Being the depths of winter, there’s a good chance that many of us will be struck by the dreaded ‘man flu’ in the weeks ahead.
As per usual, it’s likely that any sympathy from your other half won’t extend beyond a bowl of chicken soup and a couple of Lemsips. After all, men are constantly being told that man flu is no worse than a regular cold, except that guys make a far bigger deal of it. We even warned the world about the deadly symptoms associated with man flu.
Well, according to new research from Royal Holloway University of London, man flu exists and there’s a reason why it’s symptoms are significantly worse for men.
The research suggests that some diseases have evolved to be more harmful to men than women, meaning that men can actually experience more severe symptoms than the opposite sex.
According to Francesco Ubeda, a co-author of the study, some viruses aren’t quite as dangerous to women and man flu is one of them.
“Viruses may be evolving to be less dangerous to women, looking to preserve the female population. The virus wants to be passed from mother to child, either through breastfeeding, or just through giving birth”, he says.
Vincent Jansen (Dr Ubeda’s co-author, not the crap Spurs striker) added that some viruses might even be able to tell if its host is a man or a woman.
See, man flu is even getting organised and planning its attack.
So there you have it. Man flu exists and while you might not get any more sympathy from the women in your life when it hits you next, it’s nice to know that science is on our side.
Soldier on men, soldier on.
Clip via – Atomic Wedgie
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