Half of women who have experienced the menopause say it has had a substantial effect on their lives, according to a survey published today by the Women’s Health Council.

Only 8% said it had no effect on their lives.

The research found that the main symptoms experienced by women are hot flushes, night sweats, irritability and mood swings.

HRT was found to be the most effective treatment, with 19% of menopausal women using the therapy. Read more…

Growing numbers of teenage boys are being treated for impotence after smoking cannabis for several years.

Doctors have reported a large rise in cases of young men seeking advice to combat potential lifelong impotence.

They said most have a history of heavy cannabis abuse.

Experts are now calling for more research to be carried out into the links between sexual dysfunction and the drug.

Anecdotal evidence already points towards its role in causing impotence and in lowering testosterone and sexual desire. Read more…

Dutch scientists are developing a blood test that would detect when a woman will go through menopause.

The test would help women make decisions about their lifestyle, such as the age she should have children.

The test measures levels of a single hormone called AMH that decreases when a woman becomes less fertile.

The developers said this blood test is cheaper – and simpler – than tests that measure markers in the blood and indicate a woman’s fertility by how many eggs are left in her ovaries. Such a test already exists. Read more…

There are 40-45% men experiencing premature ejaculation and if you are one of them, this is a realization that you are not alone. Premature ejaculation is a very common sexual problem of men. It is when men cannot control ejaculation before their partner reaches orgasms leaving women unhappy and dissatisfied. If you are frustrated by not being able to last as long as you want during lovemaking and not able to satisfy your partner, the good news is, you can get rid of premature ejaculation.

There are 40-45% men experiencing premature ejaculation and if you are one of them, this is a realization that you are not alone. Premature ejaculation is a very common sexual problem of men. It is when men cannot control ejaculation before their partner reaches orgasms leaving women unhappy and dissatisfied. If you are frustrated by not being able to last as long as you want during lovemaking and not able to satisfy your partner, the good news is, you can get rid of premature ejaculation. Read more…

Health Canada is warning consumers not to use an unauthorized product promoted for the treatment of erectile dysfunction.

In a release issued Friday, officials said the product, Vigoureux, may pose serious health risks, as it was found to contain the prescription drug sildenafil which is not indicated on the product label and should only be used under the supervision of a health-care professional.

Patients with pre-existing medical conditions, including those with heart problems, taking heart medications or at risk for strokes, may be at an increased risk of serious health effects associated with the use of Vigoureux. Read more…

Two Hong Kong men have died and 48 have fallen sick after taking unregistered drugs claiming to cure impotence over the last six months, health officials revealed Wednesday.

The men, aged between 44 and 86, all became ill with low blood sugar after taking pills said to treat erectile dysfunction function between December 2007 and March this year.

All sought help from hospital where two died. Another two men still remain in hospital.

A Department of Health spokesperson said some of the men admitted to taking pills claiming to treat erectile dysfunction which they had bought from the mainland border city of Shenzhen, and in Yuen Long and Wan Chai in Hong Kong. Read more…

Many of our male patients desire clarification about certain sexual issues that may be giving them significant concern and leading to a perception of inadequacy. A popular misconception that our patients have is that all males are walking around with rather large penises and everybody else is having amazing marathon sex. Not true. Here are the answers to a few of the questions you may be too embarrassed to ask your doctor:

1. How long should intercourse last?

Intercourse length is generally defined as acceptable if it is around 3 to 5 minutes. Penn State researchers published an interesting study in the May issue of the Journal of Sexual Medicine that looked at length of intercourse and sexual satisfaction. The article states that the average sex therapist believes sexual intercourse that lasts 3 to 13 minutes is normal and not of clinical concern. Read more…

Impotence is men’s inability to gain or maintain hard erection. Some men are unable to gain even the slightest amount of erection whereas some men feel it difficult to maintain erection after they gain it during the foreplay. Impotence is also called erectile dysfunction.

Impotence is men’s inability to gain or maintain hard erection. Some men are unable to gain even the slightest amount of erection whereas some men feel it difficult to maintain erection after they gain it during the foreplay. Impotence is also called erectile dysfunction. A recent survey reveals, almost 3.5 million in U.S alone are suffering from impotence or erectile dysfunction.

There are many causes which give birth to these below the belt diseases. Sedentary lifestyle is one of the reasons which cause impotence in men. A man used to sedentary lifestyle becomes inert and there is not enough blood circulation in his lower body to make him feel energetic. Read more…

Half of all women who have experienced the menopause said that it had a substantial effect of their lives and just over half of women over 35 consider themselves informed about the menopause, research has found.

The Menopause and Me report, described as the largest body of research on the matter ever carried out in Ireland, was carried out by the Women’s Health Council and published by Minister for Health Mary Harney today.

Some 59 per cent of women aged 35-54 said they wanted more information on the menopause. Just 8 per cent said the menopause had “no effect” on their lives. Read more…

Teenagers are entitled to privacy when dealing with medical issues.

IF ANY group has a stake in the future of our health system, it is the young people of Australia. They will be at the forefront of the challenges faced in 2020 and must be adequately equipped for this role. In light of this, delegates at the recent 2020 Youth Summit discussed the importance of enabling young people to have ownership of their own health care.

One mechanism for achieving this goal is through the automatic distribution of Medicare cards and personal accounts to all young Australians when they reach 13.

Why is this important?

Well, imagine for a moment that you are a 14-year-old confused about your sexuality. You’re too embarrassed to discuss this with your parents, or perhaps you have unsympathetic parents or come from a dysfunctional family. Wouldn’t it be in everyone’s best interests if you could talk in confidence to a trusted GP about this? Read more…