Why Do Women Not Understand Manflu?

Posted byFractured Faith BlogPosted inA Fractured FaithTags:, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I woke up this morning and groaned. Not only was it a dark and dreary Monday morning, but I sensed a tickle in my throat. My nose was blocked and my energy levels were even lower than I normally would have expected. I sighed and sadly informed Fionnuala that I appeared to be unwell. I received zero sympathy as she launched into the 1001 tasks she has to perform every weekday in order to get the hatchlings out to school.

Manflu had struck….Now I’m not one to complain (cough, cough) but it strikes me that the female of the species struggle to understand the traumatic nature of this affliction. When it comes to empathy and understanding they tend to stare blankly at us, before making some snide remark about childbirth. The words ‘weak’ and ‘pathetic’ are muttered beneath their collective breaths as we shuffle miserably around the house.

I go to work every day. I’m rarely sick, not counting the four week virus I had a few months back and er….all the other times I sniffle or feel a slight twinge. I run marathons in all weathers and regard myself as in reasonably good shape for a man of my years. So, when I am struck down by the lurgy, the lack of female concern and compassion leaves me baffled.

I have queried this with my wonderful wife, to be greeted with a withering stare or hoot of derision. I still await her considered response and I fear I may be waiting a while. So I’m throwing it out there to the rest of the WordPress universe. I look forward to your thoughts as I heroically struggle through the working day. I know I will be in your thoughts and prayers

Ladies – what’s your beef with manflu?

Men – argue our case! Tell them how it is!!

Published by Fractured Faith Blog

We are Stephen and Fionnuala and this is our story. We live in Northern Ireland, have been married for 17 years and have three kids - Adam, Hannah and Rebecca. We hope that our story will inspire and encourage others. We have walked a rocky road yet here we are today, together and stronger than ever. We are far from perfect and our faith has been battered and bruised. But an untested faith is a pointless faith. Just as a fractured faith is better than none at all. We hope you enjoy the blog.

62 thoughts on “Why Do Women Not Understand Manflu?”

  1. You’re never going to win this one, at least with most women, LOL.

    The trouble is most women are in the same boat at times; sick or run down and it’s just expected they’re going to suck it up, deal with it and get the kids and other domestic responsibilities taken care of even if they stay home from work. “What time is dinner?” “I have bubonic plague!” “So a half hour later than usual?” Soooo… when the shoe is on the other foot, the “just do it” attitude is also.

    To be fair, I don’t think many of those same women consider that some men are pretty stoic in their suffering and don’t make much of a fuss unless they are really feeling like hell.

    Liked by 9 people

    Reply

  2. All I can say in our defence, is that when my wife gets a “cold” (and is as grumpy as hell), I’m very sympathetic. At this very moment she is suffering and is tucked up in bed. Do I mind? Not in the least – it’s the best place for her (as at least I’m not having to suffer her suffering!) In summary, I think some women do get man flu. 😉

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  3. Oh My Goodness you are unbelievable you felt cold because the duvet wasn’t over you, which in itself is very rare because you normally pull it all to your side of the bed and I wake up cold. I’m sorry to break it to you when men say they’ve got “man flu” it really means they’ve got the sniffles! I’ve known of women who have been in labour with their 4th child and still managed to get their other children up washed, dressed, dropped off at school gave birth and were able to make the dinner that night for the family!! You know when you mention manful to me you aren’t getting any sympathy just get up and get on with it you will probably be out running at lunchtime anyway 😆

    Liked by 7 people

    Reply

    1. It’s funny that – I mis-typed manflu as manful (or it was altered via auto-correct) and I only just spotted it before hitting the Post Comment button. So it seems you have to be manful with manflu. 🙂 It could of course be that men are looking for a bit of sympathy (aka love and affection) and manflu is as good an excuse as any? But you would think by now we would have learnt that it doesn’t work! 😦

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  4. Aaaarrrrgggghhh. NOT the man flu! Actually my hubby is very good. He diesn’t complain, and just gets on with it, same as me. Sorry about the manflu. Feel better soon!

    Like

    Reply

  8. I think it circles around the situation where if both were sick, the woman would be expected to take care of everyone, while the man would proclaim he’s on death’s door. Same flu…. Same symptoms… Lol

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  9. I must say that my man rarely complains of man flu. He is prone rather to work through it, suffering in moans and groans, thereby prolonging it significantly. If he did complain of the man flu “weak” and “pathetic” seem like appropriate responses. Get well soon.

    Like

    Reply

  10. Too funny! We have the same exact banter in our house with regards to the manflu. I have the manflu sufferer as well as a major drama queen child who swears she’s dying every time a cold rolls through the house. Which thankfully, is not often. Thankfully, for my sanity! Feel better!

    Like

    Reply

  11. Ahem….as a fellow manflu sufferer let me just say the tougher they are the harder they fall. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
    Also, according to a Harvard University Study: ” Testosterone may play a role, as men with the highest levels tended to have a lower antibody response. A better antibody response may lessen the severity of flu, so it’s possible that vaccinated men get more severe symptoms than women because they don’t respond to vaccination as well.
    The article: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/man-flu-really-thing-2018010413033
    The Study:
    https://www.bmj.com/content/359/bmj.j5560.long

    Of course, the study may have been conducted by a bunch of men looking to make point….not really sure.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  13. 😂 I had Mono once, my husband left me alone because he didn’t want to get sick. If you’v ever gotten that, you’d know how painful it is. He told me to ‘suck it up’.

    Being a stubborn and proud female, I never let that go. Now, when he gets sick I say, “suck it up, pussy!” Then I smile at him just to be sure he remembers that one time.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  14. This is an easy one. I’m rarely sick and have an atypically strong immune system. If I get a whiff of a cough or upset stomach then I spring into action: Pepto or pickle juice for my stomach, Bourbon and a bit of Copenhagen spit for a sore through, a Netipot (distilled water only so I don’t get an amoeba in my brains,) for sinus congestion, and a menthol rub on my chest and feet if I feel it in my lungs.

    However, it’s obvious that if some illness makes it past my strong immune system as well as my treatments it’s clearly strong enough that it needs to be tested to ensure it’s not a bioweapon. The viruses and bacteria that attack me and make me sick must be stronger than the garden variety and thus make me sicker than anyone else.

    That’s why I end up helpless and on deaths door every time manflu comes around.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  15. I do hope you feel better! You and the wife made me laugh this morning. My husband whines like a child every time he gets sick and turns into a whimpering pathetic mess. In all fairness though he hardly ever gets sick so I let him have his moment of whingeing. I on the other hand want everyone to leave me alone when I’m sick. Just leave me some water, ginger ale and the remote and I’m good. Fionnula feel free to kick his butt a little LOL 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  16. I think the women who don’t understand manflu may possibly have lived among men who never had it at all. I cannot recall my late father ever having taken a sick day. He was hospitalized once during his 30+ year career as a pilot, but never stayed home sick as far as I can recall. My husband was even more remarkable. In 30 years of a military career he never took even one sick day, except to be beside our disabled son during our son’s several open heart surgeries. When he (my husband) was diagnosed with the stage 4 colon cancer that eventually took his life, he never took one sick day during the four years he fought that menace, except for when he was actually receiving the chemotherapy or hospitalized for surgeries. Every day that he wasn’t hooked up to a chemo drip or lying in a hospital recovering from brutal surgery, he was at work. Even more amazing, he came home every single day and helped me care for our disabled adult son. When I would try to take over any of the household chores he usually did, he would say “I want to do this as long as I can.” The morning he left to go to the hospital for the last time (unable to breathe adequately) he insisted on cooking breakfast for us one last time, a memory I now treasure because I objected to him doing it, but he insisted on it. I had no idea that he knew it might be his last morning at home with us. He was so amazingly strong that even though he lived twice as long as they said he would, I never really realized he was dying. All this to say, perhaps you will take inspiration from those unbelievably strong individuals of both genders who walk among us and face incredible challenges without complaint. I am not one of those people but both my parents, my sister and my husband were/are, and every day I try to be inspired by their example. Obviously, I’m with your wife on this one.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  19. I think the real question is what happens when your wife has woman-flu? Do you take over the tasks related to the hatchlings and making meals happen? Picking up the chores she usually handles without her having to ask, so she can rest? Or do you let her work through it?

    If you handle things when she’s sick, it’s FAR more likely that she’s going to take manflu seriously.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  20. It’s the same syndrome that cause men to end up in the hospital for abdominal surgery when the wife would just take a laxative and forget about it.

    Like

    Reply

  21. Loved this. Made me chuckle. The answer is simple though: because women understand childbirth. When that’s the woman’s ultimate experience of pain/ discomfort, everything else pales in comparison.

    Like

    Reply

  22. ‘Manflu!’ Nope! Never heard of it! I guess your wife have’t either. ☺. I do hope that you feel better. Drink some honey and lime. This caribbean remedy for flu.

    Like

    Reply

  25. Stephen, you have many intelligent followers who have laid out the main reason for you: women have a lot to do, and have to soldier on when they (literally) don’t feel like it.

    My husband is a lot better about supporting me now, but was clueless early on in our marriage.

    …Of course, there are still situations every few years like: his catching an honest-to-goodness stomach ‘flu the day I came home from the hospital with our fourth child. I’d had a C-Section. It was winter. A neighbor came to the door to explain that our sprinkler backflow preventer cracked and was spraying all over the front walk. Guess who had to take care of everything that night?

    Like

    Reply

  26. I have to admit, I am not so stoic when I am sick, either, so it’s a good thing I’m rarely ill. My husband makes me laugh when he has a cold or flu, because suddenly my strong, independent firefighter gets a bit sniffly and needy. The transformation is intriguing! 😊

    Like

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Please log in using one of these methods to post your comment:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

%d bloggers like this: