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For the second time in two months my other half has been struck down with a terrible illness and today it is so bad he had to come home early from work. The first time round I also caught this so called flu, felt sick for 3 days but still managed to go to work as well as spend several hours doing the gardening and then the cleaning afterwards. He drifted around the house for over a week leaving piles of snotty tissues everywhere and going to bed for naps while I was busy outside. Other male friends of ours who caught the same cold spent up to two weeks drifting back and forth between their beds and sofas, or so I'm told.

I know most people get ill, and some people can handle it better than others, but after 6 years of this I would really like to find a way to keep him on his feet and just stop him from, well, stopping everytime he gets a sniffle. How do you motivate someone with manflu?

(ps: sorry if the term "manflu" gets some peoples gears grinding but I really don't know what else to call it, he has no underlying health issues so there's no reason I know of why a simple cold should render him unable to go to work.)

It is impossible to know how ill someone else is feeling. If you think he is over egging the pudding, encourage him to see a doctor. I'll admit the term "manflu" does irritate me: a friend of mine was constantly being told to "man up" and "get over it" every time he felt unwell. Turned out he had prostate cancer, but was avoiding going to see a doctor despite increasingly distressing symptoms because he didn't want to be seen to be making an unnecessary fuss

People are different - does your man have good qualities to make up for this? I don't think there is anything you can do directly. Nagging certainly does not help.
However, if he is ill he has to carry the consequences. No alcohol (that makes it worse) nor sweets or coffee or the like; only fruit and -juices, and plenty of raw garlic of course! Walking in the fresh air helps, computer games are detrimental. If he behaves like a child, why not treat him like that? I'm sure he will appreciate some good advice ...

Women!!!!!!

Manflu is the last bastion. It is our final place of retreat. Leave us to sniffle in peace!

I agree with Jon that men not going to the doctor is probably a bigger problem than men making too much fuss. Memories of how worried my mum was as she rushed my dad to hospital with a piece of swarf in his eye that had been there all day or the time he passed out at the dinner table and complained at us afterwards for making a fuss and calling the doctor - given that he looked like he'd had a stroke, we probably should have called the ambulance. (It's not just my dad, I've heard this from various GPs and public health types as well).

As for colds and flu, my approach is to take myself to bed and give my body every chance of fighting the bugs off quickly, rather than endure the long siege that comes with trying to soldier on.

A big flask of fresh ginger, Lemon, Honey and spice tea. Add a dried chilli when pouring in the boiling water, and then, depending on how sadistic you're feeling, either take it out, or leave it in.

After drinking the whole flask the manflu will either be disappearing quick, or the man will be jumping up to get some milk...

I do actually make this tea if I have a cold, but I take the chilli out as soon as the water's gone in :)