A survey reveals this week that the majority of UK men over 30 years visit their GP half as often as women, with 64 percent of men turning to the internet for medical advice.

Research conducted by Tickbox.net on behalf of Pfizer, one of the largest research-based pharmaceutical companies, surveyed 1,307 men over 30 years of age from across the UK. Volunteers were asked how they seek health advice and their habits surrounding health.

The survey suggested men visit their doctor on an infrequent basis, with 38 per cent saying they went to their doctor less frequently than once a year. The study also claims men only visit a GP if they have been feeling ill for more than a week.

However, men over the age of 55 are much more likely to visit their GP, with over half attending at least once every six months, according to the survey.

Almost a quarter of men would go to their GP if their wife or partner told them to. Additionally, around three quarters of men would talk to their partner first if they had an embarrassing condition.

The most embarrassing conditions for men were, sexually transmitted diseases, defined by 73 per cent of men surveyed. Impotence or erectile dysfunction (ED) came as second most embarrassing condition, followed by 44 per cent who referenced piles (haemorrhoids).

Men over the age of 45 consider erectile dysfunction to be much less of an embarrassing condition than men in their thirties or early forties, with an average 56 per cent of older men believing it to be embarrassing, compared with 69 per cent of under 45s.

Experts estimate that there are as many as 4 million men in the UK who suffer from erectile dysfunction, and 2.3 million say they are ‘bothered’ by the condition. A report released in April 2007 suggested stress was a major cause of ED. Read more: Erectile Dysfunction Blamed on Stress.

The survey also claims that most men refer to the internet for medical advice, especially if the condition is viewed as embarrassing.

"Men should be reminded that buying medicines via the Internet without considering consultation is no substitute for an accurate diagnosis by a health care professional of what may be a serious, underlying medical condition,” says Professor Ian Banks, President of the European Men’s Health Forum.

Read More:

Sex: the Hidden Diabetes Casualty

Spot Sexually Transmitted diseases

Herbal Alternatives for Piles

Men’s Health: Top Killers Whatever Your Age

Prostate Cancer: What Everyman Should Know

NHS Direct