The Malady of Males
“Recognizing and preventing men’s health problems is not just a man’s issue. Because of its impact on wives, mothers, daughters, and sisters, men’s health is truly a family issue.”
~Bill Richardson
This week is the week that is nationally recognized as Men’s Health Awareness Week 2016. I know this is one of those weeks that doesn’t seem to garner a lot of attention but it is important all the same. In doing some reading as to what the greatest health threat to men might be it came as almost no surprise that the greatest threat to men’s health are the men themselves. You’ll understand what I mean in a few moments. Of the fifteen leading causes of death of men and women in the United States males lead in fourteen of the fifteen categories. The only category that women lead is death caused by or related to by Alzheimer’s and it is believed that as a category, males usually don’t live long enough to develop this disease. Before anyone gets into an uproar, I am talking about national stats here, not something written in stone for the future…my grandfather lived to be ninety-five years old and would have lived longer if he hadn’t had a bad fall. According to the national stats, the gaps between men and women are getting smaller but in general, males still pass before women of the same age.
The top five health issues for men are some that can be preventable or treated if caught early enough. The problem is that for the majority of men, their health is not a top priority in the grand scheme of things until it is too late in some cases. Like I said earlier, the greatest threat to men’s health are men themselves. As a boy back in the 1970’s I was taught that men were supposed to be tough and that you only went to the doctors if you bleeding heavily or if your family needed help. As I grow older, this sense of machismo is gradually fading from societal expectations and more and more males are tackling the responsibilities of taking better care of their health. Going back to the top five health issues for men, they are;
1. Cardiovascular Disease
2. Lung Cancer
3. Prostate Cancer
4. Diabetes
5. Depression / Suicide
Cardiovascular disease covers such a wide gauntlet of illnesses it does not surprise me that this is the leading cause of health issues of males. What did surprise me with this list was that lung cancer and depression/suicide made the list. I don’t know why lung cancer surprised me but it makes sense with all the jobs that involve caustic chemicals used in so many industries that have been male dominate for so many years. I always associate lung cancer with smoking (Indiana has one of the highest percentage of smokers in the United States) but the reality is that industrial work can cause just as much long term damage to the lungs as smoking so it makes sense that lung cancer is on the list. Depression/suicide was another health issue that surprised me, even though more women are reported as to suffer from depression, it is believed that men don’t reach out for help as often as women and that they suppress these emotions or cover them up with anger and often heavy drinking and aggression.
All these ailments are issues that are preventable or treatable if caught early enough. All these issues affect millions of men (and women) every year but the key to any successful treatment is early detection no matter what the health issue is. Being Men’s Health Week, it is important for men to be brave enough to stand up and go to the doctor for a check-up and to not hide behind the fallacy of ego and machismo. It takes a real man to face his fears instead of turn away from them like they don’t exist. Go to the doctor, get check out, chances are you’re healthy but don’t take it for granted. Thanks for reading as always, share this with a man you know who is afraid of the doctor, it may save his life. I hope everyone has a good weekend, take care of yourself and each other, remember, we’re all in this together.
Wm Reid
Best Home Care Services
325 N Eastern Ave
Connersville, IN 47331
765-827-9833
wmreid@bhcshealth.com