FIRST AND FOREMOST, MY APOLOGIES TO THE MALE SPECIES
no offense is intended.
In my experience, having a cold puts Men in two categories.
THE FRAUD
At the first sniffle, they’re reaching for the Lemsips and won’t believe you when you say it’s hay fever or a change in temperature. Toilet roll won’t do for their delicate noses, so it has to be the added expense of the aloe balm tissues. Extra blankets and a hot water bottle are added to the bed to help them ‘sweat it out’ at night whilst you are swimming in perspiration beside them if you haven’t already melted and slithered out of the bed altogether. Cologne of the day is courtesy of some form of vapour rub which makes YOUR eyes water and if you’re not careful, they’re likely to OD on cough mixture. It doesn’t matter either that it’s the middle of Summer.
You are expected to wait on them with unending sympathy, prepare special meals to tempt their appetite, provide countless cups of tea or coffee, and make sure there are new batteries in the remote for the telly so that they don’t have to get up to change channels. If there’s a TV in the bedroom, you’re saved as at least they’re out of your way and you can ignore the little bell they’ve found to attract your attention, saying you couldn’t hear it over the hoover. Sadly, if you are still only a one telly family, they are huddled up on the settee swathed in the duvet and pillows feeling decidedly sorry for themselves. You can’t go anywhere or do anything on your own as they are convinced they’re at death’s door and need you immediately at hand in case of an emergency (another cup of tea). In the end it’s no wonder they drive you positively NUTS.
Come on ladies, hands up how many of you have been there?
Then of course you get the other side of the coin.
THE ‘IN DENIAL’ GUY
You know the type. He who won’t let a snotty nose and raging temperature get the better of him. They may unwittingly infect everyone they come in contact with, and get cross with you when you voice your concern, continuing to go about their usual routine because they somehow feel it’s expected of them. It just isn’t the done thing in their book to give in to what’s nothing more than a simple cold and the most medication they’re likely to take is a couple of paracetomol, but even then that’s under protest.
These guys are more than likely to be suffering from the genuine article but refuse to acknowledge that fact. They will struggle on, taking little to relieve the symptoms, and if asked, insist they are OK and there’s nothing to worry about. They only realise that it’s a little more serious when they suddenly find themselves flat on their back and weak as a kitten. Hopefully, someone (you) will be around to help them. Once confined to bed and feeling absolutely lousy, they are likely to do as they’re told and stay put rather than let you see them at their bunged up, blotchy faced worst. Somehow their macho image is shot to hell and the less people to witness it the better.
The problem is, we love our men don’t we, and when they’re not feeling one hundred percent, we want to look after them and spoil them a bit until they feel better. It’s part of being a couple, looking after your mate. Some men relish being pampered whilst others just want to be left alone to get on with it. However, it doesn’t matter if your partner is a fraud or in denial, we can usually tell when they’re really not well and determine just how much TLC is warranted.
pensitivity101 