How much do you know about your body?

When it comes to our health we think we know what’s what, don’t we? A one size fits all approach. If we have a headache we take paracetamol or drink more water, if we cut open our finger, its patched up with a plaster and anything else it’s down to the doctors or A&E if it’s serious. In short the intimate aspects of our body are best left to those professionals who are trained and paid to deal with such things.

However according to new research most British are ignorant of their bodies inner functions. Only one fifth of peopled surveyed said they felt ‘in-tune’ with their bodies functions. 1000 men and 1000 women were surveyed by Onepoll on behalf of Balanceactiv, an ‘intimate health’ brand. The survey aimed to ‘highlight the importance of understanding our intimate health’ according to Balanceactiv’s marketing manager, Anne Dawson.

The figures certainly highlight our ignorance of our intimate health. 40% couldn’t tell the difference between their kidneys or their liver and quarter of people surveyed couldn’t explain the differences between veins and arteries. Ignorance of our bodies continues further still, a quarter of people surveyed didn’t know whether females have a prostate gland and 25% of both men and women had no idea what a prostate does. That’s an embarrassing fact right there.

If and when we feel the need to seek advice, most people surveyed said they would confide in their partner about their intimate health, however a third of men and women would rather see a GP, but only after waiting a week or two to see if the condition improved.

Dr Sarah Jarvis, GP, sums up our ignorance of our bodily functions; “This lack of awareness could suggest we take certain functions for granted.

“Having a basic understanding of how our bodies work can help us notice any changes that may require some medical advice to help us get back on track,” So ignore that funny tummy or that banging headache at your peril. Ignorance is bliss, or maybe not.