Mens Health Blog. Medical Blog

posted by admin on May 21

Hepatitis A (infectious hepatitis) is transmitted through personal contact, or through contaminated food or water. The incubation time for the disease is 4-6 weeks. The illness tends to be more severe in adults.

Hepatitis B (serum hepatitis) is transmitted in children mainly via needle injuries. Children in institutions are also at slightly greater risk of being infected. In adults the risk is greatest amongst drug users who share needles.

All forms of hepatitis present a similar clinical picture, although hepatitis A tends to be more sudden in onset than hepatitis B. With hepatitis A, the child usually experiences initial symptoms of tiredness, fever, nausea, loss of appetite, vomiting and diarrhoea. The skin may feel very itchy, and the abdomen may be a little swollen and sore, especially over the upper right side overlying the liver. After several days the urine may appear to be darker and the skin take on a yellow tinge (jaundice). Convalescence may take several weeks. If your child has hepatitis B, he may at first complain of aching joints and may have a skin rash. Hepatitis B tends to be more severe than hepatitis A, and the clinical features tend to develop more slowly.

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posted by admin on May 19

When sex education and love education fail, there are clear signs of such failure. They are all very, very important signs of problems for the developing young person.

Drugs: There is no high like the high of intimacy with another person. When that high is not available, it may be sought elsewhere, and that elsewhere might be drugs. Moodiness, changes in eating habits, anger without explanation, pallor, darkened circles beneath the eyes, withdrawal, defensiveness, and marked personality change are some of the signs of drug use. There are others, but I believe that our society’s failure to help our young people become sexual people plays a major role in their turning to artificial and deadly ways to get high. The war on drugs must be accompanied by an emphasis on teaching loving and intimacy. We are leaving our children with nothing to do with their developing sexuality. If we don’t teach them safe means of sexual self-expression, they may find other, dangerous ways to express themselves.

“Just say no” has been the new major campaign against dru{ use. It will never work. The issue is, What can our developing young people say yes to? How can they safely say it? Both answers relate as much to sexuality as any other aspect. A society thai campaigns against sex, drugs, and violence, but fails to teach sexuality, love, and tenderness, is running a dishonest and ineffective campaign.

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posted by admin on May 18

SCORING: 3—ALWAYS 2—USUALLY 1-SELDOM 0—NEVER

1. I feel I must respond sexually to my spouse’s advances.

2. I try to match my response to my husband’s, faking if I have to.

3. When I start to feel very good sexually, start to really get involved in the sexual experience, I get distracted by my spouse’s response.

4. I find that if I am too active in my sexual motions, it tends to cause my spouse to lose control of his sexual response, sometimes making him come too soon.

5. My orgasms are characterized by a throbbing in the vaginal area.

6. When I have not had sex in a long time, I tend to be more easily aroused.

Why Wives Have Too Many Orgasms    

7. I experience some physical discomfort when I have sexual intercourse, g. I try to “match” my response to my spouse’s, and if he is tired or wants to suspend sexual interaction, I go along.

9. I have trouble letting go and getting lost in my orgasms, usually trying to “come” like my husband “comes.”

10. If I don’t feel contractions in my vagina, I don’t feel as if I have had a really complete sexual experience.

11. My orgasms are essentially the same no matter what type of sex I am having (coitus, oral sex, masturbation). Whatever the source of stimulation, I essentially climax the same way.

12. As I get older, I notice that my orgasms are less intense than they used to be. The throbbing is less intense and there are fewer throbs.

13. I notice that my lubrication is less and less reliable than it used to be.

14. I feel a “turn-taking” in our sex, so I must have orgasm first and then he takes his turn.

15. Before orgasm, I feel warm and close in our lovemaking, but after orgasm, there seems to be a distance between us.

16. I have trouble “getting over the edge.” I seem to get right to the point where I could come and then it is difficult for me to go the rest of the way.

17. I hold back during sex. I might want to talk, groan, or say loving things, but I have trouble expressing myself during sex.

18. If I have masturbated, I feel some guilt, and this can even extend to my sex with my husband.

19. I feel that sex is focused on my breasts and in my genitals. I feel reacted to in parts, not “me.”

20.    I feel “worked on” during sex, rubbed and stimulated to get ready or to

get “there.”

Thirty-five or more points on this test, and it is likely that you are not experiencing psychasms but orgasms, working toward physiological reflex in response to genital or breast stimulation.

Remember that the object of this test is to promote discussion with your partner, not replace one set of expectations with another. Super marital sex depends on being open to the gift of complete erotic response with someone else, not on living up to the new goal of psychasms instead of orgasms. Orgasms are reflexes. Psychasms are emotional and conscious experiences related to a freedom from “organ reflex.”

