Why do women over-function in the face of illness, and why do men sometimes under-function?
Abby Delouya
This year’s flu season has been rough. With viruses like Covid, RSV, flu, and the common cold running rampant, we might be playing pass the Kleenex for another couple of months. Here’s the question: Why do the same viruses often affect people so differently?
Yep, we’re talking about the “man cold,” and it needs no further introduction. In fact, when I googled “man cold” there were over five billion search results. It’s so ubiquitous that the term officially appears in both the Oxford and Cambridge Dictionaries. Not that I need Google to tell me that the man cold is real… as is the wife’s very irritated response to it.
I remember meeting a friend once who was obviously under the weather — her puffy eyes, pale skin, and croaky voice told me everything. “Shevy, go home and go straight to bed!” I implored.
“I can’t,” she croaked. “I’m meeting the plumber in ten minutes at the supply store.”
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