Panacea Journal of Medical Sciences 2021;11(3):366–369 Content available at: https://www.ipinnovative.com/open-access-journals Panacea Journal of Medical Sciences Journal homepage: http://www.pjms.in/ Review Article A review of practices related to genital hygiene and its awareness in women Pavneet Kaur 1, *, R K Patil 2 , Romi Bansal 3 , H C Patil 2 1 Adesh Institute of Pharmacy & Biomedical Sciences, Adesh University, Bathinda, Punjab, India 2 Dept. of Pharmacy Practice, Adesh Institute of Pharmacy & Biomedical Sciences, Adesh University, Bathinda, Punjab, India 3 Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Adesh Hospital, Bathinda, Punjab, India ARTICLE INFO Article history: Received 26-01-2021 Accepted 23-03-2021 Available online 24-11-2021 Keywords: Genital hygiene practices Genital infections Menstruation Awareness ABSTRACT Genital hygiene is a significant segment of women’s reproductive health and the practices related to it vary worldwide depending on numerous factors. Improper hygiene of the genital area might incline the vulnerability to sexually transmitted diseases (including HIV) and other genital infections and morbidities. These infections can result in cervicitis, vaginitis, urethritis and trichomoniasis which have been related with serious pregnancy outcomes. Therefore, genital hygiene has a key role in preventing genital infections. But there is very little awareness about the correct and healthy hygienic practices among the adolescent girls and women. Access to correct and pragmatic information is an important prerequisite to hygienic practices. Women having better knowledge regarding genital hygiene are less vulnerable to genital infections and its consequences. The clinical pharmacist has a role to educate the females about correct hygiene practices and provide proper counseling to clear their myths, misconceptions and taboos related to menstruation. This is an Open Access (OA) journal, and articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as appropriate credit is given and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms. For reprints contact: reprint@ipinnovative.com 1. Introduction The term "Hygiene" which is derived from "Hygieia", the Greek Goddess of health, cleanliness and sanitation, refers to practices associated with ensuring cleanliness and good health. Genital hygiene is a significant segment of women’s reproductive health. 1 The genital hygiene practices vary worldwide and depend on the individual’s socio-economic status, personal preferences, local traditions and beliefs, access to water and sanitation resources and guidance from health care professionals. 2 Improper hygiene of the genital area might incline the vulnerability to sexually transmitted diseases (including HIV) and other reproductive tract infections and morbidities. 1 Reproductive tract infections are important medical issues related with negative effects on sexual and family lives and have a tendency of inclining prevalence around the world. The * Corresponding author. E-mail address: pavneetkaur1996@gmail.com (P. Kaur). prevalence of these infections was found out to be 9.7% in women of reproductive age in northern India. The main factor found to be significantly associated with these infections was illiteracy. 3 They are as of now among the most common causes that lead women to look for clinical consideration at obstetrics and gynecology polyclinics. 4 Each year, around 100 million females around the world are exposed to reproductive tract infections including urinary tract infections among which 75% of them already have a history of a these infections. These infections can result in cervicitis, vaginitis, urethritis and trichomoniasis which have been related with serious pregnancy outcomes. 1 The main risk factors for these infections are pregnancy, poor hygiene, long-term antibiotic or steroid therapy, smoking and alcohol consumption, diabetes mellitus, systemic conditions like immunodeficiency, use of vaginal tampons, frequent sexual intercourse with multiple partners, delivery and abortion under inappropriate https://doi.org/10.18231/j.pjms.2021.074 2249-8176/© 2021 Innovative Publication, All rights reserved. 366