An STD is transmitted by means of physical contact and intercourse. These diseases are caused by parasites, virus or bacteria. Usually, STDs are preventable provided you make the right choices concerning your sexual health. Refraining from sex isn t a feasible idea at all. 

But fortunately there are alternatives too to curb the menace that STDs are:

Abstain: The most effective way to avoid STIs is to abstain from sex.
Mutual monogamy: Two people who have sex only with one another don t have any opportunity to bring a new STD into the relationship. If you and your partner have been tested and are healthy, remaining faithful to each other is a very good way to reduce your chances of contracting an STD.
Get Vaccinated: One important prevention tool against STIs is vaccination. Currently, vaccines are available to protect against infection with HPV, hepatitis A and hepatitis B. Talk to your healthcare provider to see which vaccines might be recommended for you.
Protect Yourself: Condoms work really well in stopping most STIs from being passed from an infected partner to another when they are used consistently and correctly every time a person has oral, vaginal or anal sex. Consistently and correctly means that a person makes sure they use a condom every time they have oral, vaginal or anal sex and put it on and use it the right way.
Avoid alcohol and drug use: Avoiding alcohol and recreational drug use reduce the risk of contracting an STI, having an unwanted pregnancy, or being coerced to have sex. Alcohol and drug use can reduce our ability to make good decisions. It may also make us more likely to be talked into participating in an activity without being able to give our full consent.
Coping and Support
It's traumatic to find out you have an STI. You might be angry if you feel you've been betrayed or ashamed if there's a chance you infected others. At worst, an STI can cause chronic illness and death, even with the best care in the world.

Between those extremes is a host of other potential losses   trust between partners, plans to have children, and the joyful embrace of your sexuality and its expression. If in doubt, don't hesitate to visit a skin specialist or a physician.

STDs - 5 Ways You Can Avoid Them

With the evolution of medical technology, we have made inroads when it comes to evolved methods of treating a variety of ailments and conditions. The use of lasers is now commonplace for a number of surgeries and non-invasive procedures that can help in treating many conditions. From hair removal to surgeries, there are a number of places where lasers enjoy medical and cosmetic use. There is a common misnomer that lasers have detrimental effects and may even be carcinogenic or cancer causing in nature.

Let us find out why lasers cannot cause cancer.

Penetration of light: For many people, it may be a cause of concern that laser treatment of the hair, skin or other parts of the body is done with the penetration of high energy beams in that part of the body. Yet, the beams do not penetrate that deeply. Usually, this penetration only happens to the extent of hair follicles and skin, which leaves the internal organs safe.
Redness: At the very maximum, the lasers can cause a reaction like redness on the skin. This does not mean that the lasers are capable of causing cancer. This can simply be treated with the help of ice application on the affected area.
Mutations: There have been many reports that say the ionising radiation of the laser beams can cause DNA mutations. Yet, this is not true. These DNA mutations can lead to the manifestation and production of abnormal and cancerous cells, which can further progress and spread to become malignant tumours. Yet, laser treatments and applications do not have the power to cause such DNA mutations, and there is no medical evidence that suggests the same.
Treating areas near reproductive organs: There are many women who opt for laser hair removal which is a more permanent solution for waxing and other forms of hair removal that we go through on a regular basis. But many women are also concerned that it may actually cause problems and cancer when it comes to the reproductive organs, in case the hair removal treatment and lasers are applied to the area near these organs. This is not true because the laser beams are merely applied to the hair follicles of the area. Since, laser beams are not applied to the reproductive organ, which ensures that there is no effect on the internal reproductive organ in any way.
Before trying out laser treatment, it is important to try it on a small portion of your skin so that you can be sure that it does not affect you and cause a reaction. Further, for laser related surgeries, it is important to turn to a well known clinic, hospital or doctor so that the right level of energy is used during the surgery.

Laser Hair Removal Can Cause Cancer - The Most Common Myth!

The acronym for 'Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome' is AIDS. In fact, it must be understood that AIDS is not a singular disease, but a syndrome, or rather a set of diseases. People suffering from AIDS suffer from an immensely compromised immune system that makes them vulnerable to a number of diseases. Once infected with HIV, it may take anywhere between 5-10 years to develop AIDS.

Some of the major symptoms of AIDS are:

Lethargy and fatigue
Skin irritation
Drastic loss of weight
Loss of appetite
Bronchial ailments- which often lead to end stage tuberculosis of the lungs
Diarrhea, gastritis and dysentery
Prolonged fever
Sleeplessness and others
How is AIDS treated by Ayurveda?
Tonics, also known as  Rasayanas  in Ayurveda are administered for stimulating appetite and strengthening immunity. Once enough strength is regained, an elimination technique is administered by incorporating enemas, emesis and purgation in the treatment. This process is known as  Sodhana  and is carried out to eliminate toxins from the body.

