Category: Men’s diseases

Perhaps every adult man knows that if he feels pain, burning or cutting when passing the urine, then there is something wrong with his health. But what is it? Let’s find out about the most often causes of unpleasant sensations during urination.

Infections of the genitourinary tract

Such issues are more frequent in women. However, when the males grow older, their chances for getting one of the urinary tract infections significantly grow. Urethritis, cystitis, and other bacterial, fungal or viral infections may manifest through ache and burning during urination.

Sexually transmitted infections

No matter what kind of Venereal disease you have, bacterial, viral or parasitic, you may feel an acute pain when passing the urine. Pain sensations may be accompanied by sores in the penile area, high body temperature, pain during sexual intercourse. An individual may develop these symptoms in several days after being infected or much later. Sometimes it may take years to reveal the infection.

Kidney stones

Stones or sand in kidneys may stay unnoticed until the moment they begin to move down the kidneys to the urethra. In case there is a stone, a person will suffer from renal colic and may even need to be operated on if it blocks the outflow of the urine from the kidney. Yet if the sand is on the way to “exit“, so to say, a man may feel acute pain, burning and cutting in the process of urination. Besides, he may be notice blood in the urine.

Prostatitis

This problem is quite common among the men over 50. It is caused by the inflammatory processes in the prostate gland and its enlargement. Prostatitis is commonly accompanied by the frequent need to visit the bathroom, pain sensations, weak stream of the urine, and numerous other symptoms.

How to deal with the pain during urination?

First of all, you have to turn to the doctors and undergo some urine and blood tests. Depending on the results, your medical specialist will be able to prescribe you an antibiotic, antiviral or antifungal preparation that will help you to feel better in a couple of days only. However, the therapy of more serious infections and kidney disease may last significantly longer.

The insidiousness of sexually transmitted diseases lies in quite durable incubation period of some of them. Being already infected, a person may not even suspect it and transmit the pathogens of the illness to his sexual partners.

The only way to minimize the risks of STDs and stay healthy is to use condoms every time you have sex. No pills, gels or other remedies can create a barrier for the infection.

To stay on the safe side and be able to turn for the medical help in time, every man should know about the symptoms of Venereal illnesses. Depending on the pathogen that has provoked an infection, people may have different signs. However, there are some first bells of possible troubles, which should be paid attention to:

• Pain, cutting or burning sensations when passing the urine or ejaculating;
• Itching or discomfort in the penile area;
• Lymph nodes swelling;
• Swelling of the testicles;
• Discharge from the penis;
• Ulcers, rash, blisters or warts in the penile area.

These are only some initial manifestations of sexually transmitted infections. If you have had an unprotected sex and noticed any of the enumerated signals shortly after it, you should turn to the doctors.

Yet this is the best possible scenario you may have. Very often sexually transmitted diseases do not cause any symptoms. Some of them may be “hiding” for years.

What kinds of illnesses may be transmitted via unprotected sex?

There are two common types of the infections you may get: bacterial and viral.

To the first group belong:

• Chlamydia;
• Gonorrhea;
• Syphilis.

Among the viral venereal infections are:

• Herpes simplex;
• Human papillomavirus;
• Hepatitis B.

Bacterial infections may be cured completely with the help of antibiotics, whereas viral infections may stay within the body for long years. Nevertheless, some of them, like hepatitis B and Human papillomavirus may be prevented with the help of vaccination.

Take care of your life and health. Avoid sexual relations without using condoms.

The statistics claim that 2% of Americans suffer from frequent constipation. Not many you would say. However, more than 4 million people are hidden behind such a small percentage.

Even though infrequent bowel movements are more characteristic of women, men can also suffer from such problems. The reasons for the existing situation are different, but the core of the bulk of them is hidden in the modern style of life.

Why do you get constipated?

Here are the most probable reasons for rare bowel movements in males:

• Inactive way of life. Long hours in front of the computer and sedentary lifestyle has turned into a real issue when it goes about visiting a bathroom. Lack of movements throughout the day doesn’t let the feces move down the intestine to the rectum. As a result, you may be a rare guest on the toilet seat.
• Unhealthy eating habits. Fatty foods lower the motility of the gastrointestinal tract. And if a high-fat diet is combined with a hatred of fruits and vegetables (meaning that you don’t get enough fiber), you are a probable candidate for constipation.
• Lack of time for defecation. No matter how paradoxically it may sound, but very often men literally have no time to go to the bathroom. Tense work schedule can be the major reason for constipation and bowel discomfort you consequently feel.

