Three steps to a healthier husband

Follow these steps to help your husband stay fit and healthy

Step 1

Organise check-ups and screenings

This is a tricky one. Most women are used to having checks and screening but for men it's quite different. Unless their workplace requires a full MOT or they see the GP for another reason and he does a routine blood pressure and diabetes check, health checks will be unfamiliar territory. So here are the options he needs to know are available.

See the GP Department of Health guidelines suggest that everyone over 40 should have a cardiovascular risk assessment based on blood pressure, cholesterol, lifestyle factors, family history, exercise and smoking. This combination of factors will enable the GP to assess the risk and suggest lifestyle changes and treatment if necessary.

Ask your pharmacist Many now offer free blood pressure checks, and finger-prick testing to check for diabetes. Some will even do a full heart risk assessment.

Go to a Well Man clinic These are centres where men can have a health MOT to pick up any current or potential future problems. Most clinics offer a selection of tests from blood pressure, cholesterol, height and weight checks to hearing and vision, and heart and lung function tests. Well Man clinics are run by GP practices, hospitals and private health organisations.

Do-it-yourself health checks

The Men's Health Forum suggests a series of simple DIY checks that every man can do at home.

Weight Two-thirds of men are overweight. Encourage your partner to calculate his body mass index by dividing his weight in kg by his height in metres squared. An ideal BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9, 25 and over is overweight, 30 and over obese.

Waist Tummies are the most dangerous place to carry extra weight. A tape measure is more accurate than relying on trouser size. A waist measurement over 94cm (for men) increases the risk of heart disease and diabetes - the higher the measurement, the greater the risk.

Skin Look for new moles or moles/freckles that change size, shape, bleed, crust or itch, which could be a sign of malignant melanoma. More women develop melanoma but more men die from it - largely due to delayed diagnosis.

Testicles Feel them regularly to notice any lumps or changes that develop. Cancer is most common in the under-35s but can affect men of any age.

Blood pressure Once your blood pressure has been checked by a professional, invest in a home monitor to keep an eye on it. Visit www.bpassoc.org.uk for details.

 

What you can do

Suggest that you make appointments for checks for both of you - many of the health issues that affect your partner are vital for you as well.

 

Step 2

Address your lifestyle

The messages for men are exactly the same as for women: more exercise, less stress, better diet, moderate drinking and no smoking. Here are the basics that every man needs to know.

Exercise Although more men than women take regular exercise, that still leaves almost two thirds of men who don't do enough to benefit their health. Numerous benefits include a reduced risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke, certain cancers, weight control and relief of anxiety and stress.

Smoking This causes a third of cancer deaths, a quarter of heart disease deaths and four-fifths of deaths from bronchitis and emphysema. NHS help to quit is free and comes in all forms: groups, written motivators, texts, emails and helplines. Visit gosmokefree.co.uk or call 0800 169 0169.

Diet Like everyone else, men need to eat more fruit, veg and oily fish, and less saturated fat, salt and sugar. Too much salt will drive  up blood pressure, too much fat furs up arteries, while fruit and veg are protective against stroke, heart disease and certain cancers.

Alcohol Moderate drinking may reduce the risk of heart disease and help you live longer, but drinking above safe limits (more than 21 units a week or 3-4 units a day) can damage virtually every organ in the body.

Stress Research shows a strong relationship between long working hours and ill health. High stress levels have been shown to lower immunity and may increase the risk of a range of diseases.

What you can do

Take the lead by making healthy changes for yourself and your man may follow suit. US researchers at Yale and Duke Universities found that spouses can inspire each other to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Spouses were five to six times more likely to stop smoking and drinking, and 50% more likely to start exercising if their partner started doing so.

Step 3

Deal with scary symptoms

If you find a lump in your breast or develop bleeding between periods, your first instinct is to call the GP and make an appointment to have it checked out. Don't assume that your man will do the same. He may simply ignore it and hope it goes away of its own accord. So here are the scary symptoms that need immediate attention.

Chest pain that feels like a heavy weight or a squeezing sensation that comes on during exertion and eases off when you rest. Often confused with indigestion, crushing chest pain or angina develops when not enough blood is getting to the heart because the arteries are furred up.

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is one of the hardest things for men to talk about but vital to get checked as most cases are due to a physical rather than a psychological problem. ED is often a warning of a serious, underlying problem such as diabetes or heart disease but many men don't realise this.

Urinary problems such as difficulty passing urine, weak flow, hesitancy, urgency and increased frequency especially at night could be symptoms of an enlarged prostate or, more rarely, cancer.

Increased thirst, tiredness, thrush infections and weight gain can all be symptoms of type 2 diabetes - and the risk is greater in anyone who is over 40, overweight, sedentary and has a family history of the condition. Diabetes can cause severe complications including blindness, kidney failure and nerve damage. On average, women have type 2 diabetes for two years before diagnosis, while men have it for 10. And the longer you have it, the greater the risk of complications.

Bowel problems including a change in bowel habits and blood in the stools that persist for longer than a few weeks should be investigated. Bowel cancer is the third most common cancer in men. For more information visit www.bowelcanceruk.org.uk.

Symptoms of depression - If men find it hard to talk about physical problems, mental ones are a complete taboo - yet rates of depression in men are rising. Be alert to loss of interest in life, difficulties with concentration, feelings of sadness, feeling worthless, difficulties with memory and concentration, loss of appetite, sleeping difficulties or suicidal thoughts.

Any other unusual symptoms that persist, sores that don't heal, new unexplained lumps, recurrent pain, coughing up blood, blood in the urine, difficulty swallowing, unexplained weight loss or a nagging cough or hoarseness.

 

What you can do

Don't scare him or be critical about the fact that he's ignored the problem and let it fester. ‘The more scared men are, the longer they will take to do something about it,' explains Dr Banks. Be factual, practical and suggest he calls a GP to make an appointment - or you could offer to do it for him. 

Over 80% of visits by men to their GP happen only because their partner told them to make an appointment 10% of men are too embarrassed to discuss health issues with a doctor.

Click here to read about men's health.

 

Subscribe - SAVE up to 43%