Partner has a cold - but he’s not dying !

[bagpuss90]

So he has a cold - yes colds are not nice. But it’s not flu , it’s just a cold . He’s been in bed all day. Already said he won’t be going anywhere this weekend. He’s feeling so sorry for himself. I’ve had colds when the kids were small and had to soldier on. I still do. He’s virtually calling the undertaker ffs. I’m not unsympathetic- I’ve got him paracetamol , strepsils and so on- but bloody hell . This is a light hearted post - but aibu to find him a bit cringy ?

I used to work in the health service. A woman doctor was annoyed that her husband doctor had 'man-flu'. He died 2 days later. He really was ill.

YABU I have a cold too, if there was any way that I could have spent today in bed I 100% would have done! fuck knows how I'm going to do everything I need to do tomorrow!

I have voted you are being unreasonable as I had a cold a couple of weeks ago and felt horrific!! So there is a nasty one going round.

In general, men suffer from respiratory bugs more than women, it's to do with the effects of inflammatory effects testoserone (&or possibly adrenaline) & also the lack of mitigating effects of estrogen iirc. It was highlighted during covid where men were more likely to suffe & die more frequently due to contracting the corona virus.

Something for ye MNs to consider in future perhaps, before berating your OH for being seemingly 'too much' under the weather due to a cold or flu.
I.e. manflu is actually a medical phenomenon!

https://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/features/truth-about-man-colds

Is he wearing the dressing gown of doom ?

Hmmm - now I feel a bit bad…..

Ahh don't worry, just a difference in the immune response of the sexes really. I suspect very few knew of this difference before covid, & the majority are still probably unaware.

Tell him to take his temperature every 10 minutes and tell you about. That’s what i do

I am always laughing inside at people claiming they "can't leave the bed" when they have the flu, so I would just ignore your husband 😂

I know flu can make you extremely ill, I had it, but rarely that bad that you need a bed pan or wouldn't be able to escape the house in case of a fire.

I have a cold, not even flu, and yesterday I bent over to pick something up, my vision went black and I almost collapsed but just managed to right myself in time. It was like I was melting into the floor! I have left the bed but not sure it was a good idea!!

Wow!! For the first time I saw some neutral responses on mumsnet!!

OP, if he feels that poorly, pls get him checked. A new variant of COVID is going around.

It’s really hard when men are sick and “can’t” do anything, while women have to carry on when we feel like garbage… There has been some research that suggests something in our biology makes it so that men genuinely handle even minor illnesses worse: something to do with women needing to survive illness while pregnant or something, I don’t remember exactly. I’m choosing to believe that rather than my DH is just a shitbag letting me cater to him and DD while I’m suffering the same degree of illness.

Boy who cried wolf. If they didn't make such a song and dance about a cold we might take them seriously when they're really ill.

Something for ye MNs to consider in future perhaps, before berating your OH for being seemingly 'too much' under the weather due to a cold or flu

Funnily enough, the guilt trips don't work.

gamerchick · Today 19:48

ProudCat · Today 17:41
I used to work in the health service. A woman doctor was annoyed that her husband doctor had 'man-flu'. He died 2 days later. He really was ill.

gamerchick · Today 19:48
Boy who cried wolf. If they didn't make such a song and dance about a cold we might take them seriously when they're really ill.
-----

Well aren't you just lovely @gamerchick!? 😡

Colds can make me feel proper nasty too

Agreed my OH has to feel really ill not to be up with the lark so I cut him some slack.

I did not know that about the different reactions between men and women. Thank you!

If someone has the energy to feel sorry for themselves, they're ok

Not when it comes to blackmail posts I'm not, no.

When I first moved in with my ex and he got a cold, he was positively joyful that his mother would come, put him to bed and wait on him hand and foot. The disappointment was palpable.

Some men just milk it. It's why we've got the universal dressing gown of doom, the little weak voice and the little cough the vast majority recognise in our own men when threads are posted about it.

My OH definitely gets them worse than I do

So many threads started on here recently where the responses go the opposite direction to standard Mumsnet route.

Dh is like this but also won’t go to bed. He lies on the couch so that a/ we can all catch it and b/ everyone can hear him snivel and see how terribly unwell he is.

fwiw dh once was pretty seriously unwell. He should’ve went to hospital earlier but didn’t because he’s hopeless but crucially because he acted exactly the same with that as he did when he had hayfever or a cold.

hoody of doom ✔️
hoody pulled tight with drawstring ✔️
much sniffing ✔️
coughing and retching loudly ✔️
sipping of water slurping loudly ✔️
sighing ✔️
more sighing ✔️
yet more sighing ✔️

I depends on the person and the type of cold. I rarely get ill but when I get a very bad one I'm vvv ill and a cold is like flu and I can't function. Only thing I can do is sleep it off. I've also had light summer colds and just functioned as normal. Dh colds even the bad ones are long and ongoing but he can function when I'm floored. The fact that your dh was in bed maybe it was a bad case. Keep getting the liquids in and sleep it off. Hope you don't get it