The 'Man Flu': A Closer Look at Gender and Influenza Severity

"Man Flu"! I heard that from a friend yesterday who was referring to a flu that affects men and I asked him if there was a particular flu for men or women? Well, for easy understanding, let us disect what flu really is.

Flu without the man as a prefix, is a infection caused by influenza virus so it will be good to say to people who get antibiotics to fight influenza that it is a complete waste of resources and time, coupled with the fact that it would just allow bacteria in the body to grow resistance. In actual fact, the body immune system is to do the job of fighting influenza.

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Influenza types A and B typically cause the flu during winter, with type C virus resulting in milder symptoms. The umbrella term "common cold" encompasses various viral infections, including Influenza, Rhinovirus, Respiratory Syncytial virus, Enteroviruses, Parainfluenza virus, Adenovirus, and common coronavirus. Rhinovirus, a common cause of the common cold, Parainfluenza virus, and common coronavirus are familiar culprits. Unlike the severe COVID-19, common coronavirus might have crossed your path multiple times.

The disease associated with man flu is with Acute rhinosinusitis were the virus causes short lived inflammation of the mucos producing tissue which lines the nasal cavity. With acute rhinosinusitis, the patient will experience nasal obstruction, anterior or posterior nasal secretion, sense of smell is affected, fever, headache, and facial pain. But then trust me, this illness isn't sex-specific but does it have more presence in men than women?

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Vaccines have higher effects in women than men and this could be as a result of hormone differences and according to a 2010 study at the University of Queensland showed that women who haven't reached menopause have a stronger adaptive immune response compared to men. Another 2016 study showed that nasal cells from females fought type A flu virus better than men when exposed to estrogen.

Since males have testosterone more than females, there is a possibility that it is a hormonal thing. A study in 2008 showed that testosterone in mice suppressed the activity of a type of immune system cell which promotes inflammation. In 2022, a research to check if this infection was more common in men or just reported more in men than women. At the end of the study the report showed that males and females had almost the same severity in symptoms at the beginning but females had a reduced severity in symptoms. While women reported the case more, men reported that the case became worse more than men. This meant that women and men were both ill equally at the beginning of the study but the severity was more at the end in men than in women.

In essence, while women may report the "Man Flu" more frequently, their immune systems appear more adept at swiftly tackling the virus. Contrary to the stereotype that men complain more, the study suggests that both men and women experience the illness equally at the onset, with severity ultimately leaning more towards men as it progresses.