These are only some of all possible causes, yet having excluded at least them, you are very likely to feel better.

How to improve the situation?

To get rid of the discomfort and a constant feeling of fullness, you don’t need to take any pills. It will be absolutely enough to change your habits and lifestyle. So, what should you do to feel better?

• Enrich your diet with vegetables, fruits, and whole-grain products. Thanks to this, you increase the consumption of fiber. As a result, you may get regular and healthy bowel movements.
• Drink enough water. Intestines are the place where the water is absorbed. The longer the feces stay there, the drier they get. By postponing your visit to the bathroom, you yourself exacerbate the situation. Yet by drinking a lot of water, you may make the feces softer and excretion will be much easier.
• Move a lot. The more you walk, jump, and run during the day, the easier your defecation will be.
• Never ignore the need to defecate.

Because of the differences in the way of life, stress levels, and the ability to cope with it, men are more predisposed to certain health issues than women. Here is a list of the most often diagnosed illnesses in men for you to be aware of.

Cardiovascular issues

The WHO statistic claims that the United States is in the top-10 of the countries with the highest cardiovascular disease death rate. Per 100.000 men between the ages of 35 and 74, 235 die because of heart disease or stroke.

The reason hides in the naturally higher amounts of bad cholesterol in the male body compared to the females. Unhealthy eating habits, smoking, a lot of stress, and lack of activity only add to the natural threat. Thus, men commonly evolve heart disease long before the age of 65.

Cancer

Malignant growth of cells is the second most widespread health problem in the USA. About a quarter of all the newly revealed cases fall on prostate cancer. Lung cancer affects 15% of new cancer patients. Colorectal cancer closes the three most often diagnosed malignant illnesses with 10% of incidence.

Depressive disorder

Despite depression is more common in women (9.3%) than in men (5.4%), the rate of suicide in the latter is very much higher. 79% of all completed suicides are committed by men.

The probable reason for such a sad statistic is that men find it more difficult to express their feeling and emotions than women. Hence, they keep the problems inside thus accumulating them. Finally, when the peak is reached even a trifle can trigger suicide.

To the major factors of risk for depression belong:

• Dependencies (alcohol, drugs, gambling);
• Loss of job;
• Hereditary predisposition;
• Psychological traumas connected with participation in hostilities.

Prediabetes and Diabetes

About 36.6% of all male population of the USA have prediabetes. The bulk of them doesn’t even suspect being so close to the disease.

The main risk factor for diabetes is excessive weight and obesity. Neglection of healthy nutrition, eating fast food and junk food, plus lack of physical activity make men “an easy prey” for the disease.

Erectile dysfunction

Troubles with getting and keeping an erection are quite common for men around the world. 52% of Americans know the problem really close. The probability of getting this illness grows with age, yet it’s not the main problem. ED usually affects men with heart disease, hypertension, increased stress levels, and diabetes. So, it’s quite hard not to evolve it taking into account that these ailments are most common in males.

Arthritis

Troubles with joints are gathered under common name arthritis. The disease is diagnosed in more than 20% of the overall population of the USA older than 18. The major manifestations of arthritis are joint stiffness, pain, swelling, redness, loss of the usual joint mobility.

Being unable to conceive, the couples start looking for the problem. For about a quarter of them, the reason hides in male’s health. Stresses, unhealthy nutrition, low physical activity, and bad habits are named as the major reasons for such a statistic. However, a number of recent studies have revealed another issue, which may be the cause of low fertility levels in men. The story goes about vitamin D.

It is thought that low levels of this nutrient are to blame for the poor sperm quality in infertile men.

Why is vitamin D so important?

Vitamin D takes part in cholesterol metabolism in the special cells located in the testicles. They are called Leydig cells and are responsible for testosterone production. Besides, vitamin D helps to activate the release of energy from lipids thus increasing the motility of the sperm. Hence, insufficient levels of this nutrient affect spermatogenesis and the motility of the semen leading to male sterility.

