Men should take one small step to improve their health by asking their local community pharmacist about any outstanding issues that they have put on the long-finger.
During last month’s Men’s Health Week, men were being asked to do at least one practical thing to improve their own health. The Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU) is encouraging men to utilise the convenience and accessibility of their local pharmacy, and ask about any niggling health issues.
Community pharmacist and IPU Member Tomas Conefrey says, “A quick private conversation with a pharmacist could mean the difference between a problem being addressed while it’s still curable, or it being allowed to fester with the consequential impact on health and wellbeing”.
“Your local community pharmacist is a qualified health professional who can offer advice at a time that suits you. We know from our own experience that men are reluctant to talk about their health.
“By opening up more about how they feel and any symptoms they are experiencing, men are more likely to identify health issues early, maximising the chance of a problem being resolved before it becomes untreatable”, continued Mr Conefrey.
Research in Ireland has shown that Irish men have higher death rates than women for all of the leading causes of death, and that late presentation of symptoms leads to many problems becoming untreatable*.
Men’s Health Week is coordinated in Ireland by the Men’s Health Forum in Ireland. Find out more about Men’s Health Week at www.mhfi.org/mhw/mhw2018.html, on Facebook at MensHealthWeek, and on Twitter @MensHealthIRL.
