Men's health: Essential But Ignored Aspect of Medicine

Jul 08 , 2022 | 1 min read

Every year we celebrate International men's day in November every year, as Movember. This occasion celebrates boys' and men's lives, achievements and contributions, particularly for their contributions to the nation, union, society, community, family, marriage, and childcare. But essentially forgotten is the health aspect.

This was initially started to raise awareness of men's health issues like Cancer, Testicular Cancer, and men's suicide. Moreover, Men's Health Month, which is celebrated in June, and National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, celebrated in September, have reemphasised the importance of men's health-related issues to the general public.

Men's health encompasses a spectrum, from young boys to the elderly. It ranges from psychosexual issues in young boys to urinary, sexual and intimacy issues in the elderly. This message is intended to remind boys and men that they can improve their health by taking medical advice and other important steps, such as staying active, making healthy food choices, quitting smoking, getting regular check-ups and taking care of their mental health.

Men have had a general reluctance to seek help from physicians and other healthcare practitioners when it comes to their own health. Unsurprisingly, in our country, life expectancy in women is 2.7 years higher than men.

Studies have detected an increase in the risk of future cardiac events in young men with erectile dysfunction (ED). This has essentially opened floodgates to thorough check-ups for a problem as personal as ED and led to early diagnoses of impending adverse cardiac events.

With advancing age, some men develop urinary symptoms but often ignore them or are mostly misguided. These are mostly due to enlarged prostate, but sometimes these could indicate growing cancer in the prostate. It is good to get yourself checked by a urologist and get proper treatment. Most enlarged prostates can be managed medically, and most prostate cancers can be literally cured if detected and treated early.

With advancing medical science and available resources in our country, essentially every medical/ surgical condition can be managed. So be a responsible person. Get yourself checked, and catch up with your symptoms before they catch up with you.