The results of the pilot study conducted by the Italian scientists claim that males with low vitamin D levels who have been diagnosed with infertility have lower chances for becoming fathers compared to the individuals having the same diagnosis yet with a normal level of this vitamin.

A total of 102 infertile couples took part in the experiment lasting for three months. They were divided into two groups depending on the vitamin D levels of the male partners. Neither of the men took any vitamin D supplements. However, the female partners took three cycles of gonadotropin to stimulate mono-ovulation.

The results showed that in couples with normal vitamin D levels the rate of pregnancy was 27.7% (10 pregnancies in 36 couples). The results of the other group were much lower – only 9.2% (5 pregnancies in 54 couples). Despite the results of the semen analysis taken at the start of the survey haven’t significantly changed by the end of the experiment, the percent of the achieved pregnancies shows the significance of sufficient amounts of vitamin D for male fertility.

The risks of incurring diseases are different according to sex, women have greater risks in some things than men in others. Several studies have been carried out in this regard, and researchers have isolated some molecular components underlying the different response of male and female cells to stress.

Women live longer than men, this is known. How much longer? According to the latest figures from the World Health Organization, the average is four and a half years. To be precise, of the 141 million children who will be born this year in the world, females can aspire to live up to 74.2 years, males only up to 69.8. There are diseases today, of which men die more than women. And they are the majority.

According to WHO data, more men than women lose their lives in car accidents. In the ranking, worse than road accidents there are only cardiac ischemia, the absolute disease in the world that kills men the most. In third place are the tumors of the respiratory system, from those to the lung to those of the trachea, all neoplasia typically more masculine. The fourth place is held by heart attacks.

Except for those closely related to the female organs (breasts and ovaries), all cancers generally kill more men than women: liver, kidneys, stomach. Among the communicable diseases, on the other hand, both tuberculosis and HIV are more lethal for men, as are all serious respiratory infections.

Men have a higher incidence of contracting Parkinson’s disease. Men are at greater risk for cancer mortality and are more likely to suffer from cardiovascular disease at a young age. In general, the symptoms of many diseases can be different between men and women. In the case of myocardial infarction, the symptoms present differently between the two sexes and many times women are delayed. As there can be difference when colon cancer occurs, the woman has fewer symptoms to be aware of it, but when she realizes what is happening, urgent action must be taken – men tend to let the symptoms aggravate and do not seek out medical health promptly, which is statistically yet another reason for mortality rates to be higher for men after 70.

There is only one pathology that kills more women than men, and it is Alzheimer’s.

Priapism is a painful and abnormally long erection (lasting more than 3 hours), during a sexual activity or outside of any sexual desire and not leading to ejaculation. Priapism is an urological emergency. There is not an age group to which to associate the most frequent cases of priapism: it is usually evident between the ages of 25 and 40, but the growth of cases of pharmacological origin widens the range of possible “victims”.

How to diagnose priapism? It is sufficient to carry out an instrumental diagnostic tests, that is, a blood test (blood gas analysis) of the blood taken from the corpora cavernosa and a penile colordoppler ultrasound. The blood gas analysis will verify the state of hypo-oxygenation and district acidosis, so the blood will appear dark and viscous, while the ultrasound will reveal a reduced arterial pulsatility and the absence of venous discharge. When it comes to arterial hyperflux priapism, oxygenation is normal and the blood has a bright red color, but ultrasonography shows an increase in arterial flow associated with insufficient venous discharge.

What is happening? Priapism appears due to the impossibility of cavernous bodies to empty blood that has accumulated during erection. The blood remains trapped due to venous evacuation made impossible for the following reasons:

• Psychological reasons
• Taking medication (neuroleptics, anticoagulants and especially the “erection facilitators” like Viagra and its analogs)
• Alcoholism
• The injection into the cavernous body of an excess dose of a drug to treat impotence by lack of erection: by far the most common
• Exceptionally, some serious diseases such as leukemia, some cancers

It’s an emergency, because:

• Priapism begins with a classical erection. It follows a prolonged engorgement. The glans remains flaccid unlike in case of a normal erection.
• Oxygen depletion of the corpus cavernosum occurs rapidly and an enrichment in carbon dioxide is responsible for the increase of blood viscosity.
• The risk of venous thrombosis, which is rapidly responsible for tissue degeneration (fibrosis / necrosis), is an emergency that must be resolved in the early hours.

