Approaching Flu Season: Do Men Really Get Sicker Than Women?

A survey conducted by the 'onepoll' website aimed to determine who gets sicker: men or women? The survey revealed some interesting findings, with the main one being that indeed, men tend to complain more when they are sick, but in reality, they miss work almost as much as women do.

The survey was conducted with 1,000 men and women who were asked about their general health condition and how it affects their work.

Findings indicated that in terms of suffering, men (34%) claimed they suffer more than women, and 28% said they ask their partner to take care of them when they are sick. On the other hand, regarding absenteeism from work, they (33%) were absent in similar proportions to women (30%). Additionally, it was found that men notify work slightly quicker than women when they are sick, doing so a day after symptoms appear (45%), while women wait two days (44%).

The survey further examined the sick days taken by men and women. On average, both men and women miss two workdays each time they are sick.

Participants were also asked which symptoms annoy them the most when they are sick, with a blocked nose (23%) and runny nose (22%) topping the list, while a sore throat was only in third place (16%).

In terms of treatment, it emerged that most patients (61%) prefer acetaminophen, with throat lozenges being the second choice (51%). The next option (48%) was a specific cold and flu symptom relief medication.

What do people eat when they are sick? Most prefer tea (41%) or soup (36%), and their favorite activity while ill is... getting plenty of sleep (59%).