Feelgood - Irish Examiner

TERAPROOF:User:jaycarcioneDate:27/10/2010Time:14:00:20Edition:29/10/2010FeelgoodXH2910Page:10
Zone:XH
10
Medical matters
XH - V1
Dr Niamh Houston
FAMILY
Dr Niamh Houston is a
GP with a special
interest in integrative
medicine. If you have a
question about your child’s
health email it to
feelgood@examiner.ie
or send a letter to
Feelgood
Irish Examiner
City Quarter
Lapps Quay
Cork
QMY partner is having
difficulty keeping
an erection. It’s
now become an
issue for him and
we haven’t had sex in a long
time. He doesn’t want to see
his doctor and says it’s only a
phase. Are there any natural
treatments that you recommend?
A. Having erection trouble
from time to time isn’t necessarily
a cause for concern. But if
erectile dysfunction (ED) is an
ongoing problem, it may cause
stress, affect self-confidence or
cause relationship problems as is
happening in your case. It can be
awkward for men to talk about
erectile dysfunction, but a good
place to start is with his family
doctor. Difficulty getting or
keeping an erection can be a sign
of a health condition such as
heart disease, diabetes, high
blood pressure, low testosterone,
anxiety or depression.
Male sexual arousal is a complex
process that involves the
brain, hormones, emotions,
nerves, muscles, and blood vessels.
Erectile dysfunction can result
from a problem with any of
these. Sometimes a combination
of physical and psychological issues
are the root of the problem
eg a minor physical problem that
slows a man’s sexual response can
cause anxiety about maintaining
an erection. This resulting anxiety
can lead to or worsen erectile
dysfunction. Most men have
erections during sleep without
remembering them. A simple test involves
him wrapping tape around his penis before
going to bed. If the tape is separated in the
morning, the penis was erect at some time
during the night indicating the cause is most
likely psychological and not physical. A few
counselling sessions may be all that is needed
to address this. Your family doctor will
be able to refer your to someone who specialises
in this area.
Has your partner recently started on treatment?
Medications including antidepressants,
antihistamines, pain relievers, high
blood pressure also can contribute to ED.
Being overweight, drinking too much or
taking illicit drugs can worsen ED.
The most important thing is to make sure
your partner is getting the right treatment
for any health problems that could be causing
or worsening his ED. Oral medications
such as Cialis or Viagra are successful treatments
for many men. These are not suitable
if there is a history of angina, heart disease
TURNED OFF: Difficulty getting or keeping an erection can be a
sign of a health condition, diabetes, anxiety or depression.
or heart failure, uncontrolled diabetes, very
low blood pressure or very high blood pressure.
Other medications include self-injection
with alprostadil, penile implants/pumps
or testosterone replacement therapy.
While some of these alternative treatments
for ED appear to be relatively safe, others
are more risky and can interact with medications
or cause other health problems,
DHEA is a building block for sex hormones.
It can cause acne and lower the
“good” HDL cholesterol. Horny goat weed
is a Chinese herb — it may cause blood
thinning and lower blood pressure. Yohimbine
is derived from the bark of the African
yohimbe tree. It may help with ED especially
if it’s due to psychological causes, but
has been linked to increased blood pressure,
fast or irregular heartbeat and anxiety. The
herb Ginseng (Panax) is generally considered
safe. But it may lower blood sugar levels.
Gingko another herbal remedy may help
ED by increasing the blood flow to the penis,
but do not take if you’re going to
have surgery of take a blood-thinning
medication.
Always talk to your doctor before
you try any herbal treatments — especially
if you’re taking medications
or you have a chronic health problem
such as heart disease or diabetes.
Q. Is kombucha tea good for you?
Someone recommended to take it,
but I don’t know anything about its
origin or what it contains?
