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New Japanese menstrual product seeks to help women spot unidentified iron deficiencies

Elliot Hale Dec 29, 2025
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A new test kit checks for hidden iron deficiency using menstrual blood, and it’s super simple to use.

Have you ever wound up dragging yourself out of bed in the morning, feeling exhausted even after a full night’s sleep? Or have you often find yourself zoning out at work? While stress and poor sleep quality might be the more common culprits, there might be a hidden player at work: iron deficiency.

Iron deficiency is especially common among women, particularly those who menstruate, with frequent iron loss through periods known as “hidden anemia.” In those with this condition, hemoglobin levels look completely normal on standard blood tests, but ferritin, an indicator of the body’s stored iron, is low. With this deficiency easy to miss, symptoms like fatigue, lightheadedness, and headaches often go unexplained or attributed to another cause.

▼ That headache might not just be simple stress.

The Sofy brand from health and hygiene product manufacturer Unicharm has just announced a clever and simple way of checking for iron deficiency without needing a doctor-administered blood test. The new product, aptly named Sofy Menstrual Blood Iron Deficiency Check Kit, is being offered at selected retailers, Amazon Japan, and Unicharm’s online store. The kit includes special sheets that simply layer on top of your usual sanitary napkin, so those with heavy flow don’t need to be concerned of any spillage as a result of using the kit. Much like a pregnancy test, when menstrual blood reaches the tester’s orange mark, lines will appear.

▼ The technology behind the kit is described as Japan’s first, using an immunochromatographic method to detect iron-storage indicators in menstrual blood.

One line suggests a possible iron deficiency, while two indicate a low likelihood. It’s really as simple as that.

▼ They’ve even got a video to prove it’s easy.

According to Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare around 65 percent of Japanese women in their 20s to 40s are affected by anemia or hidden anemia, yet awareness of this common condition remains low. A recent survey run by Unicharm found that 80 percent of women feel tired from the moment they wake up, but only around 20 percent suspect iron deficiency as the cause, with most considering it the result of poor sleep or stress. Unicharm hopes this new product will help close that awareness gap by making iron deficiencies easier to notice and allowing women to incorporate countermeasures into their daily life routines.

Related: Unicharm Online Store, Sofy Menstrual Blood Iron Deficiency Check Kit Amazon Japan listing
Source: PR Times, Unicharm
Top image: Pakutaso
Insert images: Pakutaso, PR Times
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[ Read in Japanese ]