Table 3.
Menstrual practices of the study population.
| Variable N (%) | Overall | Medical Students |
Pharmacy Students |
Nursing Students |
Arts & humanities Students | P- value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dietary modifications during menstruation | ||||||
| Food Avoided | ||||||
| Too hot | 207 (11.6) | 25 (5.6) | 36 (8.3) | 60 (13.3) | 86 (19.5) | <0.001 |
| Too cold | 893 (50.3) | 227 (50.6) | 235 (53.9) | 240 (53.3) | 191 (43.2) | |
| None | 677 (38.1) | 197 (43.9) | 165 (37.8) | 150 (33.3) | 165 (37.3) | |
| Eating Pattern | ||||||
| Eat less | 604 (34.0) | 114 (25.4) | 148 (33.9) | 161 (35.8) | 181 (41) | <0.001 |
| Eat more | 176 (9.9) | 34 (7.6) | 35 (8) | 50 (11.1) | 57 (12.9) | |
| Eat same amount | 997 (56.1) | 301 (67) | 253 (58) | 239 (53.1) | 204 (46.2) | |
| Decreased fluid intake | ||||||
| Yes | 676 (38.0) | 140 (31.2) | 164 (37.6) | 188 (41.8) | 184 (41.6) | 0.003 |
| No | 1101 (62.0) | 309 (68.8) | 272 (62.4) | 262 (58.2) | 258 (58.4) | |
| Sanitary and hygienic practices | ||||||
|
Material used For Absorption |
||||||
| 1. Sanitary pads | 1377 (77.5) | 405 (90.2) | 362 (83) | 294 (65.3) | 316 (71.5) | <0.001 |
| 2. Cotton wool | 152 (8.6) | 12 (2.7) | 34 (7.8) | 76 (16.9) | 30 (6.8) | |
| 3. Pieces of new cloth | 96 (5.4) | 3 (0.7) | 8 (1.8) | 47 (10.4) | 38 (8.6) | |
| 4. Pieces of old cloth | 109 (6.1) | 14 (3.1) | 21 (4.8) | 27 (6) | 47 (10.6) | |
| 5. Woolen cloth | 7 (0.4) | 2 (0.4) | 1 (0.2) | 2 (0.4) | 2 (0.5) | |
| 6. Trousers/Nothing | 3 (0.2) | -- | 1 (0.2) | -- | 2 (0.5) | |
| 7. Others | 19 (1.1) | 4 (0.9) | 5 (1.1) | 4 (0.9) | 6 (1.4) | |
| 8. 1 & 4 | 14 (0.8) | 9 (2) | 4 (0.9) | -- | 1 (0.2) | |
| Handling of absorbent items | ||||||
| Discard it | 1675 (94.3) | 436 (97.1) | 411 (94.3) | 426 (94.7) | 402 (91) | 0.001 |
| Do not discard | 102 (5.7) | 13 (2.9) | 25 (5.7) | 24 (5.3) | 40 (9) | |
| If do not discard | ||||||
| Wash and discard | 28 (27.5) | 6 (46.2) | 10 (40) | 7 (29.2) | 5 (12.5) | 0.032 |
| Wash and dry | 74 (72.5) | 7 (53.8) | 15 (60) | 17 (70.8) | 35 (87.5) | |
| Drying of clothes | ||||||
| In sunlight | 40 (54.1) | 4 (57.1) | 10 (66.7) | 8 (47.1) | 18 (51.4) | 0.701 |
| In hiding | 34 (45.9) | 3 (42.9) | 5 (33.3) | 9 (52.9) | 17 (48.6) | |
| Storing of washed clothes | ||||||
| Clean and covered place | 53 (3.0) | 5 (71.4) | 10 (66.7) | 12 (70.6) | 25 (74.3) | 0.298 |
| Unclean and covered place | 10 (0.6) | 2 (28.6) | 4 (26.7) | 1 (5.9) | 3 (8.6) | |
| Clean and open space | 11 (0.6) | -- | 1 (6.7) | 4 (23.5) | 6 (17.1) | |
| Bathing during menstruation | ||||||
| Yes | 1087 (61.2) | 266 (59.2) | 288 (66.1) | 277 (61.6) | 256 (57.9) | 0.069 |
| No | 690 (38.8) | 183 (40.8) | 148 (33.9) | 173 (38.4) | 186 (42.1) | |
| Pain management | ||||||
| 1. Rest | 844 (47.5) | 197 (43.9) | 223 (51.1) | 208 (46.2) | 216 (48.9) | <0.001 |
| 2. Oil massage | 50 (2.8) | 4 (0.9) | 1 (0.2) | 15 (3.3) | 30 (6.8) | |
| 3. Turmeric milk | 166 (9.3) | 11 (2.4) | 36 (8.3) | 62 (13.8) | 57 (12.9) | |
| 4. Hot water bottle | 125 (7.0) | 24 (5.3) | 21 (4.8) | 43 (9.6) | 37 (8.4) | |
| 5. Medicine | 332 (18.7) | 119 (26.5) | 93 (21.3) | 59 (13.1) | 61 (13.8) | |
| 6. Others | 65 (3.7) | 14 (3.1) | 20 (4.6) | 12 (2.7) | 19 (4.3) | |
| 7. Nothing | 136 (7.7) | 54 (12) | 29 (6.7) | 40 (8.9) | 13 (2.9) | |
| 8. 1 & 5 | 59 (3.3) | 26 (5.8) | 13 (3) | 11 (2.4) | 9 (2.0) | |