List of illnesses that only affect the male gender

It comes as no surprise that most men dedicate more time and money on their cars than they do on their own bodies resulting to problems that could have been avoided with early detection. Our bodies are incredibly complex machines that require fuel components-food, water, and air to grow, function and repair itself.

 Like any other machine, the body requires routine maintenance to make it last a long time and to function well. Our bodies are exposed to accidents and other illnesses which should not be ignored.

Unlike women, men usually tend to hide their pain especially when they are sick. Just because they don’t get sick often, when they do it’s hard for them to accept that they need to go visit a doctor leave alone taking medication.

The same way you don’t ignore the engine light on your car, take cues from your body and act accordingly before it is too late.

Though not common, here are diseases all men should keep on their radar.

Bladder stones

According to US National Library of Medicine, bladder stones are hard pieces of mineral form in the bladder when urine is extremely concentrated. Less common than kidney stones, they can cause pain in the lower abdomen, pain when urinating, cloudy urine as well as pain in the penis.

Varicocele

This is an abnormal enlargement of the venous plexus in the scrotum similar to varicose veins that occur in the legs. It causes the plexus veins to drain blood from the testicles which affect blood flow to normal veins resulting in swelling. It can decrease sperm quality and sometimes infertility but not all varicocele cause infertility.

Male breast cancer

Mostly affecting women, there is a very small percent of men who can develop this disease. It is normally discovered when a lump is felt on the breast and similar to women, a mammogram will help diagnose. This can be due to high levels of estrogen, hereditary as well as gene mutation.

Testicular cancer

This is cancer of the testicles where there is usually a lump, swelling or pain in the scrotum. Affecting younger men who are between 16-39 years, routine examinations can help detect.

Color blindness

This affects most if not all men! They are not able to differentiate colors and this is known as the red- green color blindness. They often mix up all colors which have some red or green in it. This is a genetic condition inherited from their mothers.