My First Doctor’s Visit in 15 Years
One man’s take on why dudes avoid check-ups like the plague
Nine years had passed since I’d had health insurance, though it was at least 15 since my last routine check-up. I didn’t even know how to find my medical records. Because I just turned 40 and got insured through the Affordable Care Act, I decided to finally establish primary care and get blood pressure, cholesterol, and cancer screenings. “While you’re there,” my girlfriend Rebekah advised, “have them check your toe.” I had a bum toe. It hurt but I’d worked around it for two years. What I called ‘busted’ was probably arthritis, not that I had ever said the word ‘arthritis’ out loud.
Men stubbornly resist information and treatment for the short-term gain of autonomy and convenience — as if by avoiding the details of our lives, they won’t affect us.
According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, 85% of men in the U.S. seek treatment when they’re sick, and a full 15% avoid treatment even when they’re ill. But most doctors will tell you that American men, far more than women, avoid the doctor and routine physicals with a devious cunning. It isn’t because we’re tough or less susceptible to illness. It’s because we’re…
