The blog is about health and gives useful information on health and disease.

Radical prostatectomy is certainly not a new cure for prostate cancer; it’s been around since 1904. There are two versions of this operation—the perineal approach, and the retropubic approach. The radical retropubic prostatectomy used to be notorious among surgeons for the extreme bleeding that went along with it, and both of these procedures used to have two devastating side effects— impotence and incontinence.

That picture has changed. The last fifteen years have seen dramatic improvements to the retropubic approach, based on new understanding of the prostate’s anatomy. The development of new techniques has lessened the awful blood loss, and the operation has become far safer for patients. And, with what surgeons call “a bloodless field,” it’s now possible for them actually to see what they’re doing—a major improvement! In the process, critical structures can be looked for and saved that previously were unrecognized and damaged as surgeons blindly felt their way. More precise techniques have reduced the likelihood of troublesome urinary incontinence to about 2 percent (and even those 2 percent aren’t incontinent all the time). New anatomical discoveries also have made it possible for surgeons to preserve potency in the majority of men.

And perhaps most exciting, better understanding of the anatomical terrain means surgeons can now remove more tissue along with the prostate than anyone ever thought possible—which improves the operation’s chances of cutting out all the cancer.

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Masters and Johnson found that simple advice on and attention to technique, such as in the list below, provided the answer for one in eight of their so-called ‘infertile’ patients.

Excessive exercise and jogging have been associated with subfertility and so should be moderated.

Y-fronts-To function effectively the testes need to be cooler than the rest of the body so it is sensible not to wear Y-fronts which prevent the testes moving downwards when hot.

Miscarriage-Even if fertilisation and implantation are achieved the foetus may still be lost. In fact up to three-quarters of all conceptions are lost, usually without the woman even knowing she had conceived.

Loss of the foetus later on is a more obvious miscarriage and has a much more profound effect on a woman and her partner. Ironically, even though Nature seems to reject so many foetuses we humans too add to the number by electing to terminate unwanted pregnancies. The active process by which we do this is called abortion.

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Some men suffer from a delay in reaching orgasm and cannot ejaculate with their penis in a vagina. Some can be masturbated or fellated to orgasm by the woman if they withdraw, whereas others cannot be brought to orgasm by a woman at all, by any means, and may not be able to ejaculate if a woman is even in the same room. Some men who are successfully treated for premature ejaculation then suffer from retarded orgasm and vice versa. The majority of the partners of such men are distressed by it. Some women conclude that they have over-stretched their vagina during masturbation or childbirth and that this is the explanation.

However, the problem sometimes presents itself directly in the form of complaints that the vagina is too large or too wet or that the penis, or some portion of it, has lost its sensation. Some men in this group are discovered to compress their penises tightly during masturbation. They have simply mis-trained themselves and now cannot respond without tight penile pressure. Others complain of intense penile pain, which they naturally want to avoid, at orgasm. In all such cases intercourse or pleasure is being avoided in order to reduce anxiety.

Diabetes and various drugs can be the cause in men who complain of a lack of sensation, but more often their ultimate unconscious need is to deny that they are having intercourse. It is only by doing this that they can function at all. Some, who unconsciously equate genital fluids with excretion, want to avoid soiling the woman and others unconsciously equate the woman with their mother. Their response is not to stop sex with her but not to ejaculate inside her. Others who, it is easily imagined, were rebuked and punished by women — sometimes even by older sisters — for genital activity in childhood, are simply afraid to lose control and reach orgasm in the presence of a woman.

Relatively inexperienced men who have this problem say that at some point during intercourse the whole business loses its excitement and that distracting thoughts enter their minds. The explanation is that as their level of pleasure and therefore, to them, sinfulness, rises, so does their anxiety, so reducing the pleasure. Some maintain their erection and others simply lose it. Although most, but not all, men enjoy intercourse more if the woman also moves her pelvis, this activity or what she says can be the distraction which intrudes into the man’s mind. It increases his self-awareness and thereby his anxiety about what he is doing.

Various fears can cause the same problem, although they may only be vehicles for yet deeper fears. These include a fear of making the woman pregnant, a fear of VD or AIDS and fears about other men with whom the woman has had intercourse. Thinking about other men makes him jealous or makes him worry that her previous lovers were better endowed sexually than he or were better lovers.

Treating the underlying cause, together with re-education, a decrease in anxiety, a reduced emphasis on orgasm, and an increase in penile pleasures and eroticism, all with the involvement of the woman, with the aim of increasing the efficiency with which the man responds to her manual or oral stimulation, forms the first stage of treatment. Once the woman can reliably bring the man to orgasm she, without saying anything, can on occasions, when he is near orgasm, quickly get on top of him and thrust rapidly so as to make him ejaculate in her vagina. Usually his perceptions change and his anxiety falls.

