What menstrual problems are to women, prostate problems are to men. The prostate is a gland in the lower abdomen that aids in the production of semen. The prostate is walnut sized in a young man, but can get enlarged with age. As it grows bigger, it can cause a number of problems. These are commonly seen after a man celebrates his 50th birthday.

There are three common prostate problems faced by men. Some of the symptoms that can tell if a man has a prostate problem are:

1. Difficulty faced while urinating
2. The urge to urinate frequently at night
3. Constant feeling of a full bladder
4. Pain while urinating
5. Blood in the urine

Prostatitis

This can be defined as inflammation of the prostate gland. In most cases the cause of this inflammation is unknown. However, there are two types of prostatitis; bacterial and nonbacterial. While the former reacts well to antibiotics, the latter is more difficult to control. Symptoms of this disease vary from one person to the next. Some of the factors that could trigger this disease are:

1. Chemical irritants
2. Past bacterial infection
3. Dysfunctional pelvic floor muscles
4. Sexual abuse
5. Chronic anxiety

Enlarged prostate

As mentioned earlier, as men get older, the prostate gland tends to grow in size. This growth is benign, but can block the bladder neck and prostatic urethra. This can cause problems urinating and lead to acute urinary retention. This can be very painful. Inserting a catheter can provide temporary relief and help release stored urine. Chronic retention is much less common and is associated with high bladder pressure and can damage the kidneys.

Prostate cancer

Advancing age and family genetic history are said to be the main triggers of prostate cancer. This type of cancer can remain restricted to the prostate gland in its early stages but may spread to the other glands as the cancer advances. This can also cause the growth of secondary tumors in the bones.

The only way to correctly diagnose a prostate problem is with a thorough physical examination. This includes a digital rectal exam where the doctor will insert a gloved finger into your rectum to check the size of your prostate, a blood test, mid stream urine tests and ultrasounds. In some cases a biopsy of the prostate may also be required. Depending on the diagnosis, your doctor may prescribe antibiotics, surgery, radiotherapy or hormone therapy to manage your prostate.

Are You at Risk of a Prostate Disease?

Did you know that Chlamydia is one of the most frequently occurring sexually transmitted bacterial infections across the world? Also, this disease is likely to spread fast since it doesn t have severe symptoms which can easily pass on to others. The disease can be quite tricky as there are no initial signs or symptoms that a person experiences in the early stages. The chlamydia bacterium infects the cervix and leads symptoms as noted below.

Chlamydia Symptoms In Men:
In about 50 percent of men, chlamydia doesn t lead to any symptoms. But in some cases, it causes an abnormal penile discharge resembling yellow-white and milk-like. It causes pain while urinating, rectal pain along with bleeding and eye inflammation. The least common symptoms of chlamydia are itchiness and burning sensation around the opening of the penis, pain in the testicles and sore throat. Sometimes, chlamydia symptoms cause pain and discharge from the anal cavity.

Chlamydia Symptoms In Women:
In about 75 percent of women affected with the disease, chlamydia leads to no signs. However, in some cases, it may cause abnormal vaginal discharge which may also have an odour, pain while urinating, eye inflammation, rectal pain and unexplained bleeding. In some rare cases, it causes bleeding in between menstrual cycles, pain in the lower belly and back portion, sore throat and pain while having intercourse. Chlamydia can also infect the eyes in the case of both sexes leading to redness, itchiness, and inflammation. Regardless of which part of the body is affected by the disease, the symptoms usually show up in the morning.

For all these reasons, men and women who are sexually active should go for chlamydia testing once in every year. Also, it is advised to seek medical attention when you are affected by chlamydia infection to fend off risk and complications since it can cause different sorts of severe consequences including ectopic pregnancy and infertility in women. Untreated chlamydia can infect a man and cause an infection of the epididymitis, non-gonococcal urethritis and epididymis.

How to understand whether you are infected with the disease?
It is not possible to be precise about whether you have a chlamydia infection. This is because the signs and symptoms are not quite apparent. But the symptoms after a week become quite noticeable. There are several tests available to test whether you have been affected by the infection and in most cases, the pathologist takes a swab sample from the urethra in men and cervix in women to be eventually tested in the laboratory.

Your doctor may also recommend you undergoing a urine test to check for the presence of chlamydia bacteria. In case you or your partner has been affected by the disease, it is essential to talk to a doctor without any delay.

Chlamydia: Symptoms That Indicate You Are Infected!

Intercourse is meant to be a pleasurable and intimate experience. But it might become an unpleasant act if you are suffering from performance anxiety. When you are mentally occupied by questions such as "Do I look too fat?" or "Did I do that right?", sex stops being a gratifying experience.

Incessant anxiety over your ability or appearance can result in sex becoming nerve-wracking and stressful for you. It might even have you avoiding sex altogether. This psychological condition is termed as sexual performance anxiety.

