School Nurse Shares a Stark Reminder That Some Kids Can’t Afford Pads & Tampons

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Dealing with getting a period at any age is no picnic, especially if there isn't a pad or tampon handy. For a teen whose family is struggling financially, it becomes an even more challenging situation. That's the obvious takeaway from a school nurse's heartbreaking post on Reddit that's serving as a reminder that schools do so much more than just teach. "Out of 400 menstruating girls, maybe 20 have a hard time getting access to pads or tampons," she wrote on the social media site. "That's still 20 too many."

The nurse explained that one student in particular feels comfortable going to her for feminine hygiene products. And during one heart-aching moment, the teen told her that she can't ask her father because she feels too guilty, knowing that he barely has money for gas, let alone tampons. Instead, she said she usually uses toilet paper as a sanitary napkin when she starts her period at home.

In turn, the nurse spends money out of her own pocket to acquire tampons for this girl and other students.

"We have programs for free lunch and we even have a program where we send home food for the weekend," she wrote. "But nothing to supply these girls with tampons."

The post went viral and led to many Reddit readers vowing to donate menstrual products to schools near them, including one person who shared, "I live in a low-income area (my child's school is something like 85% below poverty level) and I donate school supplies each year, but I never even thought about this! I'm going to keep an eye out for sales and coupons for feminine products so I can do this as much as possible!"

Thankfully, some states are mandating schools to offer these needed supplies.

According to the Washington Post, some schools in California — those which have any combo of grades six to 12 and at least 40% of the students coming from low-income households — are required to provide feminine hygiene products for free in at least half of the bathrooms on campus.

A recent Illinois law states: "Feminine hygiene products are a health care necessity and not an item that can be foregone or substituted easily. When students have access to quality feminine hygiene products, they are able to continue with their daily lives with minimal interruption."

Fingers crossed this nurse's plea will not only continue to make headlines but also translate to concrete action, such as donations and legal action. No young woman should have to worry about having access to a health-care product that is essential to her well-being.