible problems for women. The menstrual cycle will go on for about half the life of a woman, i.e. at least 2,000 to 3,000 days. According to theories in Chinese medicine, a woman’s body is at its weakest during menstruation and if there are no proper measures of protection taken during this time, the woman’s health could be affected. As such, it is important to correct some misconceptions and wrong practices during menstruation.
Common mistakes in the use of sanitary napkins
1. Not washing your hands clean before handling a new sanitary napkin: In the process of opening, flattening and putting on a sanitary napkin, the hands may bring many bacteria onto the sanitary napkin.
2. Keeping the sanitary napkins in the wash room: In our countries, most of the washrooms are dark and wet and bacteria growth can easily contaminate the sanitary napkins.
3. Not paying attention to the expiry date: In fact, the requirements for hygienic standard of sanitary napkin are very strict and the sanitary napkin is of poorer quality if it is closer to the expiry date.
4. Buying sanitary napkins on promotion: Generally, promotional or gift items are mostly slow moving goods which may have involved raw materials of poorer quality, less stringent test requirements, longer storage periods etc and thus their quality could not be assured.
5. Using products on trial: There are always new brands, new products, new materials and new concepts of sanitary napkins in the market and with aggressive promotion, consumers may be attracted into using them. For example, there is the popular sanitary napkin with dry net surface but many women with sensitive skin have complained of rashes and itchiness after use. Relying on reliable manufacturer, reliable shop, good reputation and one’s own experience is still the most basic principle of common sense in choosing appropriate sanitary napkins.
6. Using sanitary napkins with medication or fragrance: Most doctors would not recommend such products because the medication and fragrance may have undesirable effects on the body.
7. Using each sanitary napkin for a longer time: For women in Asia, the number of sanitary napkins used for each menstruation is apparently lower as compared with women in Europe and America. Saving money in this way at the expense of one’s own health is definitely not wise. It is best to change sanitary napkins every two hours.
8. Preferring to have high absorption: It is wrong to look for sanitary napkins with high absorption in the hope that sanitary napkins need not be changed frequently. This would lead to growth of more bacteria.
Coming to good terms with menstruation
Many women feel tensed up or depressed during menstruation. This is in fact not necessary. They should come to good terms with this natural phenomenon and regard it as their good partner.
Total protection for women on menstruation:
When you had your first menstruation, you were taught the following important lessons: do not take raw and cold food, do not do vigorous exercises. When healthy women come to the maturity age, the ovaries will undergo periodic changes as the ovules develop, mature and get discharged out of the body. At the same time, there is secretion of sex hormones. The endometrium in the uterus, which is controlled by the sex hormones, will then undergo changes of thickening, shedding and repair. When the endometrium is discharged through the vagina together with some blood, it is known as menstruation. The menstrual cycle is normally for 28 to 30 days and for each menstruation, the blood loss is about 50ml. Each menstruation may last for 3 to 7 days. Periodic menstruation is an essential condition for reproduction and it indicates that the reproductive system is normal . This is an important indication of the women’s physical health.
How to choose suitable sanitary napkins
During menstruation, the skin of the women’s sensitive part is most vulnerable.
Surveys have shown that 73% of the women would feel itchiness and pain on some parts of the skin during menstruation. These are mostly caused by the use of sanitary napkins which are not air permeable. As such, it is of critical importance to choose suitable sanitary napkins to ensure safety during menstruation. Sanitary napkins are normally made up of three layers: surface layer, absorbent layer and underlying layer. The choice of sanitary napkins should be based on considerations relating to the materials and functions of these three layers.
Changing sanitary napkins to avoid troubles
Due to the special physical characteristics of women, the sanitary napkin is the women’s indispensable ‘friend’ but this friend may bring considerable troubles when it is not treated well. For ordinary sanitary napkin used continuously for two hours, its surface may have bacteria numbering up to 107 per square centimeter and this contamination may seriously affect the health of the women.
Symptoms of infection during menstruation include mild fever, external genital infection, skin itch, ascending infections (such as vaginitis, cervicitis, pelvic inflammatory disease, endometritis etc), leukorrhagia, localized burning sensation or lower abdominal pain, or with fever, nausea; infections of urinary system including urinary tract infection, bladder infection, pyelonephritis, frequent micturition, urgent micturition, dysuria, waist sore and waist pain with fatigue or fever. These may lead to other more serious female genital diseases.
