We mothers deal with an awful lot on a daily basis, from juggling hectic schedules to dealing with curve-balls like forgotten lunches and sick little ones, but you will likely agree that there is nothing as draining as looking after Himself when he has the ‘man-flu’.
While many of us have convinced ourselves that the phrase ‘man-flu’ is actually just a cry for attention from our poor sickly partners, it turns out that we have been wronging them all along – man-flu is real!
This is the belief of researchers at John Hopkins University, whose recent research has proven that it is in fact oestrogen that separates regular flu from ‘man-flu’.
Indeed, the team discovered through extensive research that oestrogen helps to protect women from more viruses than men, with influenza or flu among them. It was a lack of oestrogen in men that led to an increased frequency of flu as well as more aggressive symptoms.
To break it down, the study showed that oestrogen affects the certain viruses’ ability to replicate, which means that women experience less severe symptoms than male flu-sufferers.
Commenting on the potential significance of the research findings, lead author Dr Sabra Klein said: “We see clinical potential in the finding that therapeutic oestrogens that are used for treating infertility and menopause may also protect against the flu.”
