17 Nov, 2021
It’s a common stereotype that men don’t go see
doctors to check on their health as often as they should, and rather wait
until they feel severe symptoms. Unfortunately, that stereotype is true and is
putting many men’s lives at risk.
To find out more, The Avenues Insider decided to ask a number of men "Why do you believe men don't get periodically checked?". We wanted to understand if men simply didn't care or if there were underlying reasons preventing them from going. Here are the responses we got:
“It’s the
culture. Back then, a man’s masculinity would be questioned if he showed signs
of pain and went to the doctor”, said Ahmed AbuDorra. The majority of men, and
especially those who have a traditional definition of masculinity, were most
likely taught not to act soft and get checked every time they felt something
wrong, consequently, they would only get checked if they felt seriously ill.
“Why don’t you
tell us what we should do? Are the test results (especially those advertised as
deals) accurate and from proper labs? Which labs are recognized here in Kuwait?
And what do we even need to get checked, other than diabetes and kidney
functions?” said Yasser Mostafa.
We found that a
large number of men expressed concerns about the accuracy of the validity of
the tests and that they were not informed enough and would use that as an
excuse to avoid getting checked.
“Basically, we’re scared of getting into the vicious cycle of
getting checked and potentially finding something wrong, it’s a headache.”,
said Sameh Monier. Many men have agreed that in addition to the other reasons,
men are actually scared of the diagnosis and its consequences. “Saying that we
don’t have time and have other priorities would be us fooling ourselves, the
fact of the matter is we’ve been raised that way, and we’re scared to find out
that there is something wrong with us, and that’s why we don’t get regularly
checked.” Explained Amr Alaa.
One of the men we asked, Alsayed Ismael, said “A full checkup
costs anywhere from 50 to 75 KWD, and that’s just not an amount many could
afford to pay on a regular basis.” A majority agreed that the cost of getting
checked is too expensive and that men have too many responsibilities,
especially married men, so they prioritize these costs for their families and
neglect their own health in the process.
