Anecdotally Men can find it more difficult to access support for their Health and Wellbeing, we aim to help all of our people to feel comfortable to access the support that they need.
Seeking help is not a weakness, and in fact, you are being proactive in managing your health and wellbeing. Early access to treatment can mean that your symptoms are easier to treat whereas a delay can often mean that your symptoms may become more serious or more difficult to treat.
Here you will find some specific tools and signposting to services that provide specialist support for Men’s Health.
DIY Man MOT
Your car needs a regular MOT, but what about a MOT for yourselves? Men’s Health Forum provides a DIY Man MOT tool, they promise it doesn’t involve any spanners and is a free health check.
Testicular Health
There can be lots of possible causes of pain in the testicles and it is important to get this checked out with your doctor. For further information including when you should access medical help straight away see Testicle pain – NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Lumps and swellings are not usually caused by anything serious, but you should always get these checked out by your doctor. Lumps or swellings could be a sign of testicular cancer so for information on the things to look out for see Testicle pain – NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Further information on testicular cancer can be found at Testicular cancer awareness | Health Information | Bupa UK
Further information on men’s health initiatives can be found at Men’s health guidance | NHS Employers
The Oddballs Foundation is a charity that was founded in 2015 to raise awareness of mens health. Their ambassador programme involves going into educational and work place settings to raise awareness.
Further information on the Oddballs foundation can be found here: https://theoddballsfoundation.com
Prostate Health
As you get older, you may notice some of the common symptoms associated with prostrate problems which can include:
- Needing to pee more often or more urgently, or needing to pee during the night
- Trouble passing urine or a week flow
- Feeling like your bladder hasn’t emptied properly
- Dribbles of urine after you have finished
- Pain when you pee
It is important to have these symptoms checked out with your doctor. It is likely that your doctor will examine you and will arrange for some tests to be carried out.
Your symptoms could be due to an enlarged prostrate, or an infection, or less commonly, prostate cancer. In the UK, prostate cancer is the most common cancer found in me, but it is very treatable, especially when caught at an early stage.
For further information and to check out your risk factor click here Prostate Cancer UK | Prostate Cancer UK
To find out about a variety of support networks and information, including Prostate Cancer UK’s specialist nurses able to take calls Monday-Friday 9am-6pm - click here
Mental Health
ANDYSMANCLUB are a men’s suicide prevention charity, offering free-to-attend peer-to-peer support groups across the United Kingdom and online. We want to end the stigma surrounding men’s mental health and help men through the power of conversation. #ITSOKAYTOTALK
ANDYSMANCLUB has over 120 free support groups nationwide, running every Monday from 7PM except bank holidays. In these groups, men can open up about the storms affecting their lives in a safe, judgement-free and non-clinical environment. Our clubs are designed to be free of pressure, there is no obligation for men to speak, they can simply listen if they wish.
ANDYSMANCLUB takes its name from Andrew Roberts, a man who sadly took his own life aged 23 in early 2016. Andy was a lovely and doting father, son, brother, grandson, nephew, cousin and friend, and was just 23 years old when he was taken away by suicide, sadly and tragically without warning.
On average one man every two hours takes his life in the UK. It’s often said to be a factor is that men don’t talk. That’s why ANDYSMANCLUB was born. Established in 2016 by Luke Ambler, Andy’s brother-in-law, the aim of the club is to break down these stigmas, support men struggling, and lend a hand to suicide prevention.
That change starts with you… Andy’s Man Club | #ITSOKAYTOTALK | Andy’s Man Club (andysmanclub.co.uk)
