Now that the entire nation knows the unsung hero, let’s learn about how his uncomfortable journey actually began. Silence on Menstruation in our country remained extreme until ad commercials on sanitary pads started erupting one after the other along with a revolution of the Television industry in the 1990s. That’s how women in urban India developed an interest to replace the cloth with a sanitary pad during menstruation days. The availability of the product became prominent in nearby stores.

Sadly, the situation wasn’t the same in rural India. For a very long era, women in villages and small towns relied on dirty rags and leaves and horrifyingly even used ashes and sand. Certain customs made their lives more difficult such as hiding menstrual cloth in dark areas which did not allow sterilisation of cloth from sunlight, living in a separate room during menstrual days and restriction from doing many activities. Girls dropped out of the school once the period would start or remained absent for those five days due to the lack of toilets in school. The multinational companies had entered India but failed to pitch the rural market due to lack of three As–Awareness, Affordability and Accessibility.

The biggest hurdle that was deeply rooted in all other disadvantages in India was menstrual taboos that differed with every different region. Irrespective of rural or urban society, during menstrual days, certain customs still prevail in large amount. Such as not entering the temple, skipping religious ceremonies at home, not allowed to enter the kitchen and many more. Three decades have already passed by in public awareness and selling of sanitary pads in our country. However, various surveys report that only 12% of women population use sanitary pads and the remaining 88% rely on other unhygienic alternatives.

As an answer to overcome all the aforementioned complexities, a common man from the southern part of India struggled for many years. Finally in the year 2006, he succeeded in innovating a machine that changed the game of menstrual hygiene in our country.

The man behind a thoughtful initiative in women’s menstrual hygiene in India did not initially begin his remarkable journey with an intent to lead a full-fledged movement. He once had a simple and decent lifestyle in the beginning years of his life. Born in 1962, Arunachalam as a young boy grew in poverty in a small village of Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. His father’s early death and his mother’s single-handed hardships eventually left him with no option but to drop out of school. From the age of fourteen, he was in various jobs such as tool operator, farm labourer, welder and many more to support his family. Today, he is a social entrepreneur who has designed a low-cost sanitary pad making the machine. An awardee of Padma Shri, he is credited for innovating grassroots mechanisms for generating awareness about traditional unhygienic practices around menstruation in rural India.

So, what made Arunachalam think deeply about menstrual hygiene? How did he come across the idea of designing sanitary napkins for women? Well, his marriage with Shanti and the aftermath gave birth to a genius that developed within him. In the late 90s shortly after his marriage, one day Arunachalam noticed that his wife was hiding something on her back. She showed him the dirty cloth with blood. His wife used dirty cloth during menstruation days. He himself felt that he would never consider using that dirty cloth to even clean his scooter. On wife’s part, it was the other household budget that made her discard the use of sanitary pads.

As a gesture to impress his wife and take care of her personal hygiene. Arunachalam travelled to the town and bought a pack of sanitary pads for his wife. As he touched the pad for the first time, he knew that the cotton was the primary material needed for a pad. He could also make out the serious amount of price being charged for a 10-gram cotton-made pad.

With a hope to design affordable pads for his wife as well as the women around his village area, he started off his honest and small attempt which we know today as a worldwide phenomenon. In his first attempt, he made a pad completely made out of cotton. After he faced series of unwillingness to wear and test the pad for feedback from his wife, sisters and the medical college girls. He decided to wear and test the product on himself. That is how he officially became ‘the man who wore a sanitary pad’. Interestingly, he created an artificial uterus from a football bladder and filled goat’s blood in it. He then attached a pipe to the bladder and directed it towards the pad he wore. He walked, cycled and ran as he pumped the blood from the bladder and every time sensed a foul smell of the blood.

Day by day, his involvement in the research deepened. And his activities were wrongly judged by the village people and he was even addressed as a madman. Some avoided him and some declared him to be suffering from the sexual disease as he washed his blood-stained clothes in a public well. Bigger problems awaited him. Within the eighteen months of his research, his wife left him with a divorce notice being slapped on his face as well as his mother left the house. With the ever-growing superstitious beliefs of the villagers. It eventually became tough for him to live and his village exclude him. He was all alone in the world, but nothing could stop him for his determination.

