Periods Aren’t Dirty. They’re Data: Why We Need to Rethink Menstrual Hygiene
The 28th of May is both Menstrual Hygiene Day and the International Day of Action for Women’s Health. And honestly? The term menstrual hygiene is starting to feel outdated, and a growing number of people are pointing that out.
Why do we talk about periods like they’re something dirty?
Why are the products we use called “sanitary”, like they’re here to fix a mess?
To be clear, Menstrual Hygiene Day was created to fight for access to safe period products, a fight that still matters, of course. But more and more voices are questioning the language we use, because language shapes how we think.
Calling it “hygiene” reinforces a message that periods are a mess to manage, not a vital, natural biological process. There’s a growing trend, especially across the global health and feminist communities, to reframe this conversation.
It’s time to shift the narrative.
Menstruation isn’t a problem that needs to be cleaned up. It’s a vital sign. A monthly report card from your body. A source of biological insight.
Let’s stop treating periods like waste.
They’re science.
They’re data.
They’re health.
Periods Aren’t Dirty - They’re Biology
The term “menstrual hygiene” can imply that periods are something to be hidden or cleaned up. That they are impure, messy, or embarrassing.
But menstruation is a biological process, and an important one.
Period blood isn’t just blood. It’s a complex mix of blood, endometrial cells and tissue, immune cells, microbes, and more. It reflects the inner workings of the uterus and the cyclical changes in the body.
Far from being waste, this fluid holds clues to our reproductive health, and has the potential to diagnose and treat reproductive-related disorders. And while more research is needed to validate specific diagnostic applications, it’s clear that menstrual fluid deserves scientific attention, not shame.
Menstrual Health Is More Than Hygiene
Yes, access to safe, affordable period products is still a critical global issue. Period poverty has real health, social, and economic consequences.
But menstrual health isn’t just about managing bleeding. It’s also about understanding what the body is communicating.
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines menstrual health as:
That includes:
Access to information
Safe, dignified ways to manage menstruation
Healthcare for menstrual-related conditions
Environments free from stigma and discrimination
And it should also include:
Research into the menstrual cycle and menstruation
Innovation that uses menstrual fluid in medicine
Diagnostics informed by what the body naturally produces, based on data insights from this
Because ignoring menstrual blood means ignoring data that could improve how we support and monitor health, especially in a field that’s been historically (and still very much) overlooked.
This year’s theme - “Together for a #PeriodFriendlyWorld” — is more than a hashtag. It’s a call for system-level change, grounded in evidence and equity.
A #PeriodFriendlyWorld is one where menstrual health is recognised as essential to sexual and reproductive health, education, economic justice, and gender equity.
Menstrual Health Is Women’s Health
May 28th isn’t just Menstrual Hygiene Day, it’s also the International Day of Action for Women’s Health. The two are deeply connected.
You can’t talk about women’s health without talking about menstruation. Yet too often, menstrual health has been siloed, treated as a hygiene issue rather than a core part of physical, mental, and reproductive health.
Reframing the conversation around menstrual hygiene is part of a wider shift in how we understand and value women’s health. We’ve seen this conversation grow louder across LinkedIn, in global health circles, and in feminist spaces, and rightly so. Because menstrual health deserves more than a hygiene label.
Menstruation is not something to be hidden. It's not shameful or dirty. It’s health, and recognising that is part of building a world where everyone who menstruates can live with dignity, knowledge, and access to care.
The Future of Menstrual Health
How we talk about periods influences how we study them, fund them, and value them.
Let’s reframe the conversation:
From cleaning up → to understanding cycles
From disposal → to diagnostics
Because periods aren’t dirty.
They’re data.
And they deserve to be treated like the health signals they are.
Menstrual blood isn’t waste. It’s a biological resource, and it may carry information we’ve overlooked for far too long.
At theblood, we’re developing a menstrual blood test for routine health markers, with the long-term goal of helping close diagnostic gaps in women’s health.
👉 Want to know more about what we are doing? Check out our Science page HERE.
To learn more on menstrual blood and it’s potential in diagnostics, check out our blog post:
