Men tend to die earlier than women, are more likely to die from eight out of the ten top causes of fatality in the U.S. than females, and are also more likely to smoke and drink excessively.
Researchers guess a mix of factors are involved in men’s earlier fatalities, including the fact that humen tend to take more hazards, are less socially connected, and have more dangerous tasks than ladies. But there’s another very straightforward, easy to fixing problem: Humankind simply don’t go to the doctor as much as women do.
Men are half as likely as girls to go to the doctor over a 2-year period, according to 2014 survey data collected by the U.S. Middles for Disease Control and Prevention. They were also more than 3 times a likely to admit going more than five years without a visit. And finally, humankinds were more than twice as likely to say they’ve never had contact with a doctor or health professional as an adult. Ever.
A new online survey commissioned by the Orlando Health hospital system hints at why boys may be so reluctant to see doctors. According to the survey makes, a mix of busyness, panic, dishonor and inconvenience kept them out of the doctor’s office.
Meet medical doctors trying to sound the alarm about men’s health
The Orlando Health hospital system commissioned Harris Poll to conduct the survey to raise awareness about men’s health issues during National Men’s Health Week. Dr. Jamin Brahmbhatt and Dr. Sijo Parekattil, two men’s health activists who founded Orlando Health’s Personalized Urology& Robotics Clinic, are taking the results of the survey results on the road to encourage men to face their fears about medical doctors and make a call that could save their life.
Called “The Drive For Men’s Health, ” the doctors are currently on a 10 -day, 6,000 -mile trip across the country to motivate boys to start taking their health severely. It’s the third day they’ve taken their message on the road.
Like “the mens” he’s trying to reach, Brahmbhatt admitted “hes having” some of the same anxieties and insecurities that comprise people back from a trip to the doctor’s agency — particularly fears about the rectal exam or being naked in general. As a doctor getting healthcare from research hospitals he works in, Brahmbhatt owned up to nervousness about the fact that he was going to appear sans gasps in front of a colleague.
“You’re get some of the most sensitive parts of your torso examined” he told The Huffington Post. “But we, as physicians, are very[ aware] about the sensitivity in some of these private organs, so we’re not out to hurt you.”
There’s likewise no doubt that these checkups can save lives. One of Brahmbhatt’s patients, a man named Steve, was in framework shape because of his undertaking as a firefighter and commitment to workout. But when Steve noticed a lump on his testicle, he chose to ignore it at first. And where reference is finally did show up at the agency, Brahmbhatt examined the bump, ordered tests and eventually diagnosed him with testicular cancer.
“If he had waited another six months or a year, it would have definitely spread to the rest of his body, ” Brahmbhatt said.
How often should a human go to the doctor, anyway?
How often a boy should go for a preventive checkup depends a lot on age and health, which accounts for the complex medical screening guidelines. Men need to meet with their primary care doctors to come up with a checkup schedule tailored to their health and lifestyle. Your doctor will come up with an individualized program with you based on the following guidelines 😛 TAGEND
Every 2 years …
Men ages 18 to 39 should have their blood pressure checked every two years, but if it reaches a certain threshold, it should be checked yearly.
Every 3 years …
Men ages 45 and older should be screened for diabetes every three years, but if they are overweight the screening should start at a younger age.
Every five years …
Men over age 35 should be screened for high cholesterol and heart disease prevention every five years, but if they have diabetes, they should be screened more often.
Men with no family history of colon cancer or polyps should be screened for colorectal cancer every five to ten years between the ages of 50 to 75, but the screening should start earlier if they do have a family history.
Now …
No matter what your age, if you haven’t been to the doctor as an adult, go as soon as possible, Brahmbhatt mentioned. Together, you can work on a schedule for preventive screenings and doctor’s visits tailored to your age and health in order to protect what he called your most “priceless possession.”
“You can’t move rent another body and you can’t go apply someone else’s torso, ” Brahmbhatt concluded. “It’s all you have, so why not take good care of it as you do everything outside your torso that has a price tag? “
Of course, the patriarchy is at least partially to blame.
Men experience very strong, clear messages about how they’re supposed to display their masculinity and disguise their vulnerability, and pretty much everything about going to a doctor’s office runs against these rigid gender role norms, mentioned prof Glenn Good, an expert on masculinity and the psychology of men at the University of Florida. Good was not involved in the survey, but used to say research results did not surprise him.
“Going to a physician involves a couple of things that may seem uncomfortable for men, ” Good mentioned. “They don’t want to ask for directions and they don’t want to have to consult an expert about something that they know less about.”
And while the face of torso shame are liable to be girl, as wives come under extraordinarily heavy criticism for their appears and weight, that doesn’t mean boys don’t struggle with other expectancies of what their bodies should look like. This could explain some men’s reluctance to find out their weight in the doctor’s office, Good said.
Men need to re-think their notion of strength if they want to feel comfy about going to a doctor, he advised. A genuinely strong, healthy person espouses routine health care, health consultation and daily healthy habits to truly safeguard his body, Good mentioned — not just his own self-image.
“The metaphor of a tree is a helpful one, ” he said. “A genuinely strong tree can flex and bend in the wind, but a tree that are actually rigid and stiff is more likely to get snapped.”
Do you avoid going to the doctor? Tell us why.
Graphics by Alissa Scheller for Huffington Post.
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