I think the reaction to the word is that it sounds very much like you're embarrassed to bleed, @FrankieDobie. Maybe you're not, but it gives that impression, and that's why people have had their backs up.
You should never ask someone to do something you're not prepared to do yourself, and if you can't say the word out loud, it's wrong to ask your OH to go do it instead.
However, I accept that this may be some strange family quirk that I don't get, because I'm not related!
In general, I think if a man is old enough to be in relationship with a menstruating woman, he's old enough to go to the supermarket and pick up a box of tampons/sanitary towels, albeit with a clear set of instructions as to what brand/flow/type. Any man who is too embarrassed to buy sanitary protection isn't mature enough to ever have sex with the woman who has asked him to go to the shops.
If no clear instructions are given, I don't think it's reasonable to buy anything. All women are different, and the type of sanitary protection I need, and on which days, could be totally different to the female poster above/below me in this thread. I wouldn't get it right for another woman without being told, so it's a bit much to expect a man to guess.