A. Kombucha tea also known as
Manchurian or Kargasok tea has been
popular for a long time in other
countries, and is now gaining popularity
in Europe. It is frequently referred
to as a mushroom, which it
looks like, but it’s a colony of bacteria
and yeast, commonly called SCOBY
(symbiotic colony of bacteria and
yeast). Kombucha tea is made by
adding the colony to sugar and black
or green tea and allowing the mix to
ferment for a few weeks. The liquid
contains vinegar, B vitamins and a
number of other chemical compounds.
The fermentation process is
said to produce electronic acid,
hyaluronic acid, and other compounds
which are normally produced
by the body. It claims to have many
type of health benefits such as stimulating
the immune system , improving
digestion, eliminating toxins, improving
eyesight, skin conditions,
arthritis and even preventing cancer,
but none of these benefits have been
proven. This doesn’t mean that
kombucha tea can’t have any benefits
for your health; it just means that
there is no direct evidence that it
provides the benefits it claims to have.
Different kombucha teas may contain
moulds and fungi, some of which can cause
illness. After the tea is fermented, it is highly
acidic and contains alcohol and other compounds.
In order to maintain its possible
health benefits, kombucha tea is left unpasteurised
or raw. One of the concerns with
raw kombucha is that it may continue to
ferment and carry harmful bacteria as a result
unless it is refrigerated. There is a high
risk of contamination because kombucha tea
is often brewed in homes under non-sterile
conditions. Lead poisoning is a risk of ceramic
or lead crystal or painted pots are used
for brewing -the acids in the tea may leach
lead from its container.
There have been several reports that kombucha
tea can cause stomach upset, and allergic
reactions. More toxic reactions include
metabolic acidosis — an abnormal increase
of acid levels in body fluids, as well as
yellowing of the skin from liver damage.
NOTE: The information contained in Dr Houston’s column is not a substitute for medical advice. Always consult a doctor first
Catherine
Shanahan
MUM’S WORLD
IUSED to shop for the sake of it or to
solve through retail therapy what real life
could not resolve.
I am the first to admit there are some
things only money can buy and a cashmere
coat with fox fur trim is one of them. The
emotional uplift from a well-cut blouse is
worth an hour on the therapist’s couch.
The scene of purchase was important. Department
stores overwhelmed me and chain
store wares do not make statements. Any
woman who shops in one will spot her outfit
on the high street more often than she
cares to shake a stick at.
Shopping malls were like human zoos,
crammed with hormonal teens and
breast-feeding mums. The food hall was my
version of hell: a smorgasbord of conflicting
and unpalatable aromas where defeated parents
watched their young devour mounds of
untraceable meat masquerading as burgers.
Browsing in back street boutiques, pre-offspring,
was a reasonably enjoyable experience,
an opportunity for instant gratification,
a prelude to lunch with the girls or a
curtain-raiser for cocktails.
Nowadays, it’s a circus without a ringmaster,
at the discretion of clowns.
It is a feat of considerable achievement to
load up the car. The exercise begins with
gentle persuasion and quickly builds to
bribery.
When the demands become too outrageous,
inducements give way to threats.
The final straw is a rigid two-year-old,
locked into a posture that makes it impossible
to sit her into a car seat without use of
physical force. We take off to the din of defeat
as a irate child out-shouts the radio for
the best part of half an hour.
When we arrive at the supermarket, neither
she nor the four-year-old brother will
sit in the trolley. Instead they dive behind
stock on floor-level shelves, out of arm’s
reach but well within range to send boxes
of whatnots flying. By the time I am
through, not even the next ruler of Asia
could undo the Gordian knot at the back
of my neck.
The same rigmarole is played out in the
aftermath of shopping except this time I
must stop the trolley spinning across the
carpark while simultaneously fastening
straps in the back of the car. I am almost
done when I spot a pair of children’s character
pyjamas I definitely did not pay for. A
return to the checkout is out of the question
and I head for the open road.
Shopping has descended into the kind of
farce where I feel the fear, but do it anyway,
because my family would otherwise
starve.
It’s a world away from backstreet boutiques
where the only distraction was the
sound of the till ringing with the weight of
expectation.
Feelgood
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2010