How Can You Tell The Quality Of Sanitary Napkins?

By Author: Rahul Gupta
Total Articles: 3
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The purpose of a sanitary napkin is to absorb and hold menstrual fluid discharge and segregate fluids from the body. These are used by women during their menstrual cycle. These napkins are important and desired as they provide no leakage, n colour, no aesthetic appearance, no odour, stay in place, no noise and are comfortable to wear with a high level of hygiene. Mensuration comes with a lot of changes in a woman's body. Earlier women tend to use old ragged clothes to absorb mensuration fluid. But with growing menstrual hygiene awareness major population of women have shifted to using sanitary napkins.

The sanitary napkin is available in the market ranges in terms of numerous factors such as thickness, price, absorbency, number of degradation and number of layers. Absorbency either in a free state or under some load is one of the important element to determine the working of a sanitary napkin.

How sanitary napkin is made?

The average sanitary napkin is comprised of 48% fluff pulp; 6% superabsorbent; 36% of PP, PE and PET; 7% of adhesives and 3% of release paper. The materials which are used for the production ...
... of most sanitary napkins are derived from the forestry and petroleum industry. The absorbent core is made from the chlorine-bleached wood pulp, which could be reduced in order to make slimmer sanitary napkins with the inclusion of polyacrylate gels which absorbs the liquid blood discharge quickly and holds it few hours in a suspension under some pressure. Rests of the material for sanitary napkins are mostly derived from the petroleum industry, with a leak-proof barrier that is made from polyethene film.

The adhesive strip on the outside of sanitary napkins is traditionally applied by transferring the hot melt coating in line with the manufacturing of the sanitary napkin itself.

Why sanitary napkin testing is important?

It is important to understand whether essential products such as sanitary napkins that come in direct contact with intimate skin around external genitalia contain these chemicals. As a solution, the safety of sanitary napkins is now becoming a concern for worldwide public health with a growing belief that these chemicals in sanitary napkins may negatively influence women's health. These chemicals may also cause menstrual irregularities and rashes as the skin there tends to be extra sensitive, thinner and more absorbent.

A potential problem of the sanitary napkins leads to Hygiene Risk as the synthetic plastic materials have been used as liquid absorbents to upgrade the softness and functionality of sanitary napkins. Some of these synthetic plastic materials release VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) and endocrine-disrupting chemicals, which potentially pose risks to women's life who use them. Disposability as Polymers used in sanitary napkins are non-biodegradable materials. This can create many hazardous and serious problems. When these sanitary napkins are flushed, they can block sewage lines because the chemicals present in them absorb all the water in the sewage line.

That's why strict sanitary napkin testing regulations have been regulated by the Bureau of Indian Standards. IS 5405 has descriptions in detail of the regulations and norms that sanitary napkin manufacturers and producers are adhering to.

What are Indian Standard specifications for sanitary napkins?

1. Materials used

Absorbent Filler- The filler materials like cellulose pulp, tissue, cellulose wadding and cotton shall be free from dirt, lumps, oil spots or any other foreign material.
Covering- The covering of absorbent filler shall be of good quality cotton, gauze or any non-woven fabric to permit or allow the assembled napkin to fulfil the absorbency requirements.
2. Size- The size of the sanitary napkins shall be agreed upon and discussed between the supplier and purchaser.

3. Manufacture, Workmanship and Finish- The sanitary napkin shall be soft and when worn shall be soft and when worn shall not give any uncomfortable feeling. They shall be free from hazardous and harmful chemicals. They should have absorbency and the ability to hold pressure after absorption. The sanitary napkins shall be free from any sort of alkali and acids and the PH of the absorbent materials shall be 6 to 8.5. All necessary instructions should be mentioned in each packet of sanitary napkins.

What are methods for testing the quality of sanitary napkins? How it is done?

Absorbency Test - This test method regulates the total absorption volume of the material. According to standard IS 5405, a sample is placed on a flat level, in order that the bottom of the napkin can be observed. Then the fluid is supposed to be dripped at a rate of 15 ml per minute. After the napkin has observed all liquid, then a standard weight of 1 Kg is laid above the sample where the fluid is observed for a minute. After this, the sides and back of the napkin are observed and recorded for fluid flowing up. This is test is done to ensure that the napkin is leak-proof and has no risk of leakage.

Material Test - Absorbent Filler materials like cellulose pulp, tissue, cellulose wadding and cotton shall be free from dirt, lumps, oil spots or any other foreign material. The covering of absorbent filler shall be of good quality cotton, gauze or any non-woven fabric to permit or allow the assembled napkin to fulfil the absorbency requirements.

Fluid Retention Capacity - This testing method is done to ensure that the sanitary napkin meets the required amount of liquid absorption. This water retention test is determined using the standard ASTM D461 water retention test. A sample napkin is immersed in water at room temperature, running through a centrifuge for five minutes. Then the waterlogged napkin is weighed, then dried and reweighed. It is calculated as a percentage of dry mass.

Aerobic biodegradation or disposability Test - Polymers used in sanitary napkins is non-biodegradable materials. Sanitary Napkins which are made from biodegradable materials is accomplished to be tested. This test influences the rate and degree of the sanitary napkin materials in contact with soil or a mixture of soil & mature compost. For that, a sample sanitary napkin is put in a vessel containing 15 litres of fluid or water and is stirred. Disposable napkins will get disintegrated while testing.

Mechanical Penetration Resistance Test - This test measures the force which is needed to rupture a sanitary napkin. It is also called the ball burst procedure. It is majorly conducted to calculate the material strength of materials such as knitted or woven fabric used in the production of a sanitary napkin.

Finishing and Flexibility Test - The sanitary napkin should have an even and smooth and even surface and there should not be any sort of folds and wrinkles making the surface of the napkin uneven. The surface should be soft and comfortable causing no irritation and harm to the skin. The adhesive should be placed at the correct points. The flexibility test follows the standard ASTM circular bend procedure. The sanitary napkin should be flexible and confirms the manufacturing requirements.

Testing PH value - Sanitary napkins should have PH value ranging from 6 to 8.5 which is neutral and should not be acidic or alkaline.