Next the patient s blood is purified with appropriate herbal medications. Apart from this, AIDS patients are advised to perform regular exercise, yoga and pranayama.

AIDS - Can Ayurveda Treat it?

Zinc and erectile dysfunction

Zinc is a naturally occurring metallic element. Certain types of vegetable, meats and seafood are rich in zinc.

Erectile dysfunction is a man's inability to achieve a penetrable erection. It is one of the most common sexual problems faced by men of all ages. Zinc helps the body to produce testosterone and thus the levels of zinc in a person's body may affect erectile dysfunction.

A host of factors ranging from nutritional deficiency to clinical depression can lead to the condition. In recent years, deficiency of zinc has been found to be the cause of ed. Apart from producing testosterone, zinc is used for metabolism purposes, DNA and protein production and cell division.

Most studies related to male infertility show a clear concise relationship between zinc and ed. During a study some young men were given a diet which included very little amounts of zinc and thus they developed a zinc deficiency. When testosterone levels were measured after 20 weeks of low-zinc diet it was found that the level of the hormone had drastically reduced. The study also found that in elderly men, with an increase in the uptake of zinc, testosterone levels nearly doubled.

Research on animals established the fact that relationship rats who were given 5 milligrams of zinc supplement a day, were found to be sexually active to a greater extent. It concluded that zinc had an impact in the arousal and maintaining of an erection in men.

Zinc deficiency can also reduce the sense of smell in person. A sense of smell is vital to libido, especially more in young men. Thus, it can cause a person to lose the ability to detect certain chemicals that stimulate arousal.

If you would like to consult with me privately, please click on 'consult'.
Related Tip: Knowing Erectile Dysfunction. PART 2: Management and Treatment

Zinc and Erectile Dysfunction - How is it related?

Varicose veins are bulging blue veins on the legs that can cause leg swelling, skin blackening and even open wounds called ulcers. It is commonly seen in people aged 35 and above who have to stand a lot. Here are a few tips to prevent these:

1. Avoid standing for long periods: standing for long periods of time causes blood to pool in your leg veins and they begin to bulge out like a balloon. Avoid standing desks at your work. If you have to stand, take a 5-minute break every hour and walk around or sit down.

2. Keep weight in check: overweight people have a higher incidence of varicose veins. Keeping your weight in check would also prevent varicose veins.

3. Exercise 30 minutes a day: exercise, especially brisk walking or jogging, will get the blood in your leg veins to circulate and thus prevent varicose veins.

4. Take the stairs: this simple exercise activates your calf muscles and gets blood to circulate in your veins.

5. Be vigilant: calf cramps, swelling, change in colour of skin over foot and open wounds over the feet are a few signs that you need to look out for. Seek medical help to prevent worsening of this disease.

Follow these simple steps and you would be able to prevent varicose veins and have healthy feet.


5 Tips To Prevent Varicose Veins and Varicose Ulcers

The neurones in the brain are constantly reorganising their connections both functionally and physically according to the environment, your thinking and behaviour. This ability is known as neuroplasticity. Through neuroplasticity the nerve cells of brain can compensate for injury to some parts of the brain and enable a person to recover from stroke, birth abnormalities. It is also beneficial in treating autism, ADD, learning disabilities and helps manage obsessive compulsive disorders.

Here are seven things you should know about neuroplasticity.

Change depends on the attentiveness of the brain: Neuroplasticity changes can only happen if the brain is alert and active. When the brain is active it releases neurochemicals that are necessary for the neurone connections to change. If a person is distracted to inattentive, these changes cannot happen.
The more the effort; the bigger the change: Neuroplasticity changes depend on how motivated the person is to change or learn new tasks. For this reason, when it comes to using neuroplasticity for physiotherapy, it is essential to first deal with any depression or anxiety issues the patient might be having before attempting to rehabilitate them.
It helps strengthen neural connections: Repetition of actions is one of the key elements of neuroplasticity in physiotherapy. Through this, the strength of neurone connections is strengthened to include sensory information, movement and cognitive patterns.
It improves cell to cell connections: This is crucial to a patient s rehabilitation as it increases reliability and makes a person more independent. In turn, this makes behaviour patterns more reliable.
It helps predict actions: A task can usually be broken down into a series of smaller tasks. For example, feeding oneself can be broken down into steps that begin with lifting a spoon and filling it with food to finally putting the spoon into your mouth. Hence, along with completing an action, the brain must also know what to do next. Neuroplasticity helps improve this associative flow and allows the brain to predict the next step.
Changes can be temporary or permanent: Initial changes due to neuroplasticity are temporary ad only if the brain determines the experience to be desired is this change made permanent. This is why when treating mobility issues, patients are not always able to repeat tasks in the same way.
Memory guides the learning: When making new neural connections through neuroplasticity, the brain is taught to discard unsuccessful attempts and only remember the experience of the successful attempts. From here, adjustments are made to improve the connection.

Neuroplasticity - 7 Things You Must Know About it!

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