While the science isn’t in a general consensus about the actual severity of experienced symptoms, there does seem to be good evidence that men generally do not have as strong of an immune system response to common flus, and that common flu vaccines are not as effective in men as they are in women.
https://www.livescience.com/61164-man-flu-real.html
Men are more likely to be hospitalized, as well as die from the common flu than women.
Current research seems to be exploring the idea that testosterone hampers immune response (antibody production) whereas estrogen promotes it.
Being dismissive of men’s less effective immune responses is about as sexist as a man similarly bellittling period cramps.
https://newatlas.com/health-wellbeing/man-flu-cold-real-or-not/
The pop-cultural portrayal of men as overly weak and hysterical patients when facing a simple flu may hinder men from seeking for appropriate medical treatment because of a fear to be ridiculed. To avoid a culture of toxic masculinity, stereotypical portrayals of gender roles should be avoided."
The way you dismantle toxic masculinity is by listening to men, as opposed to mocking them when they describe what they’re going through.
The way you reinforce toxic masculinity is by making it taboo for them to express when they are in pain, and mocking them when they aren’t acting like a big strong tough, toxically masculine guy.
I recommend for people with colds:
- Vitamin D supplement, you likely won’t be getting enough sunlight while bedridden.
- Even without appetite, force yourself to eat some fruits and veggies.
- Gargle and spit a mug of water, honey, and a lot of salt. It tastes bad but will heal throat and tonsil congestion and infection due to the antinflammatory and antiseptic effects of the salt.
- Keep your limbs warm and your head cool. Fevers over 100.4 are bad enough to seek help and fevers over 103 can be fatal, but you should avoid multiple showers a day (even though it soothes the nerve pain) as your body needs to maintain the temperature to fight off the infection.
- Even while sick, do your best to keep up on laundry. Change out your sheets and blankets whenever possible.
Add zinc supplement to that list
I’m living proof that the stereotype of men becoming completely useless when sick has truth to it. As soon as I start to feel slightly under the weather, I become a whiny sniveling mess
If you admit to living, I don’t think you fit the stereotype.
edit: Remove inappropriate gerund.
gerund
A gerund is a verb that acts as a noun, ending in “-schwing” and often followed by a mother of an absolute unit
Parts of this statement are correct.
first half is iffy at best
Can’t find it right now, but my uni did a study and found that it’s true to an extent, and it’s not for any biological reason.
Electric. Blanket.
Get it. Now.
It’s so nice when you feel like shit, and you can just have some local warming, right on your body.
I can tough out certain pains, but give me a snotty nose and fever, I curl into a ball of pathetic man putty.
“Babe! BABE! Can you bring me two Tylenol, an Advil Cold and Sinus, two aspirin, my inhaler, another blanket, my phone (please charge, cord’s right there), a tablet to read my book on, and, and, we need to talk end-of-life stuff. …can you turn the fan up please? …and kill the light on your way out… thank you”
She drew the line giving me a bell to ring for help. My mom gave me a bell! (yes, really, I’m a total wuss)
I never feel quite as manly as when I’m sick and it unlocks just enough emotional vulnerability that a TV show leaves me crying for the first time in years like a kid who saw a dead bird.
I’ve had broken bones, puncture wounds, kidney stones, I got stabbed by a blade shaped rock that nicked my right kidney, I’ve cut the heel almost off of my foot, slit my leg open to the bone, shocked bad enough to knock me unconscious, head wounds, back pain, neck pain… The list goes on. I dealt. I’d like to say fairly well.
… But a fever or a blood draw? I cannot fucking function
Blood draw? You mean that tiny needle that they use to take a blood sample?
I believe that higher testosterone generally correlates to more server cold and flu symptoms yeah?
“I would have liked… to have seen Montana.”
“a round american woman and we will raise rabbits she would cook for me”
“And I will have a pickup truck… maybe even a ‘recreational vehicle.’ And drive from state to state. Do they let you do that?”
I ended up with a skinny Filipino who cooks for me and a pickup truck. Getting closer to the dream!
To each their own. Mine prefers my cooking.
This just makes me think of that scene in Tropic Thunder with Ben Stiller talking about juggling.
meat and fire, it’s our happy place
If “nothingburger” was a tweet (I call them Xits now - pronounced “shits”)