Sex isn't only a physical reaction, there are emotions tied to it as well. If you are too stressed out and your mind is preoccupied, your body reflects your inner turmoil and you cannot get aroused.

Causes
The causes of sexual performance anxiety include:
1. Fear that you wouldn't be able to satisfy your partner and perform well sexually
2. Body image issues (Such as stressing about your weight)
3. Problems in your relationship
4. Men worry that their penis don't 'measure' up
5. Men might be concerned about taking too much time to orgasm, or about premature ejaculation
6. Women worry about not enjoying the experience or being unable to have an orgasm

Symptoms
Your mental state has a deep impact on your physical state. The effect of stress hormones norepinephrine and epinephrine can hinder your sexual performance. Symptoms of sexual performance anxiety include:

1. In men, blood vessels constrict due to the effect of stress hormones. This leads to reduced blood flow to the penis, thus making it difficult for the man to get an erection.

2. Often though it is less diagnosed in women, sexual performance anxiety leads to trouble in lubrication during sex. Lack of lubrication dims the desire to have sex.

Sexual performance anxiety is a vicious, inescapable cycle. Increased anxiety hampers you from having sex, making you think you won't be able to perform well, which causes even more anxiety.

Treatment
Consult a doctor you will be comfortable with discussing your problems. Sexual performance can be either treated by medication (if you have an underlying medical condition such as erectile dysfunction) or through therapy.

Talking to a therapist or counsellor about your problems can help you in several ways. You can learn to become more comfortable with yourself and your body. You can also understand your problems better, which can eliminate your anxiety.

All About Sexual Performance Anxiety

Peyronie's disease is a problem predominantly found in 3-9% of adult men, especially after 40 years of age. In the disease, a scar tissue is formed in the outer layer of the penis called tunica albuginea. Scar tissue is a just plaque inside the penis.

Peyronie's disease causes the penis to bend sideways or upwards and can make sex become difficult due to deformity and erection may be a painful process. It is usually associated with erectile dysfunctions, severe anxiety and reduced testosterone levels. It is worth noting that there are treatments for peyronie's disease, however, the pain often goes away on its own, generally, in 6-18 months of onset, but the deformity stays.

Here is everything you need to know about this disease:

Causes
It is not known exactly what causes peyronie's disease, however, there are some factors, which make it more likely than others. Here are those factors:

1. Trauma: this is the most common factor which causes peyronie's disease. It is believed that when someone suffers from tiny bleeding of the penis, which is very common in patients of diabetes, the plaque starts to build up. The injury or trauma, which causes the bleeding may go unnoticed as well.
2. Genes: genes are also a possible cause of peyronie's disease.

Symptoms
The symptoms of peyronie's disease vary, such as:
1. Pain on erection: there is usually pain in erection during the initial phase.
2. Bent penis: when the penis becomes hard before sex, it may bend downwards or sideways by more than 15 degree, so the vaginal entry becomes impossible or is painful for the partner.
3. Scars: tissue may form on other parts of the body, as well including the hand and feet. In fact, it has been said that men who have scarring in the hand, which affect the fingers are more likely to contract the disease as well.
One may see extensive scarring in hands in a disease called dupuytren's contracture. 

Treatment
1. Wait &amp; watch: it is worth noting the acute phase with pain is treated by wait and watch, controlling contributory factors like diabetes, low testosterone and psychogenic factors. Antioxidants are useful. Large number of cases are relieved of the pain in 1 to 1.5 years.
2. Intralesional injection: if the bend is significant enough to interfere in sexual functioning, it can be treated by injecting medicines in the plaque. The medicine, xiaflex is currently not available in india and other medicines given are not very effective.
3. Surgery: this is a last option when peyronie's disease has not gone on it's own and medicines are not helping either. The two most common procedures performed are removing the plaque and putting a tissue graft in its place and also removing the tissue opposite the plaque to counter the bending effect. The results are fairly good.

Going for a penile implant is the last option, which is a permanent solution and is commonly done in india. And, the success rate for penile implant is also very high.

Peyronie's Disease: About Bent Penis

Emergency is helpful in preventing pregnancies post unprotected sexual activity. It can be used in case of contraceptive failure, in case of sexual assault, incorrect use of contraceptives and unprotected sex.

Emergency contraception can be done by three methods. These are emergency contraceptive pills, combined oral contraceptive pills and copper intrauterine devices.



The copper IUD is considered to be one of the most effective forms of emergency contraception, when it is inserted within 5 days of unprotected sexual activity.

However, the emergency contraceptive pill regimen as per WHO is:

1 dose of levonorgestrel 1.5 mg, or 1 dose of ulipristal 30 mg, taken within 5 days (120 hours) of unprotected intercourse

The Yuzpe regimen which consists of 2 doses of combined oral contraceptive pills

What is Emergency Contraception?