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This is extremely pleasant for both partners and many women who cannot have an orgasm in any other way often do so with their partner caressing their clitoris with his tongue. There is absolutely nothing revolting or dirty about kissing a woman’s genitals. Either lie between her open legs with your head coming from below or crouch over her with your penis on her upper chest or face and kiss her vulva like this. It helps to have a pillow under her bottom to raise the whole area slightly and to prevent you from breaking your neck! Lick the whole of the vulval area with your lips and tongue and dip your tongue into the vagina and stroke it upwards towards her clitoris. Caress the clitoris with your tongue as if you were using a finger and keep doing what she likes until she climaxes. Most women who have orgasms in other ways, and many who otherwise would not have had one, have extremely good orgasms from such oral caresses. There are lots of other positions (such as sitting on a chair or kneeling on all fours) in which you can kiss your partner’s vulva, so experiment and find what you both most enjoy.

In spite of this a word of caution is necessary since oral sex is a common area of conflict. Some women regard their vulvas as smelly, germ-ridden and revolting, and do not like their man to use his mouth there. Even if they do go ahead, a sign that this is so is that they dislike him kissing them on the mouth afterwards. Some men have a similar view. Some women feel the same about sucking the penis, especially if she suspects the man of wanting to ejaculate in her mouth.

Oral sex with a casual partner about whom there is uncertainty is potentially dangerous because, contrary to earlier opinions, it is now thought AIDS can be transmitted this way. There is an increased chance of AIDS being transmitted in this way from an HIV-positive man if the woman has recently cleaned her teeth because there will be tiny abrasions on the gums through which the virus can enter her bloodstream.

Apart from this the only danger in cunnilingus arises from blowing air into the vagina. Several women have died as a result due to the air reaching the bloodstream.

Cunnilingus: Not all men enjoy doing this to a woman and not all women enjoy having it done, yet it is an increasingly popular type of foreplay. Some women can have an orgasm with a man only in this way.

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A woman’s sex organs are rather more of a mystery than a man’s because many of the important parts lie inside the body and so cannot be seen, and even those that are outside are not easy to look at. As a result some women have some very strange notions about their sex organs. In addition to these problems a woman’s vagina lies only a matter of centimetres away from her anus (back passage) and so may become mixed up in her mind with dirt and stools. Also, of course, girls in our society are brought up to be more ashamed of their genitals and this is another reason why many claim never to have looked at their vulvas even though they very much wanted to. A woman who has irrational fears and suspicions about how she is made will not function well sexually and her partner will not be allowed or encouraged to enjoy her body as he should.

Breasts and sex-During the earliest phase of sexual arousal the first visible sign that anything is happening is that the nipples become erect. This comes about as the tiny smooth muscles in them contract. One nipple often erects before the other and erection can occur without physical stimulation. Stimulation either by the woman herself or by her partner usually hastens erection but is not essential. The nipples increase in length and diameter as the woman becomes more excited and blood collects in and around them. This mechanism is rather like that which causes the penis to become erect. As the woman becomes more aroused the whole breast swells and she may have a measles-like rash on them and over her chest and neck.

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This lasts from about the age of fifty until the death of one of the partners. It is usually a phase of togetherness and increasing satisfaction. The couple have no fear of pregnancy and their sex lives often improve. Unfortunately, some older couples still feel that sex is for the young and so do not enjoy sex nearly as much or as often as they could. Thankfully things are changing in the right direction as far as this is concerned. It is worth taking care not to lose the habit of intercourse if one partner has to go into hospital or is ill for a long period. It is also interesting to see that evidence suggests that an active sex life is linked to a long life. People of this age often have grandchildren who bring pleasure with few responsibilities (a rare combination in life) and no longer have to worry about being competitive at work. The man will have got as far as he is going to and is either settled in his career or is running up to or already in retirement.

In the good man-woman relationship this attachment grows, particularly at times of stress when the couple think about each other, want to be with each other, communicate distress to each other, and are comforted by one another. The bond that forms between long-married couples can be formidable. They tend to think along the same lines and seem to be ‘one body’ as described in the Bible.

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While it works for rats, researchers can’t say for certain that dietary supplements of the metal chromium can extend a human life span. But, according to the researchers from Bemidji State University in Minnesota, the findings are promising.

During the study, researchers gave a special chromium supplement to ten rats and compared them to 20 rats that received chromium in a form less readily absorbed. After almost 3 1/2 years, the researchers reported that 80 percent of the rats that received chromium picolinate. Were still alive, while all the other rats were dead. The results show that the rats that received the supplements lived an average of one year longer than the others.

Until now, research had uncovered only one factor which could produce substantial increases in life span in animals— a significant reduction in caloric intake. The new information about chromium supplements changes all of that because the supplements can produce an equally large increase in life span without any dietary restrictions.

