With father’s day celebrations just around the corner and men’s health week taking place, it is a great time for all men to consider their health and wellbeing at this time.
Men’s Health Week 2018 is currently ongoing and the Irish Pharmacy Union are urging men to utilise the convenience and accessibility of local pharmacies to tackle niggling health worries.
As we all have a tendency to delay medical concerns for copious reasons, the Irish Pharmacy Union has urged men, especially during this time, to speak up and ask questions about their health.
Men’s health week organisers have a universal goal in mind - to improve men’s wellbeing both mentally and physically. With this, they are asking men to do at least one practical thing to improve their own health and stick to that change.
Whether that be visiting a pharmacy and asking questions, choosing a healthier diet, meditating or even simply going for a walk, this will better any individual’s wellbeing.
Community pharmacist and IPU Member Tomas Conefrey, in regard to how a pharmacy can help men, said, “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”.
Mr Conefrey explained that your local community pharmacist is a qualified health professional that will offer advice to what will suit you. Whether it is medication, a change in lifestyle or simply to avoid certain foods, opening up about any symptoms you may have is essential for better health.
“We know from our own experience that men are reluctant to talk about their health. By talking 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”, concluded Mr Conefrey.
This is especially relevant considering 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 atwww.mhfi.org/mhw/mhw-2018 html, on Facebook at MensHealthWeek, and on Twitter @MensHealthIRL.
