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| Why Many Men Refuse to Visit a Doctor ? |
Why Many Men Refuse to Visit a Doctor ? Why Men stay away from their doctors ? Why men hide information from doctors ? | Men's Health
For the fourth year in a row, the Cleveland Clinic launched its MENtion It campaign, a push to connect men with their doctors and discuss their health.
As part of this year's campaign, their survey asked men how they coped with their medical care.
Results found:
- 72% of respondents said they would rather do housework like cleaning the toilet than going to the doctor.
- 65% of respondents said they avoided going to the doctor as much as possible.
- 20 percent admitted that they are not always honest with their doctors about their health.
- 37% said they had withheld information from their doctors in the past, especially because they weren't prepared to face the possible diagnosis that might result if they told the truth.
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All this medical avoidance and concealment put men at risk. But what is behind it and how can society work to better address it?
Why men stay away from their doctors ?
Mike Gonitecki is a firefighter and paramedic who recently told Healthline that he initially refused to take male patients to the hospital even with an active heart attack.
"I had to beg family to convince the patient to come to the hospital with us," he said.
Sometimes I've even called the doctors in the emergency room to persuade the patient to come to the hospital with us.
Having witnessed this extreme avoidance of treatment firsthand, she says many men simply have an "I don't need to see a doctor" attitude.
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One reason for this attitude, Gnitecki explains, is that many men are convinced that their condition will improve on its own, not wanting to "annoy" a doctor in the meantime.
Dr. Tisha Rowe, founder of the RoweDocs telemedicine network, says there are often other things that contribute: fear, superhero syndrome and the fact that "the illness is bad."
According to Rowe, a general care physician, males avoid doctors primarily out of fear. "They fear a poor prognosis or a poor result."
Then there's the superhero syndrome, which Rowe explains is men wanting to see themselves as strong and capable of handling anything. "They see going to the doctor as a weakness."
And finally weakness. "Weakness is bad," Rowe said. "Men don't like to be weak."
Fear of impotence can extend to a variety of problems, he says, especially sensitive ones like erectile dysfunction. These are often things that men simply prefer to avoid, although talking to a doctor can potentially help.
Why men hide information from doctors ?
Then there are men who will go to their doctors, but who withhold information or willfully lie about their current health status.
Dr. Nikola Djordjevic, a physician and medical consultant, adds that some men act in this way out of fear of receiving a humiliating diagnosis and occasionally due to the stigma many men hold: that they should be capable of handling situations on their own.
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While men and women experience various societal stigmas when seeking medical care, Djordjevic said that women "tend to be more responsible when it comes to health care."
Rowe agrees with this statement, saying that male patients are more likely to withhold information.
"It is easy for women to open up because they are accustomed to discussing personal information with acquaintances.
However, it can be difficult because men are not socialized to talk about their sentiments "She spoke.
The dangers of avoiding doctors
According to Djordjevic, the consequences of delaying treatment or withholding information from a doctor can be dire.
He said, "I believe the problem number is missing the early indicators of a more serious disease. Particularly when it comes to "silent symptoms" like a pre-diabetes diagnosis and other chronic medical illnesses that need to be treated right away.
He also uses prostate cancer as an example, which can be found by a straightforward physical examination. Patients who receive an early diagnosis have a considerably better prognosis than those who seek medical attention too late.
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Men may be in considerably poorer health when a disease is discovered as a result of delaying those checks than they would have been had they gone in early and frequently.
Unfortunately, because to delays and denials, sometimes the sickness is no longer treatable by the time they arrive, according to Rowe. They might have to face with outcomes including limb amputations, dialysis, and occasionally death.
Source : www.healthline.com
