June is Men’s Health Month and June 12-16 is Men’s Health Week at Partridge Street General Practice. Men are important and Health is important so let’s look at some issues in Men’s Health.
First up was Alcohol.
Then came Nutrition.
Now Smoking.
In life we all face challenges. Men face challenges – we have to be providers, to be strong, to keep our emotions bottled up. Challenges are faced with solutions…or avoided with distractions. Smoking is unequivocally a distraction from the challenges of life. Many patients say to me that they smoke because they’re bored or because it’s ‘their time’. Lets try another way. It’s healthier, you’ll live longer, and be fitter. You’ll also have more money, smell better, and be more attractive.
What can Your GP do to help you give smoking the boot? We ask you about your smoking, get an idea of how much and when you smoke, and then go into why you smoke. What does it do for you? We can then help by offering some solutions rather than distractions. Counselling, Psychotherapy, Hypnosis, and medications are all options we can explore in person. Remember, smoking is addictive, and many people will not quit for good the first time they try. Your GP knows this and won’t give up on you. We can abandon a plan, but we won’t abandon you.
Ask
Assess
Advise
Assist
Arrange Follow Up
Sit down. Have a think about how much you smoke (and what you smoke) and why and when you smoke.
From the Men’s Health Week website:
A boy born in Australia in 2010 has a life expectancy of 78.0 years while a baby girl born at the same time could expect to live to 82.3 years old. Right from the start, boys suffer more illness, more accidents and die earlier than their female counterparts.
Men take their own lives at four times the rate of women (that’s five men a day, on average). Accidents, cancer and heart disease all account for the majority of male deaths.
Seven leading causes are common to both males and females, although only Ischaemic heart disease shares the same ranking in both sexes (1st). Malignant neoplasms of prostate (6th), Malignant neoplasms of lymphoid, haematopoietic and related tissue (7th) and Intentional self-harm (10th) are only represented within the male top 10 causes.
The above figures are taken from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Furthermore, there are specific populations of marginalised men with far worse health statistics. These marginalised groups include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men, refugees, men in prison or newly released from prison and men of low socioeconomic standing.
Men’s Health Week has a direct focus on the health impacts of men’s and boys’ environments. It serves to ask two questions:
What factors in men’s and boy’s environments contribute to the status of male health as indicated in the table above?
How can we turn that around and create positive environments in men’s and boy’s lives?
We’re going to ask and answer those questions this week. Stay with us online and in person – we’ve got your back!
Your GPs at Partridge Street General Practice
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