pathoscribe

Written by Shaurya Gulani | Art by Charlene Cheng 

Have you ever wondered why fathers, the heroes who appear to be just fine pushing through an injury or other issues, become bedridden with no willpower with just the flu or a cold? For decades, society has tried to figure out if such common stories are just an exaggeration or if there is something deeper to this phenomenon. This article will aim to present an in-depth understanding of the concern jokingly called a “Man Cold.”

Cultural and biological differences create a unique flu experience for men and women. From a biological perspective, the difference between genders’ reactions to a cold relates to their sex hormones. The female sex hormone, estrogen, helps women reduce the levels of virus counts and slow the speed of the virus as it multiplies.. Additionally, the region of the brain that controls body temperature is much larger in men because of testosterone. Therefore, men tend to experience higher fevers or a larger bodily reaction compared to women.

However, most scientists conclude that such differences in sex hormones are minuscule in the grand scheme of how one’s body reacts to a flu, cold, or virus. Rather, they point to cultural aspects as the true cause of this massive difference in the two genders experiencing a cold. To further elaborate, experts share that men tend to further emphasize their illnesses because of the extra distress they face in not being able to appear infallible, due to psycho-social expectations for men. Therefore, men tend to seek help later than others in an effort to appear stoic, and in turn, worsen their illness.

All to say, experts emphasize that the “Man Flu” is real. However, it has to do more with the issue of men waiting much longer to seek medical care than women do rather than biological differences between genders. Sharing these facts with the men in your life is vital because the first step to tackling the problem is identifying it and being aware of it.

Works Cited:

“Man Flu” Is Now Backed by Science, http://www.texashealth.org/areyouawellbeing/Mens-Health/Man-Flu-Is-Now-Backed-by-Science. Accessed 14 July 2024. 

“The Man Cold: Why Guys React Differently to Colds.” WebMD, WebMD, http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/features/truth-about-man-colds. Accessed 14 July 2024.