Emergency contraception is usually referred to as the contraception which is used to prevent a pregnancy within the first 5 days after an unprotected sexual activity. It is used post failures of contraception, coerced unprotected sex, rape or misuse of contraception.

Emergency contraception is only effective in the first few days after an intercourse and before the egg has released from the ovary, and before there is fertilization between the egg and the sperm. The emergency contraception can do no harm to an interrupted pregnancy and a developing embryo.

Who needs emergency contraception?

Any girl or woman who is at her reproductive age might need an emergency contraception in case of an unprotected sexual intercourse.

Uses
1 Breakage , slippage or displacement of barrier methods 
2. Three or more missed OCPills for more than 12 hours 
3. Missed Mini pill for more than 3 hours 
4. Missed Desoestrel pills for more than 12 hours 
5. DMPA injections taken more than 2 weeks late 
6. Miscalculated dates of last period and present ovulation side effects 
These are meant only for emergency contraception and NOT AS A REGULAR CONTRACEPTIVE. It involves pumping of a hormone inside your body at levels which are 5 times higher than normal. hence excessive and unnecessary use may cause irregularity in the period cycles and an adverse effect on the menstrual health over a period of time. Ideally it should be taken under guided medical supervision.


In what situations should emergency contraception be used?

Emergency contraception can be used after a sexual intercourse. These include:

In case of no use of contraceptives

If it is a case of rape or coerced sex, where the woman was not protected

When there is a contraceptive failure, like

breakage

incorrect use or slippage

OCPILLS,

mini pills

DMPA

3 or more missed combined oral contraceptives, progestogen-only pill (minipill) taken more than 3 hours late, desogestrel-containing pill 12 hours or more, norethisterone enanthate (NET-EN) progestogen-only injection taken more than 2 weeks late

Delay in placing or dislodgement or early removal of the skin patch or the hormonal ring

Breaking, dislodgement, tearing or early removal of cervical cap or diaphragm

Failure of withdrawal that is ejaculation the external genitalia or vagina

The spermicide tablet failure

Miscalculating the periods, failure from using a barrier on the fertile days

Expulsion of an intrauterine contraceptive device (IUD)

Methods of Emergency Contraception:

There are three emergency contraception methods:

Copper-bearing intrauterine devices (IUDs)

Emergency contraception pills (ECPs)

Combined oral contraceptive pills or the Yuzpe method



Safety of Emergency Contraception

Hypogonadism in females occurs when your sex glands produce little or no sex hormones.The sex glands, also called gonads that are responsible for ovary formation in females, breast enlargement and in menstrual cycle.

What Are the Types of Female Hypogonadism?
There two types of hypogonadism are primary and central hypogonadism.

Primary Hypogonadism
Primary hypogonadism means that you don't have enough sex hormones in your body due to a problem in your gonads. Your gonads are still receiving the message to produce hormones from your brain, but they aren't able to produce them.

Central Hypogonadism or Secondary Hypogonadism
In central hypogonadism, the problem lies in your brain. The hypothalamus and pituitary gland in your brain, which control your gonads, aren't working properly.

Causes of Primary Hypogonadism
1. Autoimmune disorders, such as Addison's disease and hypoparathyroidism
2. Genetic disorders, such as Turner syndrome and Klinefelter syndrome
3. Severe infections
4. Liver and kidney diseases
5. Hemochromatosis, which happens when your body absorbs too much iron
6. Radiation exposure
7. Surgery of your sex organs

Causes of Central or Secondary Hypogonadism include
1. Genetic disorders, such as Kallmann syndrome (abnormal hypothalamic development)
2 Infections, including HIV and AIDS
3. Pituitary disorders
4. Inflammatory diseases including sarcoidosis, tuberculosis, and histiocytosis
5. Obesity
6. Rapid weight loss
7. Nutritional deficiencies
8. Use of steroids or opiates (especially long-term usage)
9. Brain surgery
10. Radiation exposure
11. Injury to your pituitary gland or hypothalamus
12. A tumor in or near your pituitary gland

Symptoms that May Affect Females Include:
1. Lack of menstruation
2. Slow or absent breast growth
3. Hot flashes
4. Loss of body hair
5. Low or absent sex drive
6. Milky discharge from your breasts

Treatment for Hypogonadism in Women
Your treatment will involve increasing the amount of female sex hormones in your body. Your first line of treatment will probably be estrogen therapy if you've had a hysterectomy. Either a patch or pill can administer the supplemental estrogen hormone. Estrogen must be balanced with progesterone, because taking estrogen alone leads to a dangerous build up of the lining of the uterus (endometrial hyperplasia) that can lead to cancer of the uterus. Low-dose testosterone may be added for women with hypogonadism who have a low sex drive.

Types, Causes and Symptoms of Female Hypogonadism

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