Men Lack Guts To Sort Digestive Health Problems

New research reveals today that when it comes to their guts British men are all talk and no action! Although British men seem quite happy to discuss their dodgy guts down the pub, millions are failing to recognise key symptoms which could indicate serious digestive illness.

25% of British men (just over 7 million) would ignore blood in their stools, 73% of men would not visit their GP if they had persistent diarrhoea, and 69% would not seek help if they had ongoing stomach cramps.

Last year 8.5 million bed days were lost to digestive operations, yet the majority of men still prefer to suffer in silence rather than seek medical help from their GP. In fact 40% of men would not visit the GP if they were suffering from any recurring gut-related problem.

The research, commissioned by Yakult to mark the 9th annual Gut Week (20 -26 Aug) – which aims to raise awareness of gut disorders, highlights that gut-related problems are still taboo and many ignore symptoms and fail to seek appropriate help and information. For both men and women it was felt that three of the top four most embarrassing symptoms to discuss were gut related – blood in your stool, diarrhoea, and constipation.

With men failing to heed the signs, it is left to their wives and girlfriends to look after them. 72% of women surveyed said they feel responsible for keeping an eye on their partner’s health. However, with women busy worrying about their partner and family’s health they often ignore their own - embarrassment is often an issue for women as 48% of women are embarrassed to talk about their health problems. There is also a risk of compounding further health issues as only 58% of women openly discuss all their symptoms with their GP compared to 73% men.

Professor Chris Norton from St Mark’s Hospital, Harrow says: “It is important for people to be completely open when they visit their GP and not be embarrassed about discussing topics such as bowel movement and stool colour. At St Mark’s Hospital we annually treat 20,000 cases, and nationally thousands of lives are saved each year because people have visited their GP to discuss their symptoms.”

Warren Alexander, Chief Executive of national digestive charity Core, the Digestive Disorders Foundation, said: “One third of the population regularly suffers from digestive conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, constipation, diarrhoea, stomach-aches, nausea and sickness. If these problems persist they could be an indicator of a more serious illness. There are many avenues available for people to seek help so there is no need to suffer in silence.”

Penny Nunn, Development Director at the IBS Network says: “The aim of Gut Week is to raise awareness of gut-related conditions and the importance of the gut. As so many people are embarrassed to see their doctor, the Gut Week campaign offers practical advice and information via a dedicated website at Guthealth.org.uk. As part of Gut Week we are inviting people to share their own experiences and seek advice from specialists via online forums.”

Gut Week is organised annually by digestive health charities Core and the IBS Network in association with Yakult. The campaign aims to raise awareness of the vital role played by the gut in overall health and offers sound, practical advice in order to enable people to take good care of their digestive system.

Find out more at Guthealth.org.uk.