Sanitary Napkin Wearing Aid for Women with One Functional Hand

Activities of daily living (ADL) often pose significant difficulty for physically challenged people. Inability to perform certain ADLs independently viz. toileting, bathing and personal hygiene, can affect an individual's privacy, dignity and self-esteem. Use of sanitary napkins is essential for women in child-bearing age; but, it involves significant dexterity and coordinated use of the two hands. An woman whose one hand is dysfunctional, viz. amputees, stroke-induced hemiplegia or congenital disorder, would find it difficult to do or seek help for. Even advanced prosthetic devices may not help the amputees much, and stroke rehabilitation is a long process. Therefore, a design intervention is imperative to save the dignity of such members with special needs in our society. The proposed design enables subjects with one functional hand to use a common sanitary napkin with a sticky patch for attaching it to knickers. It is basically a structure with two foot-rests and a raised portion in the middle for supporting the central narrow region of lowering knickers, and placing the opened pad for pressing and sticking. The same device also aids in removing, rolling and wrapping the used napkin with one hand. The design is sized to accommodate different anthropometry and napkin sizes. The effectiveness of the device has been tested