Making Washroom Hygiene Men's Business

When it comes to hygiene men are severly under-represented. You only need to look in the personal care sections of your local supermarket where men’s care will take up a considerably smaller space than women’s care. This is, naturally, down to demand but that demonstrates an underlying issue in that men do not discuss personal care in the way that women do. Perhaps it is the rite of passage for women as they reach puberty to find themselves thrust into a complex world of beauty and personal hygiene products all competing to sell the same story of perfect cleanliness and the possibility of increased attractiveness. Whatever the reason the end result is that men’s hygiene and personal care is not a priority for the majority of men beyond ensuring we don’t smell, our hair is tidy and our facial hair is how we intend it to be (oh and nostril hair!).

Incontinence in men happens for many reason with the most common being diabetes, nervous system disorders & prostate issues. Indeed I have battled with my weight for most of my adult life (I am happy to report that I am a healthy BMI of 24 now but have been as high as 41!). As such I have flirted with diabetes for a long time. I have no symptoms of diabetes now and my blood sugars are at perfect levels however I did cause myself some long term damage including a tiny amount of overflow incontinence. In short I pee more than average. This is a very common side effect of diabetes and does correct itself as the underlying diabetes is put under control.

Reasons aside we are back to the men/women debate. Put simply women know how to deal with keeping their underwear clean and dry. They’ve been doing it as part of their very nature since they were younger. Men, on the other hand, get caught out by this change. Over 10% of men over 65 have some kind of urinary incontinence of some type of another. Even though these numbers are much smaller than the same statistics for women, us men are poorly educated and even more poorly supported in the washroom environment. I have written at length about sexual equality in child care in the past, in particular to petition for baby care facilities in men’s washrooms or, better still, separate family washroom environments. Now is the time to open up about men’s incontinence, men’s pads and how to dispose of them.

For the men that do have the sense to follow through and discover men’s incontinence products there is the added issue of what to do with them in the washroom environment. See, men don’t have sanitary bins in each cubicle. This is fundamentally wrong. Women just seem to shout louder about the things that aren’t right for them. Men, on the other hand, just get on with it. We’re expected to solve problems, move on and not cry about it. That SO has to end!

Psychologically this issue is the same issue that ensures male suicide rates are 3 to 4 times higher than female suicide rates! Yet another statistics that is drowned in the, understandable, modern drive for equal rights for women. It might seem a fairly spurious link but when that man is looking to dispose of his hygiene products he’ll simply shrug his shoulders and flush it down the toilet. Why? The modern male is perfectly aware that this isn’t OK. The modern male knows that this is polluting and a burden on the sewer facilities. He also knows that women have a service available to them for this and, he thinks, “Of course they should”. The modern man does not stop and talk to his friends about this situation. He doesn’t say “Hey John, what do you do with your sanitary products?” because he’s been raised to accept that this is not something men do. Men don’t do problems. Men do solutions. He flushed. He solved. He might not feel right about it but, hey, what’s the other option? Men move on….or do they?

This is wrong. Men need educating. Men need to understand that this is normal. Men need support. Women are very good at pushing for better facilities. They are better at communicating their needs and looking for a response. Women solve problems, in groups, by nature. Men act in a solitary manner by nature. The provision of services sanitary bins in men’s cubicles along with in position instructional information would go a long way to normalising this fact of life. It might help us open up about it a little more. Anything that gets men to open up is a good thing.

If men see the opportunity we tend to take it. That is what we do. We are opportunistic (ask our wives!) by nature. It is just that we tend to need others to care for us. We’re not as good at caring for ourselves (ask our wives!). Now the pressure is on as the London Assembly has called for all men’s toilets to have sanitary bins to support our ageing population and their need for sanitary products. Now is the time to contact your washroom services supplier and find out what they can do for your men’s facilities. Zenith Washroom already has experience in supplying and managing this service and can offer free sanitary disposal bag dispensers with every new sanitary hygiene service contract. Call us today and let us support your men.