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posted by admin on May 18

Dental amalgams, whether gold or silver, contain mercury, one of the most toxic metals to our body. Having amalgam fillings, is like having a constant supply of toxic mercury, released slowly but constantly.

Removal and replacement of amalgam fillings instantly removes the source of mercury supply, however the mechanical removal process itself (drilling) can temporarily increase the concentration of mercury in your body.

When you decide to replace amalgams, make sure that you are already on the detoxification program and that you tell your dentist to apply a lot of suction during the removal process, reducing the concentration of mercury vapours.

Note, that it may take a considerable amount of time for your body to neutralise and excrete the mercury that has accumulated in your body over many years.

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posted by admin on May 15

The most commonly accepted theory is that it is due to an infection with an unknown virus during childhood in genetically susceptible individuals.

It is believed the virus lies dormant for many years before either directly or by some immune process causing the disease.

The half-closed eyes of the late Aristotle Onassis were very obvious in most published photographs of him.

Those eyes are probably the commonest sign of the disease from which it is alleged he suffered — myasthenia gravis.

This unusual disorder occurs in all races and in both sexes. It is characterised by abnormal muscle weakness which tends to affect one group of muscles more than others.

The cause is unknown but it is thought to be one of the auto-immune diseases, where the body, as it were, becomes allergic to its own tissues and makes antibodies which fix on and then destroy those tissues.

The thymus seems to be somehow involved in the disorder. This poorly understood organ lies in the upper chest, in front of the heart and lungs. It is large in childhood and slowly decreases in size, so as to be hardly noticeable when the chest of a mature or elderly adult is opened at operation or autopsy.

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posted by admin on May 15

The coming of winter is dreaded by those who suffer from chilblains.

Chilblains, or perniosis, is one of those minor illnesses which are not regarded very seriously by doctors, but which can cause severe discomfort to the sufferer.

This condition is due to the action of cold, damp weather on skin which is particularly sensitive to its effects.

The superficial blood vessels in the skin appear to be over-sensitive to the cold. They dilate, and the blood does not flow fully through the tissues, which then suffer from lack of oxygen.

The skin develops blotchy red or bluish areas which thicken, and are usually intensely itchy.

They occur on the exposed parts of the body, such as the nose, the hands, the feet and lower legs.

The disorders of superficial circulation such as chilblains appear to be much more common in women than in men, but why they occur at all is not fully understood.

Sometimes the skin breaks down over the chilblain and ulcerates, due either to scratching or to lack of nutrition from poorly circulating blood.

This may lead to secondary infection, and in treatment it may be necessary to use antibiotics both locally and generally.

In treatment, however, the most important element is to keep the affected part warm, and this can be done by the wearing of gloves, thick socks, stockings or boots.

The direct application of heat, such as exposing the part to an open fire or radiator, only makes the condition worse.

Drugs, unfortunately, are of limited use.

Calcium, either in tablet form or by injection, has long enjoyed a reputation as being useful in treating chilblains.

How it acts is not certain, although some people do obtain considerable relief.

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posted by admin on Apr 28

Symptom

Flat, dome-shaped, or protruding skin growths that can be up to a centimeter long and vary in color

Home care

If a mole requires treatment of any kind it will be necessary to see a doctor.

Precautions

-    A doctor should see any mole that is bleeding or crusting, changing color, or growing rapidly. The doctor should also be consulted if a mole has been partly removed by accident, or if the color is extending into surrounding skin.

-    Most moles are noncancerous. However, a type of mole known as pigmented nevus can become cancerous; this mole (unlike other types) is present at birth and is dark in color and very large.

-    Moles cannot safely be burned off by the following methods: electrocautery, acids, dry ice, or liquid nitrogen. The doctor must remove them completely, if necessary, with a scalpel.

-    No child is completely free of moles; some children develop many of them during childhood.

Moles are benign (noncancerous) growths on the skin. They can be flat, dome-shaped, or protruding. They vary in color from tan or brown to blue or black, and in size from one-half to one centimeter or larger. Moles are rarely present at birth; they develop during childhood. No child is totally free of moles, and some children develop hundreds of them.

It’s very unlikely that any mole will become cancerous (malignant). However, one exception to this is a type of mole called a pigmented nevus. This mole, which is present at birth, is extremely large (several centimeters wide) and dark and a mole of this type can become malignant.

Signs and symptoms

Moles are easily recognizable, but if the doctor is in any doubt about a growth on the skin a laboratory examination of part of the growth may be necessary. Examination of an entire mole under the microscope may be needed.

