World Menstrual Hygiene Day 2024: Every year on 28 May, ‘World Menstrual Hygiene Day’ is celebrated all over the world. The purpose behind celebrating ‘World Menstrual Hygiene Day’ is to maintain hygiene during menstruation and to remove misconceptions related to menstruation among women.
History of World Menstrual Hygiene Day-
The celebration of World Menstrual Hygiene Day was started in the year 2013 by German NGO Wash, after which it started being celebrated all over the world from the year 2014. This special day is celebrated to spread awareness about hygiene during menstruation. The purpose behind celebrating this day is to tell women what things should be kept in mind regarding hygiene during menstruation and how it affects health. On the special occasion of World Menstrual Hygiene Day, we know from obstetrician and gynecologist Dr. Apoorva Gupta some myths related to menstruation, which many women still believe to be true.
Famous myths related to menstruation-
Menstrual blood is impure-
Many people believe that the blood that comes out of the body during menstruation is impure. But this is not true. Menstrual blood is also like the normal blood flowing in the body. During menstruation, some tissues also come out along with the blood, which slightly changes the nature of this blood. Apart from this, its color becomes slightly darker due to oxidation.
Bleeding should always be red in colour-
Some women believe that if they are healthy, the colour of bleeding during menstruation will always be red. If the colour is dark brown or black, it is considered a sign of being unhealthy. The unnecessary anxiety caused by this further deteriorates their health. There is no direct relationship between the colour of bleeding and health. The colour of bleeding can become dark due to many reasons.
Do not exercise-
Many people believe that one should not exercise during menstruation. Exercise can increase pain. This is not true. Doing some exercises after consulting an expert can provide relief from pain during menstruation.
You can not get pregnant during menstruation-
The common belief is that having sex during menstruation does not lead to pregnancy. This is not completely true. If the menstrual cycle is not correct, then there is a possibility of pregnancy even from sex during menstruation.
You should not take a bath-
In many places, it is believed that women should not bathe or wash their hair during menstruation. There is no scientific reason behind this. Rather, the truth is that one should take full care of the cleanliness of one’s body during menstruation. It is necessary to bathe regularly during this time. Doing this prevents unnecessary infections.
PMS is just a delusion of the mind-
Some women consider pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS) to be just a delusion. Due to PMS, some symptoms like headache, restlessness and vomiting appear a week before menstruation. Some women believe that this happens just due to a delusion. It has nothing to do with menstruation. This is not so. Actually PMS is a medical condition. Some hormonal changes occur in the body during menstruation. These changes start happening a week before menstruation. Every woman’s body reacts differently to these changes and her symptoms are also felt accordingly.