Real Or Myth: Is There Really Such A Thing As Man Flu?

Well, I guess it’s true.

Men really do turn into big babies when they’re sick.

Men Need Nurturing

We know men work really hard at their jobs. Men also work really hard to stay in charge of any situation or at least make it look like they do.

Then, whammo!

You’re hit by a bug (the viral kind) and you become helpless, sniffling toddlers.

You get Man Flu.

Men tend to need a fair amount of nurturing anyway, but apparently getting the flu or a bad cold every now and then, is for men, partly in their evolutionary make up.

Doctor In The House

In the 2017 annual issue of the British Medical Journal, Dr. Kyle Sue, a specialist in family medicine, says there is real researcher that says men are predestined to become babies in the face of influenza or a bad cold (man flu).

Dr. Sue says, immunologically speaking, men are the weaker sex.

Sue has found that men end up in the hospital more than women for the flu. They even have higher death rates from the flu than women.

Man Flu is Part of Evolution

It seems that between evolution, epidemiology and research of the immune and endocrine systems in the body, men have come up short. Apparently, hormones play a role.

The female hormone estrogen helps with strong immune defense responses. Although this can lead to more auto-immune diseases in women than men.

Sue suggests that a man’s inferior immune system may be the natural result of evolution.

A man’s quest for dominance over large animals, other men and even empires meant they frequently fought and died.

Women, on the other hand, needed to endure to nurture newborn offspring.

Maybe that’s why so many women find larger, more muscled men more attractive than their scrawnier brothers?

Dr. Sue notes,“there are benefits to energy conservation when ill.” Man flu has it’s benefits.

An Excuse To Let Go

Sometimes, getting Man Flu is the only time you guys allow yourselves to truly relax and let go.

The pressure of staying “in charge” has evaporated in the face of a nasty virus that has forced you to your couch.

Sue acknowledges: a man’s tendency to become helpless when sick should be understood as a biological necessity.

It should not be dismissed as a cry for sympathy and extra cough medicine.

Man Cave Worthy

And get this, Dr. Sue thinks that the need for hibernation and extra self-care during this flu time is so great, the need for a “man cave” is more important than ever.