A&E departments up and down the country are reporting record numbers of middle aged men crowding corridors with serious sniffles and occasional coughs searching for spare gurneys to flop on to.
'The Christmas break is when we expect the worst, when the stress of loading the dishwasher finally breaks the immune system,' said a consultant today. Apart from the stats provided by Health Trusts, there are other strong indicators such as the meteoric rise in 'man-size' tissues, up 200% year on year. 'That may be distorted by the year-on-year increase in downloaded porn, though.' suggested a market specialist.
Women are urged to avoid contact with diagnosed Man Flu patients as contact may result in a little irritation and a need to share the hot water bottle.
'The crisis is usually over by the morning of New Year's Eve,' said the A&E consultant. 'When the patients realise that the booze won't buy itself and that their wives can't be expected to supervise themselves preparing enough food for half the street,' he added.
