What is “man flu”?
BMJ 2024; 387 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.q2535 (Published 27 November 2024) Cite this as: BMJ 2024;387:q2535
This article has a correction. Please see:
- Carla Delgado, freelance journalist
- Manchester
- cmdtk24{at}gmail.com
As temperatures drop this autumn and people spend more time indoors, the occurrence of respiratory illnesses increases—and so do anecdotal accounts of “man flu.”
The term, which isn’t a clinical diagnosis, refers to the alleged phenomenon of men exaggerating the severity of their symptoms, in contrast to women carrying on as normal with the same affliction. It’s been portrayed in drug advertisements, sitcoms, and numerous comedy sketches as a cultural trope.
The concept of man flu is poorly understood, but it raises questions about sex specific responses to viral infections and is opening the dialogue on societal attitudes to illness.
Undefined
Studying the phenomenon has been challenging, partly owing to a lack of specificity in what it pertains to. Despite its name, the term “man flu” doesn’t refer solely to influenza infections. Both the Cambridge and Oxford dictionaries define it as a cold or a similar minor illness whose symptoms men exaggerate or treat more seriously.12 Man flu is widely regarded as an umbrella term for respiratory illnesses, referring to not only flu but also the common cold and rhinosinusitis—all of which are caused by different viruses.
As “man flu” is used to describe symptoms of a broad range of respiratory illnesses, it becomes difficult to make conclusions that apply to a general demographic. “I think that’s partly where the confusion comes, that when we talk about the word ‘flu’ we’re not just meaning influenza—we’re meaning all these different respiratory viruses,” says Peter Barlow, chair of immunology and infection at Edinburgh Napier University, UK.
Without knowing the particulars of man flu, examining its effects on …
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