Call (805) 338-7727 to speak with a licensed insurance agent.

Call (805) 338-7727 to speak with a licensed insurance agent.

Why Don’t Men Go to the Doctor?

Posted by Elana Foxx, January 15, 2020

If you’re a married woman, you might have wondered why it is so difficult to convince your husband to go to the doctor. Or, if you’re a man, you might feel very resistant to the idea. Is this just a myth? Or is it true that men are less willing to schedule an appointment with their physician?

Actually, it’s true: A recent study by the Cleveland Clinic discovered that only about half of men receive regular checkups, and 72 percent said they’d rather clean the bathroom than visit their doctor’s office.

By why are men so resistant to medical care? The Cleveland Clinic survey found that men listed the following reasons for their reluctance:

  • Some don’t like talking about their health
  • Haven’t always been completely honest with their doctors (one in five)
  • Embarrassment or discomfort around personal issues, like urinary problems or erectile dysfunction
  • Don’t want to be told to change their diet or lifestyle
  • Not ready to face a frightening diagnosis
  • Feel “judged” by their doctors (one-quarter of men reported feeling this way)

It’s important to remember that these feelings are common and normal, but giving in to them won’t exactly make health problems disappear. They simply prolong diagnosis and make conditions potentially harder to treat.

As for “embarrassing” conditions like erectile dysfunction or urinary problems, these can be signs of a serious problem. Heart disease, uncontrolled diabetes, or prostate tumors can lie at the heart of these issues, so hiding these symptoms out of embarrassment can actually endanger a man’s life.

Men should seek a routine annual checkup after age 50, and routine screenings such as colonoscopies and PSA tests should be scheduled according to the patient’s individual risk factors.

And remember, it’s okay to try a different primary care physician. You should be comfortable with your doctor. If a particular professional doesn’t feel like a good fit, it’s perfectly acceptable to “shop around”.

Need more information on your insurance options?

Contact us online to learn more

Contact Us

Close Accessibility Tools
Accessibility Controls Reset
Content Adjustments
Font Size

Default

Line Height

Default

Content Scaling

Default

Highlight Titles
Highlight Links
Highlight Forms
Align Left
Align Center
Align Right
Focus Mode
Color Adjustments
Desaturate
Monochrome
Contrast

Default

Saturation

Default

Accessibility Statement

Despite our attempts to make this website accessible for everyone, there may still be some pages or sections that are not completely accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or do not have a suitable technological solution to make them accessible. Nevertheless, we are always striving to enhance our accessibility by adding, updating, improving its options and features, and incorporating new technologies.

We want to provide our users with the best experience possible, so we strive to support as many browsers and assistive technologies as possible.

If you wish to contact this website's owner, please use the contact form on the website.

Our User Interface Adjustment Options

Font adjustments - With this tool, users can modify font size, style, letter spacing, and line height for improved alignment and readability.

Color adjustments - Users can customize their color contrast profiles to light, dark, desaturated, and monochrome.

Content highlighting - Users can prioritize key elements such as links, forms, and titles.

Content focus - Users can enable focus mode to highlight the current page information based on their mouse movement.

Close