Rashika Roberts asked men why they hate going to the doctor. Their answers don’t change the fact that men need to pay attention to their health.
I feel as if I’m nagging my husband to go to the doctor because he hates it. My mom, sisters and friends all say they have the same issue. I wanted to figure out why men dread doctor visits, so I hit the streets, barber shops, Facebook, and made a few calls.
These are the answers I received from gentlemen of different ages and from all walks of life.
- If I’m ok, why do I need to go to the doctor for them to tell me that something is wrong?
- No one knows my body better than me. If I feel bad, I’ll take something for it, instead of wasting money to go see a doctor.
- Honestly we’re fucking ignorant thinking we will just get better. For some reason we think whatever the problem is, will just go away after a while.
- Hey I’m a man; I can deal with what’s going on with me. I don’t need some stranger touching all over me, prescribing me crap that will make me feel worse.
- It’s not that I hate going to the doctor, I eat healthy and work out every day. “You see this body; it really doesn’t need a doctor.”
- As a kid, boys are taught to be tough. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, you’ll be ok. It’s the same once you get older. Something bothers you, you pick yourself up and keep going.
- I am a man, if I told my wife I needed to see a doctor, that would probably worry her and make me look weak.
- I never really think about going to the doctor unless I think something is broken. Even then I don’t want to go unless it swells really bad and hurts so much that I can’t move it.
- When I was younger, I used to always hear my mom talk to my sisters about going to the doctor for checkups but no one ever said anything to me and my brother.
- Hun I don’t hate going to the doctor. All I need to keep me feeling good is sexy women, good sex and a hot meal.
It was very interesting to hear everyone speak of being Tarzan. Overall, it sounds like men have a hard time battling that ever-so-strong ego.
Even when I mentioned that women visit the doctor often, for various things. They confidently replied, that’s what women are supposed to do. Women have a lot more going on than men, like breast, vaginas and carrying babies.
Hard to believe that no one seemed interested or worried at all about high cholesterol, heart attacks, prostate cancer or brain aneurysms; All of which I’ve experienced in my family as well as married family. The thought of waiting until it’s too late is mind boggling. Grieving the loss of a loved one is one of the toughest times in everyone’s life.
My goal as a wife and daughter is to support and influence men to participate in regular checkups. Although I don’t have sons, one day my daughters will get married and have children. I want them to express the importance of doctor visits to their husbands and children.
Most men define a real man as one who takes care of their families, themselves, successful, accepts and maintain their responsibilities. I agree and think this is a great connotation. However, I think they fail to realize that it is difficult to do these when their health is declining, simply because they are too manly to be seen by a doctor.
Timothy Vavro, Loyola University Health System physician and associate professor of internal medicine at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, says, “They’re not willing to make a life style change, so they think it’s a waste of time listening to a doctor tell them to change the way they eat, to start exercising and stop smoking if they’re not going to do it anyway.”
Medical Express, Following the Loyola University Health Systems, suggests screenings every man should get:
- High blood pressure- Every man 18 or older should have his blood pressure checked at least once a year.
- Diabetes- Men with risk factors such as family history diabetes, being overweight or experiencing diabetic symptoms should be screened with a fasting blood test. Normal is 100 milligrams per deciliter; 101 to 125 is prediabetic and above 125 indicates the patient is diabetic.
- Cholesterol- Men ages 20 to 35 who have cardiovascular disease risk factors such as diabetes should be screened. After age 35 men should be screened once every five years if normal.
- Colorectoral cancer- Men should be screened at age 50. A colonoscopy can find and remove precancerous growths called polyps. If a colonoscopy is normal, it’s good for 10 years.
- Prostate cancer- Men ages 50 or older who have a life expectancy of at least 10 years should get an annual digital rectal exam.
Moms, wives and sisters, we all love our men and want to keep them healthy and around forever! Please, don’t be embarrassed about going to the doctor.
Photo: frances1972/Flickr
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How about accepting that one rather pervasive form of how male depression gets expressed is the “F*ck it I’ll just die…..it’ll be better for everyone else ” attitude ….. extremely common in middle aged and older men. Even better it’s held up as a male failing rather than a treatable symptom.
I agree that health research funding shouldn’t be a competition between the sexes. Unfortunately, I believe men are their own worst enemies. Failure to seek health care may be partly the blame for smaller funding for men’s health research.
The NHMRC (National Health Medical Research Council) says the primary reason for the difference in funding between women’s and men’s health relates to the types of applications it receives.
Male health doesn’t make money because males don’t go see doctors so the medical industry doesn’t want to waste money on a product that no one is going to buy. It’s simple marketing strategy.
If more males went to the doctor, the medical community would see an upshift in the money being made and start putting more of their money into male health.
Health (at least in the US) is just another company created to make money. That is their bottom line. they are going to spend their money on what yeilds the highest profit.
You say that men are reluctant to visit doctors and that as a result, male health doesn’t make money in the US – I don’t think it is as black and white as that. Here in the UK where we have universal free healthcare for every man, woman and child, there is still a reluctance among adult males to visit the doctor, sometimes until it is too late which ultimately ends up costing the taxpayer. Making an appointment to see your doctor over here doesn’t cost you a penny and all prescription medications are charged at a flat rate of… Read more »
I found out a couple of years ago that I am diabetic (type 2) so I know only too well the implications of ignoring your health for too long. Nowadays I visit my doctor’s surgery (they have a diabetes nurse-specialist there) every 6 months for a full checkup. Fortunately I live in the UK and all my screenings, checkups and medications are free of charge – I shudder to think how much it would be costing me if I lived in the US! So I totally agree with everything mentioned in the above article, especially point no. 9: “When I… Read more »