However, the cotton pad he had managed to design couldn’t produce an output like any other branded sanitary pad. Lack of knowledge and resources and inability to speak or understand English were some of the first hurdles in his method of research. He would send those branded pads for laboratory analysis and everytime cotton would be detected as the main material. Whereas his own cotton creation was failing. With the help of a college professor, he started writing and asking the big manufacturing companies. In reply, he was asked about the kind of plant he owned. And to which he had no clue of what the companies were asking.

Subsequently, he started saying that he was a textile mill owner in Coimbatore and he was interested in setting up a business in sanitary pads. Therefore, he required few samples to start with. That statement did work in his favour. It took him more than two years to discover the material used in a sanitary pad. The bark of a tree extracts the cellulose. Very soon he realised the requirement of a machine to break down the material. Buying a machine meant the expenditure of thousands of dollars. Therefore, Arunachalam came up with an idea to design a machine. It took four years for him to prepare the machine.

He showed his innovation to the IIT in Madras where scientists were doubtful. They did not see any potential in the machine to compete with other innovations. Nonetheless, IIT entered his machine in a competition for a national innovation award. Arunachalam’s machine stood first out of nine hundred forty-three entries. President of India Pratibha Patil presented him with an award.

His next big move is to reach the wider world. He plans to expand to as many countries such as Kenya, Nigeria, Bangladesh and many more. Inspired by his breakthrough innovation, the film Industry in India initiated a film on February 2018 titled as ‘PadMan’.

Useful Tips and Information on Menstrual Hygiene

At times, even women living in urban areas or metropolitan cities are unaware of basic hygiene that are important to follow during periods. Lack of limited education on the subject, hesitance against the free flow of communication and taboos. These are some of the barriers that overshadow the basic hygiene knowledge of menstruation. Take a look below and see if you knew them before:

• You should change your sanitary pad once in every six hours. During heavy flow, you could change in shorter time. Wearing same pad for longer duration could lead to problems such as skin rashes and infections

• • Wash regularly to avoid bad odour and spread of germs

• Once you have decided to throw a used pad, do it properly. Refrain from flushing the pad down the toilet as it may cause a blockage. Wrap it well before you discard it. Then wash your hands properly.

• • Apply an ointment after a bath if you suffer from a pad rash. In case if it doesn’t heal, visit a doctor.

• While travelling, always carries extra pads stored in a clean bag or a pouch. Carrying some tissues and a hand sanitizer will be useful as well as a bottle of water will keep you hydrated.

Want to write for InnoHEALTH? send us your article at magazine@innovatiocuris.com

We all know the stats: One in nine women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. For most of us, those numbers make every bump in our breasts a cause for panic. But while a lump should never be ignored, the fact is that the texture and feel of a perfectly healthy breast — whether lumpy or smooth, sore or sensitive — can vary from month to month, woman to woman. So when should a bump evoke concern? Read this B&S advisory article compiled by information from leading doctors in the field.

Why your breasts are lumpy?

Doctors have a scary name for lumpy breasts: Fibrocystic breast disease. But although the word disease may induce panic, doctors reassures that lumpy breasts are common. “Many women experience lumpiness, tenderness or thickening of the breast tissue due to monthly hormonal changes. It’s not unusual.”

In fact, there isn’t even a specific test to diagnose these kinds of lumps. It’s not like having a mammography or biopsy and finding a result. It’s kind of in the fingers of the beholder.

Sussing out the good lump from the bad

If your breasts are on the lumpy side, it can be tough to know what to feel for during those monthly self exams. The good news is that “normal” breast lumps tend to feel distinctive; usually they’re soft, smooth and movable. Cancerous lumps, on the other hand, tend to be hard, rough-edged and immobile.

The best way to keep yourself healthy is to examine your breasts every month so that you’re intimately familiar with their geography — every dip and lump and thickening. The best time to do it is about a week after your period, when breasts tend to be least lumpy. (Breast lumpiness and soreness is most likely to occur the week before a woman’s period and ease up after menstruation begins.)

Once you have a sense of the normal texture of your breasts, it will be easier to figure out when something doesn’t feel right and merits a trip to your doctor.

Lumps and cancer risk: Is there a connection?

The good news is fibrocystic breast condition does not increase your risk of breast cancer. There is no relationship between this condition and breast cancer, claim doctors.

