Hygiene
Viewfinder: Creating Low-Cost Sanitary Pads for Menstrual Hygiene Day
Members of the Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) make low-cost sanitary pads at their facility in Ahmedabad, India. May 28th marks the sixth annual Menstrual Hygiene Day, created to highlight the importance of good menstrual hygiene management.
A Brief History of Showers as a Treatment and a Torture
Showers, now a mainstay of our daily routines, were once a cure for insanity and criminality.
Needed: Clean Water, Toilets, and Soap in Hospitals
A new report highlights low- and middle-income countries' need for basic hospital infrastructure and supplies.
We Need to Talk About Our Periods
People, it seems, are comfortable talking about contraception and about girls living in poverty, but not about their periods, which remain a major hurdle to education in places where adequate facilities are non-existent.
What Life Is Like When Having Your Period Means You Are Shunned
Rose George reports from Nepal and Bangladesh on menstrual taboos.
Interview: Biochemist Thinks Eating Boogers Could Be Healthy
You've eaten boogers before—admit it. You might even do it now. Either way, one biochemist thinks you're onto something.
Watching You In the Loo
In honor of Global Handwashing Day, we examine the hygiene of public restroom users and what motivates them to wash up.
The Diaper Bank Helps Families in Need
Joanne Goldblum saw poor people reusing disposable diapers and had to do something. Her nonprofit, The Diaper Bank, now gives 150,000 diapers a month to people in need.
Finding Health, and Opportunity, in the Latrine
Ecological sanitation, or 'ecosan,' can provide both improved hygiene and an income for the majority of the world, where just getting a sip of clean water can be a challenge.