One thing that has bugged me for a very long time is when I see people still saying that CFIDS or Fibro are a "woman's" disease. NO, this disease does not discriminate between genders. It also doesn't discriminate between ages. There are kids with this disease.
When I was in the early years of this illness, I went to a support group in NY and I met two men who were my age and both had CFIDS as severe as me. And the leader of the group was an older man who had it, too. I also met the mother of a seventeen year old male teen who said her son had it very severe and couldn't even attend the meeting.
Since then, I've met many men and women over the years who have this disease and the gender lines have been equal. So, I'd say, the press is what pushes the misconception of gender and disease.
I also suffer from cluster headaches and gout, and both of these have traditionally been pushed as being "male" diseases. Well, I'm female, and I've had cluster headaches half my life, and I've got gout in my big toe as I write this. These conditions do not discriminate between genders.
I really wish the misconceptions would clear up and people would understand that disease doesn't pick a gender and it doesn't pick an age. You can get sick at any time in your life, and it doesn't matter if you are male or female. Disease doesn't care.
When I was in the early years of this illness, I went to a support group in NY and I met two men who were my age and both had CFIDS as severe as me. And the leader of the group was an older man who had it, too. I also met the mother of a seventeen year old male teen who said her son had it very severe and couldn't even attend the meeting.
Since then, I've met many men and women over the years who have this disease and the gender lines have been equal. So, I'd say, the press is what pushes the misconception of gender and disease.
I also suffer from cluster headaches and gout, and both of these have traditionally been pushed as being "male" diseases. Well, I'm female, and I've had cluster headaches half my life, and I've got gout in my big toe as I write this. These conditions do not discriminate between genders.
I really wish the misconceptions would clear up and people would understand that disease doesn't pick a gender and it doesn't pick an age. You can get sick at any time in your life, and it doesn't matter if you are male or female. Disease doesn't care.