Report to the emergency room immediately in the following cases:

An erection occurred outside any sexual desire (usually at night), quickly became painful, unbearable, prolonged abnormally

A penis whose volume is greater than during normal erections during intercourse. with a flaccid glans and with abnormal duration

After trying to cool the skin, with Cryoflurane or ice in a plastic bag, the doctor will immediately establish diagnosis and send you to the hospital for further therapeutic measures. Such measures consist in vasoconstrictive medications injected in the penis, puncture or surgery, if everything else fails. The surgical procedure is aimed at restoring the connection between the blood vessels in the corpora cavernosa and the veins in the body.

Often it is not necessary to resort to surgery, but if it comes to venous priapism a surgical urgency may arise. Post-operative recovery in this case can also last for a few months, as well as being total or partial.

Today we will talk about what the normal size of the testicles should be and how to evaluate it through some simple tests that also include a pleasant testicle massage.

These tests can be done comfortably on your own.

What does the testicles dimension depend on? Is it possible to increase the size, weight or volume of the testicles? Let’s be clear.

The size of the testicles cannot change in an absolute sense but can increase considerably when the testicles are small due to a problem, this problem can be solved. Furthermore, when a man is able to recover a full male health, optimizing his hormonal profile with adequate nutrition, pro-testosterone training and a healthy lifestyle, the testicles will also benefit. Thus they will produce more androgenic hormones (DHT), more sperm and consequently increase their size up to what should be the “normal” dimension.

The fact is that the masculinity of an individual is determined in large part precisely in the womb and exposure to testosterone in this phase is crucial for some masculine characteristics: the amount of facial hair (beard), the tone of the voice, the size of the Adam’s apple and testicles.

There is a very simple test that allows us to understand whether the size of our testicles is “final” or not.

Masculinity test 1: The Digit-Ratio

The test is very simple:

• Put your right hand open in front of the face with your fingers aligned
• Observe the length of the index and ring fingers
• Which of these is longer?

• A) If your ring finger is longer than the index, it means that you have been exposed to more testosterone in the womb.
• B) If your ring finger is the same or shorter than the index finger it means that unfortunately the exposure to androgens has not been so massive.

In principle, the longer the ring finger is longer than the index (case A), the greater the “potential” masculinity of a man. This means that a man with these characteristics should have bigger testicles and penises and larger amounts of circulating androgens (testosterone and DHT).

Test 2 for the size and functionality of the testicles

After this “philosophical” digression I go back to talking about the health and size of our precious testicles proposing another couple of tests that I consider very useful to ensure that our “jewels” are always in full health.

Test number 2 – The spoon test

This test is based on the ejaculatory capacity, that is on the quantity of sperm that our testicles are able to produce and is sufficiently simple and practical to be easily performed by every man.

• If you are able to fill an entire teaspoon yourself and the consistency of the sperm is thick, pasty and homogeneous… result A
• If you are able to fill an entire teaspoon but the consistency of the sperm is thin and watery… result B

• If you are NOT able to fill an entire teaspoon but the consistency of the sperm is thick, pasty and homogeneous… result C
• If you are NOT able to fill an entire teaspoon and the consistency of the sperm is thin and watery… result D
• If you can’t fill even a third of a teaspoon… result E

A is the result we should normally achieve. F is the result we should hope to never get.

Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are chronic inflammatory bowel disorders (acronym IBD, from Inflammatory bowel disease) that seem to predispose to a greater risk of developing colon cancer – but also hematologic malignancies and lung cancers, bladder skin and liver). However, few studies have investigated the relationship between chronic intestinal diseases and prostate cancer, with contradictory results. A new study on this problem was published in the scientific journal European Urology. Let’s try to understand together what it is.

