Background: Unhygienic practices during menstruation have significant impact on health and the event of menarche may be associated with taboos and myths existing in our traditional society which has a negative implication for women’s health, particularly their menstrual hygiene. It was therefore decided to conduct a study to explore the level of menstrual hygienic practices among the adolescent girls.Methods: A cross - sectional study was conducted during July to September 2015 in the rural field practice area of Shri B. M. Patil Medical College. A total of 215 girls who had attained menarche were interviewed. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 16.Results: Mean age of menarche was 13 years, 82% were Hindus, 18% were Muslims, 46% of them used old cloth during cycles, 28.48% used both disposable pads and cloth, 25% of them reported that they use only sanitary napkins. There was significant association between usage of sanitary napkins and SES, age and educational status of girls. 52.55% of them told they used only single pad or cloth for whole day.Conclusions: Menstrual hygiene a very important risk factor for reproductive tract infections and is a vital aspect of health education for adolescent girls. It is essential to design a mechanism to address and for the access of healthy menstrual knowledge.
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Patil et al. (2016) studied this question.