Home care

If a mole requires any kind of treatment, it will require medical, not home, care.

Precautions

A mole should be seen by a doctor if:

• It has been partly removed by accident;

• It is bleeding or crusting;

• It is changing color or growing rapidly;

• If the pigment (color) is moving into the surrounding skin.

Medical treatment

If the mole shows any of the characteristics listed above under “Precautions,” the doctor will remove the mole surgically. Any pigmented nevus probably should be surgically removed because of the possibility of a malignancy. Moles must be removed completely with a scalpel. The surgery will leave a scar of some sort. Moles cannot safely be burned off by a procedure called electrocautery, or by acids, dry ice, or liquid nitrogen. Moles are sometimes removed for cosmetic reasons.

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posted by admin on Apr 23

•    Although no one knows quite why it should be, hypertension is much more common in fat people. One study of 10,940 hypertensive patients found that 60 per cent of them were overweight. Hypertension does, of course, occur in thin people but it is almost unknown in cultures where all the population is thin. Often, mild blood pressure can be treated simply by losing a stone or two. Certainly preventing obesity also helps prevent high blood pressure. This starts at the cradle. Breastfeeding exclusively for at least six months and then weaning on to unrefined, whole-foods rich in dietary fibre will prevent many children from becoming obese. It is during these rapid-growth early years that obesity sets in, mainly because of poor eating habits and even an addiction to sweet, refined foods. These habits are difficult to change later in life and almost inevitably produce obesity.

A study in California looked at twenty-five obese hypertensives and after only a twelve-week weight-reducing diet found a significant decrease in blood pressure to within the normal range. Furthermore, few (only about a quarter) of the subjects reduced to their ‘ideal’ body weight but the reduction they did achieve was enough to reduce their blood pressure to normal. They found that a 10-30 per cent reduction towards ideal weight was enough to lower blood pressure significantly. Interestingly, such losses in weight reduced the blood pressure of all the obese subjects whether or not they started out with high blood pressure.

•    Several studies have suggested that salt added to food during cooking or at the table is responsible for much of the hypertension we see in the West. However, a great deal of salt (probably the majority) is added during food manufacture and processing and we have little direct control over this hidden salt (especially in cured and processed foods). This is a real danger. Get used to reading labels and avoiding pi ducts where salt comes high î the list (ingredients are listed in order of weight in the product Buy salt-free products if possible. Unfortunately, even drinking water can be very rich in sodium (salt). A Massachusetts study found that a particular town had a very high level of sodium in the drinking water. Even high-school students in this study had raised blood pressures, and it was found that the water they drank accounted for 40 per cent of the difference in total salt intake between these children and those of a neighboring town.

•    When cutting down salt do it slowly over a month or two, first by not adding salt during cooking. Use a salt shaker with smaller holes for adding salt to food at the table, and over 6-8 weeks use less and less. Once again, prevention starts in the cradle. Discourage children from eating salty foods and wean them on to salt-free foods whenever possible. Research suggests that children have already acquired a taste for salt by the age of two.

Interestingly bound up with the salt story is potassium-another essential mineral. Potassium is vital for the transmission of messages in nerves, aids digestive enzymes, and is essential in muscle function. Sodium and potassium are intimately interlinked within and outside cells, and the balance has to be finely maintained if we are to remain healthy. A study at the London Hospital Medical School showed that potassium seemed to act as a shield against sodium-induced hypertension. In the first study sixteen people with mild hypertension and a group with normal blood pressure ate one diet for a twelve-week period, and then a different diet for the next twelve weeks. During the first twelve weeks both groups ate their normal diet plus sodium tablets. During the second period the normal diets were supplemented with potassium and they were asked to avoid salty foods and not to add salt.

The high-sodium diet produced a slow rise in blood pressure in both groups. But with potassium and a low-salt diet both systolic and diastolic pressures fell sharply and significantly in the hypertensive group-in contrast to an insignificant rise in the normal group! A month after the study ended both groups went back to normal eating. The hypertensive blood pressures shot back up again. This rise was explained by the researchers as due to the poor levels of potassium in their food rather than the marginal rise in sodium (salt). Other research found that if you have a family history of blood pressure you are especially likely to be sensitive to the blood-pressure-lowering effect of potassium. Such people develop the condition when the potassium in their diets falls below a certain essential level. Fruits and vegetables are among the best sources of potassium so this could be yet another advantage of a high-fibre diet. Particularly rich sources are potatoes, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, wheat germ, dates, chicken, salmon and halibut. A banana contains 350 mg potassium and only 1 mg sodium. A glass of pure orange juice contains 180 mg potassium and only 2 mg sodium.

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