This is a retrospective study that took into consideration 1033 male patients with IBD and 9306 control cases (without IBD) who turned from 1996 to 2017 to any clinic in the Northwestern University (Illinois) group, to undergo the dosage of prostate specific antigen (PSA), an enzyme produced by the prostate, usually present in the circulation in low quantities and which increases in cases of prostate infections, benign prostatic hypertrophy and prostate cancer.

In the study, there was a 4 to more than 5 times higher risk of developing any type of prostate cancer for individuals with IBD than for those not affected. This risk varies in relation to the age group and the ethnic group, and the age range with the highest risk (greater than 8 times) is over 70 years. Furthermore, the risk of developing more aggressive prostate cancer is greater for people with IBD in the age group where it is recommended to undergo screening for this condition (over 50 years). Regarding the value of PSA, a tendency to increase its value has been observed in patients with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

Furthermore, a previous meta-analysis, which brought together more than 12,000 patients, did not observe an increase in the incidence of prostate cancer among IBD patients. All these studies, including that of Northwestern University, as the authors themselves state, suffer from some limitations, therefore there is still no certainty of a link between inflammatory bowel diseases and prostate cancer and further research will be needed to ascertain the evidences gathered so far.

In conclusion, it is known that in the general population the risk of developing prostate cancer increases with age, but the Northwestern University study shows that the risk is greater in the population affected by Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis and that already at starting at age 50 also increases the risk of developing the most aggressive forms of this cancer. According to the authors of the study, therefore, a regular specific medical check would be desirable, especially if their result is confirmed by future investigations.

Hematospermia (also called emospermia) is a pseudo-pathological condition characterized by the presence of blood in the sperm, which occurred during or immediately after ejaculation, often painful. Most affected patients describe the problem complaining of blotches or streaks of bright red blood inside the seminal fluid; some subjects affirm that the spots also appear with a black color, comparing them to the shades of coffee that gives the sperm brownish color.

Although representing a highly alarming clinical sign for the affected patient, in the vast majority of cases, the blood in the sperm, clinically, does not raise particular concerns: hematospermia is in fact considered a benign and self-limited condition in most cases. However, given that in some cases it can be a sign of pathologies that can be very serious, the opinion of the doctor is fundamental, in order to exclude any hidden pathologies and to clear up any doubts.

Incidence of hematospermia

Many are the patients who, at least once in their lifetime, have observed traces of blood in the sperm: more often than not, the target of the apparently pathological condition is young people, especially those with a sexually active and promiscuous life. By contrast, other sources report that even prolonged sexual abstinence may represent a risk factor for hematospermia.

Only rarely, adults and the elderly complain of episodes of hematospermia linked to an intensity and a certain frequency of sexual intercourse: in similar situations, often, the cause of the blood in the sperm resides in more serious problems, which will be examined in the next paragraph. Clearly, the occasional nature of the condition should not worry too much; when instead hematospermia becomes a frequent phenomenon, medical examination is absolutely inevitable. It is observed that hematospermia is a recurrent situation in about 2% of urological problems.

What causes hematospermia?

It is important to distinguish two large classes of hematospermia:

• blood in sperm from non-pathological causes;
• blood in sperm secondary to pathologies.

To investigate the causes that can cause hematospermia, an important topic because it will allow you to fully understand its possible treatments, I suggest you read this article: Pathological and non pathological causes of hematospermia

In most of the subjects diagnosed, the blood in the sperm shows a bright red color: when the condition occurs frequently, it is very likely that inflammation of the urethra, prostate or seminal vesicles is taking place. This is explained by the rupture – or at least from microlesions of the blood vessels – that occurred during ejaculation: in fact, the inevitable contractions of the smooth muscles generated by the ejaculatory act subject the capillary walls, already injured previously, to an excessive effort, which is translates into spilled blood mixed with sperm.

When hematospermia becomes a particularly recurrent problem, the blood emitted along with the sperm, during ejaculation, tends to become darker, varying shades from brown to black. In almost all cases, patients complaining of episodes of brown blood in the sperm have previously witnessed the release of bright red blood in semen. Brown or black blood is the consequence of of blood residues accumulated previously in the prostate or in the seminal bladder: due to oxidative processes, the blood color varies from bright red to burgundy – brown.