06 Oct Men – Man up!!!
Just been reading a research paper on symptoms awareness in the over 50s. I’m afraid it is just confirmation of what we see at Openhealth Clinic all the time.
11,000 men and women aged 50 and over, were asked about their knowledge of diseases and what makes them go to their GP. Worryingly 41% of men didn’t know the symptoms of prostate cancer. Similarly, they didn’t have the same awareness as women of lung cancer, dementia, osteoarthritis and skin cancer. In fact the vast majority of men only visited their GP when prompted by their partners or family members. I thought one of the most interesting results was that if a new “lump” was found, although 82% of females would attend their GP, only 59% of males would.
This is somewhat stereotypical, but two classic presentations at Openhealth. The first, female, presents with a three day history of lower back pain. “It’s not agony, but I just wanted to get it checked out”. Probably one or two visits, patient symptom free. The second, male, presents with right shoulder pain. “How long have you had it?” “Not too long, maybe two, three…. years!!” During that time there has been huge amounts of compensation leading to secondary injury as well as the actual primary shoulder issue. Definitely not two or three visits and may end up needing surgery.
No Comments