According to one expert, more than 90 percent of adult Americans have a chromium deficiency, mostly because it is not readily absorbed from many foods. Recently, researchers from the USDA developed and patented a form of chromium, called chromium picolinate that is easily absorbed. That’s the form the researchers used in the 3 1/2 year study.

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Frostbite can affect any part of the body that is exposed to extremely cold temperatures, but it most commonly “gets” the nose, ears, fingers, and toes. If only the skin and underlying tissues are damaged, complete recovery is possible. If, however, blood vessels are affected, the damage is permanent.

Relatively mild forms of frostbite can occur suddenly in very cold weather when you are shoveling snow or taking a walk. It is important that you know not only how to treat frost bite, but how to avoid it altogether. Here are several tips from some medical experts.

1) Know the symptoms— the first symptoms usually include a pins-and-needles sensation followed by complete numbness. The skin will most likely appear white, cold and hard, and then become red and swollen. Following warming of the tissue, peeling and blistering may occur.

2) Stay out of the wind— your exposure to extreme cold is made worse if it is also windy. Wind-chill factors play an important role in contributing to frostbite.

3) Take advantage of your own body heat— you can warm your fingers and hands by placing them under your armpits. This is a measure you can use if you can’t get indoors right away.

4) Don’t warm the affected area with dry, radiant heat— frostbitten skin is easily burned and you should be properly warmed by immersion in lukewarm water— 104 to 110 degrees F.

5) Avoid alcohol and smoking— in the case of frostbite, instead of making you warm, alcohol actually causes you to lose more heat. Smoking only makes your extremities more vulnerable to the cold by reducing circulation.

6) Don’t rub frostbite with snow or ice.

7) Don’t touch metal— if you touch freezing metal with your bare hand your skin may freeze to the metal and tear badly when you pull it away.

Dress for the cold— wear several layers of light clothing rather than one bulky or heavy garment.

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1) Choking (obstruction to the airway)

If the victim cannot breathe and is unable to speak, there is most likely a complete blockage of the airway that must be removed quickly to prevent suffocation. You should have someone else (if you are not alone with the victim) call for an ambulance while you perform the Heimlich maneuver on the victim. The Heimlich maneuver produces an artificial cough to help an individual who is choking force the obstructing object out of the trachea. Here are the steps involved in the Heimlich maneuver:

Conscious choking victim

A) Stand behind the victim, putting your arms around his or her waist. Place your fist with the thumb side against the victim’s stomach just above the navel and below the ribs and breastbone.

B) Hold your fist with your other hand and give several quick, forceful, upward and inward thrusts into the abdomen until the obstruction is expelled. Dn not squeeze the victim’s ribs with your arms— be sure to use only your fist.

C) You may have to do six to ten thrusts before the victim coughs up the object or becomes unconscious.

D) If you are home alone and you are choking, give yourself abdominal thrusts by pressing your abdomen onto the back of a chair or some other solid object.

Unconscious choking victim

A) If the person who is choking is or becomes unconscious, you should place the heel of one hand on the victim’s stomach, just above the navel and below the ribs. Place your free hand on top of your other hand. Keeping your elbows straight, give several quick, forceful, downward and forward thrusts toward the head.

B) If the above maneuver fails, you should attempt to remove the obstruction with your index finger. Hold the victim’s lower jaw and tongue between the thumb and fingers of one hand and lift up the jaw. Look for anything that may be obstructing the airway. With the victim’s face up, insert your index finger down inside the cheek toward the base of the tongue. Using a “sweeping” motion, move your finger across the back of the victim’s throat to dislodge any obstruction. Be careful you do not push the obstruction further down the victim’s throat.

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1) Goldenseal

This herbal tea fights germs and infections, It also stimulates the immune system. Some recent studies indicate that goldenseal may also help to combat tumors. To make goldenseal herbal tea, use one-half to one full teaspoon of powdered goldenseal root in one cup of boiling water and allow the mixture to steep for ten minutes. For best results, you should drink about 2 cups a day. To improve the flavor, you can add lemon or honey to the tea.

2) Alfalfa

Studies suggest that alfalfa can help reduce cholesterol and reverse the accumulation of plaque depsits on artery walls. Alfalfa tea can be made by using one or two teaspoons of dried alfalfa leaves per cup of boiling water. Let this brew steep for ten to twenty minutes.

3) Celery seed

Often used as an aid to weight loss, controlling blood pressure, and by diabetics, celery seed tea contains one to two teaspoons of crushed celery seeds per cup of boiling water. Allow this tea to steep for ten to twenty minutes and drink at least two cups a day.

4) Black Haw

Studies show that the chemical salicin—an aspirin-like substance—found in black haw helps ease the pain of arthritis, headaches, and may be effective in lowering fevers. You can make black haw tea by boiling two teaspoons of dried bark per cup of water. Allow the brew to boil for ten minutes. Add lemon or honey to improve the taste and drink two to three cups a day.

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