Gastro Issues in Men
Men usually suffer less from gastrointestinal diseases as a whole. There are few GI diseases where men lead ahead of women. The most important are related to alcohol consumption and it’s ill effects on liver and pancreas causing life threatening diseases like liver cirrhosis/hepatitis, acute and chronic pancreatitis. According to studies 25% of the men suffer from some gastro issue or the other ranging from acidity, GERD and acid reflux, however they tend to ignore their signs and symptoms and the issues tend to get aggravated.
Symptoms of gastro diseases:
Common symptoms of alcohol related liver diseases are jaundice, ascites, GI bleed, encephalopathy and liver failure. In case of pancreatitis one can have severe abdominal pain, diabetes, oily stools, and the disease may affect other organs like lung and kidneys which increases the severity further. Most of these diseases are non reversible, once they happen they will decrease the life expectancy and quality of life significantly.
The worst part is for all these diseases there are no specific therapy, except for supportive treatment doctors cannot do much. So only thing that is important is complete abstinence from alcohol at the earliest. Yes some will say it is not an easy job, but can be done easily by seeking psychiatric consultation, only thing that is needed to stop alcohol or any addiction is the will to quit.
Common gastro issues that men suffer from:
The following are the most common gastro issues that most of the men suffer from. This should also be noted that although they are routine, but if they are ignored for long, they can cause irreversible complications.
- Ulcers due to eating spicy and oily food
- Constipation due to lack of fibre in diet and the intake of more processed food items
- Food poisoning due to intake of unhygienic food
- Acidity and GERD reflux
Men need to pay more attention:
Men being more ambulatory are exposed frequently with communicable diseases and unhealthy food. So they should take care and maintain healthy practices when not at home.
Men should bear in mind that our life is not ours only, whole family is dependent on us. So we must follow a very healthy lifestyle and keep not only our gut but entire body fit. So please exercise regularly, meditate, eat healthy, quit alcohol/smoking, adopt healthy sexual practices, get screened for HIV/HBV/HCV, vaccinate yourself and entire family for HBV and other preventable diseases.
