Man Flu Is Not A Phenomenon To Be Sniffed At!

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Survey discovers men most likely to suffer and those most ‘nurseable’

It’s bad news for engineers called Brian as they are set to be the most likely in the region to be struck by ‘man flu’ this winter, according to a recent survey. Surprisingly, builders are the fourth most likely profession to succumb, following hot on the heels of IT workers and customer service workers with accountants in fifth place.

The Fishermen’s Friend survey of more than 3,000 London women found that the typical British bloke takes an average of four days off a year with cold and mild flu symptoms – twice as many as women – costing British industry an estimated £4 billion.

Yet despite suspicions that their men are exaggerating their illness, one in three women will wait on their man hand and foot when he claims to have ‘man flu’, while one out of five will happily pick up the phone to tell his boss he’s too sick to work. One out of 10 women even takes time off to nurse their man better whenever he is ill.

Gordon Ramsay tops the women’s list of celebrities least likely to complain of having ‘man flu’, while Pete Doherty would be the first to play the sympathy card at the sign of the first sniffle. Chiswick’s Colin Firth tied with Daniel Craig in the list of celebs that women would most like to nurse better, whilst Wasps rugby star Danny Cipriani topped the list of the least ‘nurseable’.

When it came to Joe public, women thought that men called Alistair, Ben, Jack, Tom and – bizarrely - Victor are among those least likely to complain of the legendary condition.

A spokesperson for Fisherman’s Friend said, “Man Flu is fairly recent phenomenon that has emerged alongside the ‘metrosexual’ male. When Fisherman’s Friend lozenges were created in 1865 for the fishermen to help relieve the extreme conditions on their long voyages, men were real men. They wouldn’t have got their wives to call their captains to excuse them from their voyages because of a runny nose! Our motto is ‘the strongest there is’, something all these IT Brians should take note of!”

But it seems that women are quite happy for their blokes to show their sensitive side. Two out three quizzed said a man who could show his vulnerability and express his emotions was a real turn on – and a third said it was important that a man can openly cry.

October 2, 2008