There is a loud moan from under the covers. No moaning of pleasure. It sounds more like someone is having a baby. A man, that is. What can I say, giving birth? I think the gentleman is dying there. And then I immediately know what time it is. Hubby has the flu. What do you do when you catch the flu? A paracetamol in it, and go, take the kids to school? Men with the flu, that's a different story. Maybe you recognize it.
Be a man for a day? No thanks; imagine that you have the flu just that day
There is nothing more pathetic than a man with the flu. A bird that has fallen out of the nest? A puppy with a broken leg? That's sad, but men with the flu really suffer. Normally our men are so used to playing the leader with short EI, now they suffer. And how.
If my personal copy has the flu, it must also make it very clear. Sighs, groans, and a very pathetic face. Oh, he's clearly having a hard time. As a woman you spontaneously carry paracetamol and cups of tea. Because somehow they can't be resisted, those heaps of misery. Yet men with the flu seem to be more affected than us, the stronger sex. Did you always think that this was a typical case of affectation? Sorry ladies, this time we got it wrong. Men with the flu appear to be actually sicker than women.
Did you know that a special term has even been invented for the oh-so-pathetic tough guys with the flu? The man flu! Because secretly we have always laughed at our men about it. I may have been guilty of it again in this blog. Wrongly, it now turns out. Because men with the flu are actually sicker than women. So maybe all that sighing and groaning isn't affectation at all.
Scientific research (de Volkskrant writes) has shown that men have a weaker immune response against respiratory viruses. This makes them more likely to get sick. But also their symptoms are worse. And it takes longer for them to recover from the virus.
Normally we often curse our hormones. Mood swings, periods, PMS and menopause; hormones often have to do with less pleasant things. But in this case we can be thankful to them. That can also be said. Our female hormones appear to protect us against respiratory infections. They amplify it. While male testosterone seems to weaken the immune system when it comes to these infections.
Finally no women's ailments:flu is a real men's virus! Although of course we continue to hold on to those men with the flu. Help your sweetheart get back on his feet quickly? Or yourself, if he has already lit you. Then read through our anti-flu tips.
