It’s the season of sickness, and thanks to the never ending down pour of rain, getting sick comes in waves.

I would know, because I have been sick twice this school year- one after the other.

Although I hate being sick more than just about anything in this world, it seems that women handle being sick a lot better than men.

Men are usually seen as the more dominant species. The protector of all things; nothing hinders the almighty male.

Except for the cold, flu and the horrid sniffles.  Men are completely helpless when they get sick.

At first it’s kind of cute. They are vulnerable and need assistance. They call you, asking to bring them some tissues and soup.  And then it becomes downright pathetic. Now cue the begging, the droopy eyes and the inability to get out of bed. It’s exhausting.

For some strange reason, men just can’t seem to get well as fast as women can. It’s like there is a force field of sickness and nothing breaks through. Man’s stubbornness has manifested itself into the cold.

When men start to get sick, they think nothing of it.”It’s just a cough, I’ll be fine.” But as the week progresses, symptoms worsen and the pitiful child comes out. Men act as if they have never been sick before in their life.

I, and majority of the female population, tackle whatever symptoms we have head-on at the first sign. Being an already avid vitamin taker, I also increase my orange juice intake and make sure I’m drinking plenty of water. I also stock up on cough drops and my best friend, NyQuil.

Men are completely clueless with medicine. They know about aspirin and Tylenol, but they sure don’t seem to know about curing certain symptoms they might have.

The medicine aisle can be intimidating, so my guess is they just get frustrated and give up, thinking they don’t need it anyway.

It has to be a man’s stubbornness that bites him in the rear because they refuse to believe they are sick until they can’t get out of bed.

Then comes the moment that they give up all hope and mope about, all sad and depressed with sickness. Welcome to the pity party of one; bring your own tissues.

Some stoop as low as calling their moms. I can’t help but shake my head in disgust while I am able to get well on my own.

If men want to be cured as fast as they want everything else done, they should just go to that magical place…the doctor’s.

Ah, yes. The doctor. If I am still sick after a week, I go to a clinic because I understand I am not invincible and I can’t always get rid of whatever I have on my own.

I think that’s the problem men have. Being sick scares men because it means they aren’t invincible. Even something as minor as a cold or a slight cough can be the early stages of a disaster for your body. And heaven forbid they infect another man.

Men need to man up and accept the fact that yes, they can get sick. But also, they can get better if they stop being stubborn and pathetic and go to the doctor. Because if you don’t, you become that sad, dopy child I mentioned earlier. And that’s not really manly, is it?