Blokes get a hard time for struggling on when they have a cold or the flu, the phrase “manflu”, concocted by some woman who obviously didn’t like men very much, belittles our suffering a lot. We’re seen as whining complainers, who take to our beds much quicker than women who soldier on regardless. Well, it’s time ladies (and gents) to dispel some of these myths.
According to the Office of National Statistics, women have more sick days from work than men do.
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| read it and weep ladies |
This is true going back over a ten year period, so it isn’t something that’s come about all of a sudden either.
On top of this there has been research over the last few years that would appear to indicate that men suffer from viral infections more than women:-
From the Telegraph recently:
But, according to a study, the fairer sex should not be so quick to accuse their partners of suffering from “man flu”, because women are far better at resisting bugs. Australian researchers found that female volunteers had a “much stronger immune response” to rhinoviruses — the bugs that usually cause the common cold — than men. The protection vanished after the menopause, suggesting it was regulated by female sex hormones. This would help explain why men are much more likely to fall ill when they get infected.
From the Telegraph back in 2010:
Men’s ability to turn a sniffle into flu and a headache into a migraine has long been a source of irritation to wives and girlfriends.But the new research suggests that they are not faking it and that they suffer diseases more seriously and for longer. Scientists believe it is the male predilection for a “live fast, die young” lifestyle that means in evolutionary terms they have failed to build up their immune systems like females. That means that they not only catch more diseases but they tend to suffer more seriously, and for longer, from them.
From the Daily Mail (sorry) in 2009:
Dr Saleh said studies had shown that men are more susceptible than women to infection by bacteria, viruses, fungi and worms. It is thought the phenomenon has its roots deep in evolution, with healthy female bodies being key to reproduction. The researcher said: ‘We think that nature devised this strategy to protect the reproductive role of the female body, to keep the human race going. It just dropped the mechanism from the male sex.’
The bodies that conducted this research were from Queensland University, Cambridge University and McGill University in Montreal respectively. The last one was even headed by a women, so you can’t accuse her of gender bias.
So ladies, the next time you think about having a moan at your bloke for being ill, bear in mind it’s not his fault, he is more susceptible to it than you, despite the fact he’ll take less sick days than you. He’s a real trooper!