Insights: SOME MYTHS ABOUT SEX

Everytime I open my e-mail account, the spam is full of advertisements about, “enlargement pills and manoeuvres”. I do not know whether it is the same with others or not, but daily I keep on deleting these messages and they come again with a fair regularity. Such advertisements only show that there is a need among people to “enhance” their performance “in bed”. There are many problems related to sexual activity both real and imaginary. They become the cause for marital discord and even divorce. Many of these imaginary problems are created for marketing purposes in order to sell the medicines manufactured for this problem. Therefore pills supposed to improve sexual performance have a superb sale as on the counter pill used by people for self medication. The most common myth prevailing about sex is size of the penis. People have the wrong impression that maybe the greater the size of their genital part the more masculine they are. This is not true. Size of the genital part depends on the overall build of a man. When a sexual desire arises it travels to the brain, which sends a signal down to the sex organs. This results in increased blood flow to the penis, this gets accumulated in small sacs thus causing enlargement of the organ. It has nothing to do with sexual performance or procreation. Female vagina is ever receptive and accommodating to an organ of any size. Premature ejaculation is yet another issue considered to be a problem by many people. It is simply a condition where one would ejaculate semen before obtaining full erection. It can occur due to anxiety, depression, deprived sleep, e.t.c. conditions. In majority of cases this problem can be solved by adequate foreplay on part of partner.Sexual impotence is another problem troubling many men. Technically it means inability to have an erection, but loss of libido is also included in that. Before, thought to be mainly a psychological problem, it is now known to be due to many organic causes. It can be a complication of diabetes in young adults. Drugs like cimetidine (used for gastritis), propranolol (for hypertension), anti-depressant drugs, when used for a long time can cause impotence. Abuse of substances like alcohol and tobacco also lead to sexual impotence. Chronic liver and hormonal disorders are associated with decreased libido and sexual impotence. It can be a sequel to surgeries done on the colon or prostate gland or any other visceral part.Impotence is a normal feature associated with aging in men due to reduced hormonal levels. Similarly women can have loss of libido with increasing age due to diminished hormonal levels. Drying of the vagina due to reduced oestrogen levels causes pain during intercourse making a woman frigid in this age. This problem can be corrected by using HRT (hormone replacement therapy) or simply applying some lubrication over the vagina, prior to intercourse. Similarly women lose interest in sex if they have pain due to chronic pelvic diseases. Treatment of the inflammation helps in restoring libido. Women who remain preoccupied with their jobs or small children also do not relish sex. This problem can be solved by adequate counselling of both partners. The husband has to be more supportive both physically and emotionally in such cases so that the wife can relax a bit and enjoy sex as before.If somebody suffers from true impotence, he needs to be investigated for the cause. Treatment of the cause usually reverses the condition.Drugs like Slidanefil (marketed as Viagra), had become very popular when launched in the market. But very soon, their side effects started appearing among which are sudden low blood pressure and cardiac arrest. Injections or implants in the penis, injections of testosterone, are other things tried to improve sexual function of an individual.Good patient counselling is needed in such cases. If the condition improves with treatment, fine. Otherwise people should understand that there is much more to life than sex. E-mail-rachna212002@yahoo.co.uk

Lifestyle

Insights: SOME MYTHS ABOUT SEX