Was he sick or whiny one day? We used to pull gags like that back in the military all the time (and, yes, it was hilarious) but it was usually because someone was being a pussy for whatever reason we deemed necessary. Hey, it’s a guy thing. Maybe the timing of the joke was off for the timing of your personal life, but generally guys don’t put much concern into things like that. Especially when it’s funny.
Hopefully he doesn’t work in an office because then this joke is just screwed up. But if it’s some construction thing (or the like) then it’s perfectly understandable.
Personally, I would have soaked a tampon in red fruit juice. Yea, it’s disgusting but it’s much funnier. Seems like there wasn’t much effort put into this one.