Girls get their menarche without any prior notice. In these situations, girls are very confused by seeing bloodstains. Some even think they are sick and might die. The biggest challenge faced by these girls is the lack of pad dispensers, especially in schools.
Furthermore, during menstruation, girls don’t feel comfortable carrying pads everywhere they go. This is what sometimes causes missing classes or deciding to drop out of school. This is what causes a decline in the female literacy rate. To combat this situation, schools and businesses should consider installing pad dispensers so that girls can quickly get sanitary towels to use during periods.
Installing these dispensers can be beneficial in the following ways.
Easy Availability of Sanitary Towels
The lack of commercial sanitary napkins causes girls to use old pieces of cloth, wash and dry them to use that again. This is very unhygienic and can lead to reproductive tract infections for girls during their periods. This can further harm their maternal health. Institutions installing pad dispensers can play a vital role in providing commercial sanitary towels.
By taking this step, the institution can make sanitary pads easily available to women during their periods.
Decrease in Girls’ Absenteeism
As discussed earlier, school girls feel embarrassed to attend classes during their menstrual cycle. Again, using one pad in a day during heavy or medium flow can be dangerous for these girls. Moreover, it is unhygienic as it can further cause infection and irritation. There is also the likelihood of emitting a foul smell, and that is very embarrassing.
This is the reason why students fail to go to school and instead opt to stay at home till the end of the period. To minimize the absenteeism of female students, schools can install pad dispensers. These dispensers will make it easy for female students to change the pads every two to three hours and help them maintain their privacy. As such, they will have no reasons to miss school.
Help Women Become Confident
When women get their periods accidentally, and they are at work don’t have the freedom to go home and change. Again, when they suffer from period pain, headaches, or sore throats due to their periods, they don’t have access to the medication they need. When a vending institution is installed in different workplaces, women can have access to all the supplies they need when on their period. This can really boost their confidence and improve their morale.
How to Use a Pad Dispenser?
Pad dispensers are usually of two types based on your chosen payment model. The unpaid model is usually installed at educational institutions and offices. In these institutions, the administration bears the cost of installation and operation. On the other hand, the paid model is installed in open areas for the general public.
When using the pad dispenser, a user should press a button for the sanitary towel to come out in the “collect here” outlet. For the paid version, anyone can insert a coin and press the button. A sanitary napkin will come out of the machine in return for the payment.
Where to Buy These Machines
There are many organizations that manufacture pad dispensers. These organizations aim at eradicating period poverty. You can research some of these companies online and read reviews from customers to see what they are saying about their machines. Again, checking for different companies is a great way to choose one that offers the best prices for these machines.
Consider buying your pad dispenser from a company that offers safe and eco-friendly machines. When installing these machines, these companies provide period education to female students. This teaches them how to maintain menstrual hygiene, which will save them from Reproductive Tract Infections.
Where Can You Install Pad Dispensers
Pad dispensers should be installed in familiar places such as supermarkets, public toilets, malls, cinema theaters, hospitals, and railway stations. Additional places where pad dispensers can be installed include gyms, banquet halls, housing societies, and airports. The installation of pad dispensers in public places is very important for women from low-income groups who don’t have proper access to sanitary napkins. Also, women can avoid embarrassing episodes in public places when they have 24/7 access to sanitary napkins.