MEXICO – A study published in the British Medical Journal ensures Men don’t exaggerate when they have the flubecause its symptoms are so intense.
The study was done by Kyle Sue, who said after hearing that men exaggerate when they are sickdecided to investigate whether they were suffering more.
In light of this, he wrote: “Tired of these accusations, I decided to look for evidence to see if men actually had more severe symptoms and if there was some evolutionary reason behind this.”
Su noted that infections in men trigger the release of corticosterone, a hormone that contributes to stress, and she also found that estrogen in women helps reduce viral numbers.
Additionally, the researchers found that men also tended to seek medical attention later, meaning they were at greater risk of death or health complications.
Therefore, they determined that men do not exaggerate their symptoms when they have the flu because they seek medical attention earlier and are less likely to get sick.
Flu symptoms usually appear about two days after a person with the virus becomes infected.
Symptoms are:
- sudden fever
- Cough (usually dry)
- Headache
- muscle and joint pain
- severe general discomfort
- sore throat
- Runny nose.
- The cough may be severe and last for two weeks or longer.
In most cases, fever and other symptoms resolve within a week without requiring medical attention. However, for people at high risk, the flu can be a serious or even fatal illness.
The flu can worsen symptoms of other chronic illnesses and, in severe cases, lead to pneumonia and sepsis. People with other health problems or severe symptoms should seek medical attention.
Flu hospitalizations and deaths are more common among high-risk groups.
In industrialized countries, most influenza-related deaths occur among people aged 65 years and older (1).
The impact of seasonal epidemics in developing countries is unclear, but studies indicate that 99% of deaths from influenza-related lower respiratory tract infections in children under five years of age occur in these countries (2).