Why I Believe "Man-Flu" Could be Real.

I’ve spent the last four days ill! A sore throat that felt like razor blades was passing through as I swallowed water or food. A cough that burns my chest and brings up some questionable Mucus. A bright red nose from blowing it every 10 minutes. It hasn’t been an easy week, that’s for sure. But as most women do, I’ve got up and still carried on, still needed to get those school runs done, take my daughter to a birthday party, clean the house, and feed the family. It’s what we do, no matter how we are feeling. But it made me think. When my partner is ill, he is really ill. He gets a high fever, chills, sweats constantly, coughs, and can barely move from the bed. No way could he keep doing the things I’ve had to do over the past week. But I can see it's real; he isn’t being dramatic or craving attention. Truth be told, he would rather be left alone when he’s in that state, so it made me wonder: Is the old saying of “Man-Flu” a real thing? Or are women just more resilient?

I’m not here to hate men. Of course, men get ill and need a rest, but we all know someone who has got ill and acted as if they’ve had a masterclass in drama. The sniffles and the body aches, and don’t even get me started on the hoodies. Why do men put their hoodies on and pull the strings so much that they look like Kenny from South Park?

A quick Google search later, I found that some scientists believe it’s as simple as men having weaker immune systems than women. Another study I found said the research was flawed because no scientific testing was actually done; instead, a questionnaire was used to ask men how they were feeling, which, of course, isn’t scientific evidence. However, another research facility claimed that in the US, there are higher mortality rates linked to influenza in males than in females.

Clearly, we can see that some research seems to be pointing in all the right directions to claim that “Man-flu” is in fact a real thing. Seeing that, scientifically, we women fight it off better and have better resilience than men has made me feel somewhat bad. Bad for all the times, I’ve been ill and stood in the kitchen with my eyes shut, angry, thinking, Why do I have to do this? Why can’t I just be ill? Let me be ill! Let me lie in bed and sleep it off, or all the times I have cared for my sick partner and thought, If this were me, I’d still be up and about looking after the house and family. It's thoughts we can control. Really, most of us women and mothers do have to carry on. We can have the most supportive partners in the world, but if they are stuck at work, what other option do we have?

My conclusion on this whole “Man-Flu” situation is that someone, at some point, clearly made this phrase up, and it has become a joke we all use. And men, for many years, have used this phrase as a joke to get out of things, which probably makes it hard for women to take them seriously when they are sick, even though there is quite a lot of evidence that shows men may get sicker than women and struggle to fight it off more. I can't help but wonder, do we still have it worse? OK! Of course, I can't speak on behalf of every woman and every man out there, but, from what I see, when men get ill, they may truly get ill, and their only way to fight this off is by becoming bed-bound for a couple of days and letting their bodies do the work. For us, we can feel rubbish and still be expected to carry on with the responsibilities of everyday life, which surely makes the recovery stage longer. Has it gotten worse? Men or Women? And do you believe in the “Man-Flu”

This post was a bit of fun, based on personal experience and other people’s stories. We know that all men and women can be sick and be bed-bound, and there are plenty of great men out there who also still have to carry on their lives, even when sick!