Does the man flu really exist?

Do men suffer more with coughs and colds than women or are they simply in need of a little extra attention?

IT’S AN illness not found in any medical journal, but thousands of men are said to suffer from it every year. It can be seasonal, although it’s not strictly limited to the winter months. Coupled with the clinical symptoms, many men will also experience depression, loss of self-esteem and neediness when they contract the illness. Instead of giving the patient medicines or antibiotics to counter the worst effects of the sickness, one of the most proven cures is attention, sympathy and some old fashioned TLC.

The illness strikes men of all ages, although it seems to resonate more in middle to late adulthood. There are no accurate statistics on exactly how many men each year present with symptoms, although some partners and spouses predict that every man is touched by the illness at some point in their lives.

I’m talking, of course, about the dreaded “man flu”.

Where or how the man flu originated is a matter for debate. But sometime in the past 10 years, society decided to label this grave and debilitating illness that was striking men down in their prime, often forcing them to spends days hidden under the duvet, watching sports repeats on the television.

There were even some “scientific” reports from a Canadian university published in the media last year, which purported to explain that because of a lack of oestrogen in their systems, men felt colds and viruses more severely than women.

The research, it turned out, was based on a study of mice and did not look specifically at infection from a flu virus. The results were quickly discredited, although some would have it that the difference between the mice and some men was minimal.

Despite this lack of empirical scientific analysis of man flu, the phrase has become a byword for what is perceived as man’s difficulty coping with little more than the common cold. But is the man flu real or myth? And what does the labelling of how men deal with common illness say about wider societal perceptions of men and their health?

Dr Tony Foley, a family doctor based in Kinsale, has recently published his thoughts on man flu and what it says about societal judgments. “Man flu is really a tongue-in-cheek look at the perception that men experience and complain of symptoms more easily than women. Really, it’s not a proper flu. It’s often little more than a cold or upper respiratory tract infection. The real flu that exists is far more severe,” he says.

Foley points out that man flu isn’t a distinct illness, more a slight on modern man. “It’s a bit of a skit. Man flu is a slight on men, a myth created by women. It’s not that men do actually have less resistance or tolerate a virus less. It’s simply men being mothered and looked after by wives or mothers. This is where the whole myth of man flu comes from in my opinion.”

There is, however, a more serious point to be made about male health and stereotyping of men’s illness in a negative way doesn’t help, Foley argues. “I suppose on a more serious note it is worth pointing out that respiratory symptoms of a cough or of persistent coughing. Men might complain in the house to their partners or wives. Any symptoms that last two weeks or longer should be reviewed. There is still a perceived weakness in complaining for men though.”

What if a male patient arrives into a GP surgery presenting with man flu symptoms, is there a preferred medical reaction? “If it’s no more than a common cold, I’m very slow to prescribe anything. Obviously over-prescribing will lead to resistance, quite apart from all the financial implications.”

IN ANOTHER twist in the saga, Aidan Mulcahy, who is a self-employed film producer, believes that man flu may affect men who work for themselves less than those in the PAYE sector. He argues that present-day males often use man flu as an excuse just to take time out from the stresses of modern life.

“In a situation where both parents are working, the man often feels forgotten and doesn’t have someone to call.

“Sometimes I think men make these things up maybe to get extra attention from their wives. When you’re working for yourself, and you get a common cold, most times you can’t afford to take any time off work. Although, having said that, men are good at scaling up the severity of the cold if it warrants a day off.”

EILEEN SWEENEY, a 31-year-old marketing executive from Galway, has an alternative view and says that men are being victimised somewhat for being more open about their health.

“I think that men get a hard rap for being sick. I think men need more compassion in their hour of need! Maybe it comes from a societal perception that men don’t get sick and when they do it changes the roles around.

“Suddenly they find themselves at home, and that causes a shift in the family dynamic.”

Therefore, man flu and the idea that some men overstate their illness, could have more to do with changing gender roles, than any underlying medical ailment.

“There is some truth to men looking for sympathy. I think women look for sympathy too but when women have kids, their priorities are childcare. It is probably infuriating when the father starts looking for the same amount of attention as the children. When you’re sick though, you’re sick. I think men just want someone to turn to!”