What to do when your breasts hurt

Try taking the Pill. Birth-control pills seem to ease pain and lumpiness for some women. This is probably because they keep a woman’s hormone levels more stable throughout her cycle.

Ditch that skimpy lingerie — at least on top. Some women find that wearing a supportive bra (read: one with underwires) can help ease pain.

Go easy on caffeine — Though studies haven’t proved a connection between lumpiness and caffeine, some doctors recommend that women with monthly breast pain cut back on the coffee.

Your Breast Health

Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women today, and every woman is at risk. Although there is no proven way to prevent the disease, there are ways that each woman can protect her health. Here are steps you can take to maintain good breast health.

Follow an early-detection program:

* Get regular mammograms, beginning at age 40; one every year or as directed by your doctor.

* Have a breast examination by a doctor or nurse, every year, starting at age 20.

* Learn the normal feel of your breasts, and perform monthly self exams. Many women have lumpy breasts, which are usually not cause for concern. However, if you feel a change or a lump that is new, be sure to have it checked by a doctor or nurse right away.

* There are other steps you can take for good breast health. Researchers are continuing to explore the effect that a healthy, active lifestyle can have on reducing breast cancer risk. While it is not yet known whether losing weight will reduce your risk of developing breast cancer, maintaining a lifelong healthy weight is good for your breast health as well as for your heart and bones.

Results of breast cancer research also suggest you should:

* Maintain a diet low in fat; one that includes fruits, vegetables and whole grains. These low-calorie, high-fiber foods have proven health benefits.

* Drink alcohol in moderation, if at all. Regular use of even small amounts of alcohol — whether it is liquor, beer or wine — has been shown to increase breast cancer risk.

* Don’t smoke. Smoking causes cancer, heart disease and many chronic illnesses; it also negatively affects the health of others.

* Exercise regularly. Work out, do aerobics, bike or walk briskly — exercise in some way so as to raise your heart rate — three or more times a week. Several studies have shown that regular vigorous exercise can reduce breast cancer risk.

Reducing your risk: Self examination techniques

Breast cancer cannot be prevented, but it can be detected at an early, treatable stage. Women ages 40 and older should go for regular screening mammograms, a simple procedure that can reveal breast cancer at its earliest stage — up to two years before it can be felt. Annual screening mammography should begin at age 40. And, annual breast examinations by a medical professional are a required complement to screening mammography. Every woman, age 20 and over, should have a clinical breast exam by a doctor or nurse every year.

Many breast irregularities are found by women themselves, yet women often do not know how to perform breast self-examination (BSE), and few do so regularly. Although BSE has never been proven to affect survival (BSE usually finds lumps at a later stage), becoming familiar with your breasts and what feels normal for you is a recommended component of every woman’s breast health program. Your annual exam is a good time to ask your doctor or nurse about how to do a good self-examination every month. Giving yourself a correct and comprehensive breast self-exam is vital to your health.

For Monthly Breast Self-Exams:

* Use the flat part of your fingers of your three middle fingers to feel your breast. Always use your left hand for your right breast and your right hand for your left breast.

* Go from your neck, down under your arm, across and to the bottom of your rib cage and up the breastbone. This area is all breast tissue.

Check for any lumps, hard knots, swelling, dimpling or thickening. Perform your self-exam in front of a mirror and observe for any abnormal change in size, shape, color or discharge.

Want to write for InnoHEALTH? send us your article at  magazine@innovatiocuris.com

Read all the issues of InnoHEALTH magazine:
InnoHEALTH Volume 1 Issue 1 (July to September 2016) – https://goo.gl/iWAwN2 
InnoHEALTH Volume 1 Issue 2 (October to December 2016) – https://goo.gl/4GGMJz 
InnoHEALTH Volume 2 Issue 1 (January to March 2017) – https://goo.gl/DEyKnw 
InnoHEALTH Volume 2 Issue 2 (April to June 2017) – https://goo.gl/Nv3eev
InnoHEALTH Volume 2 Issue 3 (July to September 2017) – https://goo.gl/MCVjd6
InnoHEALTH Volume 2 Issue 4 (October to December 2017) – http://amzn.to/2B2UMLw
InnoHEALTH Volume 3 Issue 1 (January to March 2018) – https://goo.gl/fksdQx

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