“Man flu” is real, scientists finally prove
It's flu season, and we finally know that men get it worse...
Words: Jonathan Wells
Many of us, even now, will be scrolling through our phones – or sitting at our desks at work – with red noses, sore throats and puffy eyes. It’s flu season – and men are getting it worse than women.
Even though, for years, womankind has persecuted and bullied ailing gents, branding our flu ‘man flu’ and belittling our incredible suffering, scientists have now proved than some infectious diseases have evolved to be more harmful to men than women – with flu top of the list.
Certain viruses were seen to hit women softer than they did men – a genetic and biological quirk thought to have developed to give infants a better chance at not contracting diseases through breast-feeding or close contact with mothers.
The research, conducted at Royal Holloway, University of London, concluded that men’s hormones make them more susceptible to the more severe symptoms of any resulting illness – taking the brunt of disease to spare women from the effects.
“Viruses may be evolving to be less dangerous to women, looking to preserve the female population,” said Dr Francesco Ubeda, lead author on the study.
“The virus wants to be passed from mother to child, either through breastfeeding, or just through giving birth.“
Other diseases which men suffer more with include chickenpox and tuberculosis – the latter of which is one and a half time more fatal for men.
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