Menstrual and vaginal odours and itching all reflect bad personal hygiene. Dr Parul R Sheth has ways you can avoid these boo-boos

WE learn basic hygiene when we’re kids. Washing your hands, taking a bath, trimming your nails is considered good hygiene practice. Every part of the body needs attention on a regular basis. And yet women are not careful about their personal hygiene.

Stinking odours arise when your body is not cleaned properly and bacteria begin to multiply. Here are a few tips that will help you run your life as smoothly as ever.

Menstrual Hygiene
It is your choice as to what you use, be it a sanitary pad or a tampon to tackle the bleeding. But wash yourself, including the genital area as you always do and clean your hands before and after handling a pad or a tampon.

Wash your hands before inserting a tampon and do not handle it more than necessary. Do not use a tampon that has been kept unwrapped for a long time. Change your pad often; if not changed for more than a couple of hours, pads can cause soreness on the inner thighs, foster bacteria and create a rash around the vagina.

Studies suggest that tampons unchanged for more than 12 hours can cause Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS), giving rise to high fever, vomiting and diarrhoea. Changes of pad or tampon more often will even help get rid of the typical menstrual odour. Avoid using perfumed talc around the genital area.