The vexing issue of whether man-flu is real or not was discussed in the Christmas edition of the authoritative British Medical Journal last year.
Dr Kyle Sue, a clinical assistant professor at Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada, concluded the concept of man-flu, as commonly defined, was potentially unjust.
“Men may not be exaggerating symptoms but have weaker immune responses to viral respiratory viruses, leading to greater morbidity and mortality than in women,” he wrote.
Dr Werner Strydom, from Circular Health, said: “It has been postulated that because of the different hormones men and women have, men have stronger immune response to the virus and can experience flu in a more severe way.
“Or maybe men just like being taken care of once in a while?