I was talking to a friend one day on the phone.
Friend: Oh, I'm at home today!
Me: No work? Why?
F: 'Cause H is sick.
M: What? Flu?
F: Yah, says going across the road to NTUC is like 10 kilometres. Got to cook for him.
M: ...... I don't think I am suited to married life, sorry.
F: You're just saying that, but if you got married you'd do the same.
M: No, I do not think so. Even if I was married, I wouldn't take a day's leave to stay at home to look after someone with the flu.
F: You sound like Sumiko Tan.
Ms Tan aside, this is the first time I have actually encountered the urban myth. That's the one where men, when they have a cold, are reduced to invalids, so much so that they think they are dying. The affliction is pejoratively termed "man flu". There's even a website devoted to offering help and advice to the "poor victims".
When I am sick, I go to the doctor. This happens more often now that I am accorded 14 sick days each year and given no incentive even if I do not activate any of them.
When the flu strikes, a medical certificate is key in avoiding the ridiculous air-conditioning. And if you live alone, medication is key in preventing a little cold from developing into full blown pneumonia, especially in the ridiculous winter.
So how do men who live alone cope, if they are reluctant to visit the doctor and have no one who'll coddle them? Let's call Mother?
Fortunately, researchers have come to their defence. Blame it on ... evolution?
Man flu is no myth as scientists prove men suffer more from disease
Man flu is not a myth, claim scientists, who found men suffer more because they invest in their spirit of adventure at the expense of their immune system.
Well, I've got 3 days of "family care leave". After that, you're on your own.
