Common Mistakes with Menstrual pads

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. 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, con- sumers may be attracted into using them. For example, there is the popular sanitary nap- kin 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.

Dr Tango is Consultant Physician with facts and Figures Email- caremed001@gmail.com Blackberry Pin - 74282d21.Follow us on twitter @Care_Med

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.