Some makers of textured implants did not carry out adequate tests, an investigation finds.

Significant doubts emerge over claims of twins altered as embryos to prevent them from contracting HIV.

One of Britain’s most influential surgeons says the harms of some devices are unknown.

Alex Roach, who waited seven years for a diagnosis, backs a pledge to improve care in Wales.

As an experienced lady in the sack, you’ve probably become more comfy with your body, and rock moves that would make younger you slow clap – but even the savviest women can make pre-sex mistakes. And those unforeseen errors can morph an otherwise ah-mazing romp into an experience fit for a therapist’s couch.

From protecting yourself against STDs to avoiding dry lady parts and embarrassing farts, here are six pre-sex no-nos you may want to take under consideration before your next roll in the hay.

1. Taking an antihistamine

Antihistamines work by drying out your mucous membranes to relieve nasal congestion… and in doing so, can also dry out other parts of your body, especially the vagina, says Nicole E Williams, board-certified gynaecologic surgeon. Long story short, no matter how turned on you might be, your vagina will not get the memo.

Read more: 5 things you should never ever do during sex

2. Eating spicy foods

“Foods can affect vaginal odour and taste,” says Kathryn Boling, primary care physician at Mercy Medical Center. Super-spicy foods like jalapeños can cause gas, bloating and farts that just won’t quit. What’s worse, the residue left on your hands and in your mouth post-nosh is notorious for setting genitals on fire.

3. Drinking too much

Sure, light drinking can put some people in the mood, but overdoing it can dull your senses – and may send your big O packing. “Since alcohol is a known depressant, your ability to experience an orgasm may actually be diminished if you’re too buzzed,” says Dr Williams.

In fact, one study at the University of Missouri-St. Louis found that 11% of alcohol users had problems achieving orgasm: Men who drank had a harder time ejaculating (pun totally intended), while women needed an extra stimulation for their grand finale.

Read more: 5 things you should never do after sex

4. Using an electric toothbrush

It sounds weird but using an electric toothbrush and alcohol-based mouthwashes might make you more prone to STDs. “Similar to sensitive vaginal mucosa, spinning bristles can cause tiny tears in the gums, and harsh, alcohol-based mouthwashes can dry out and irritate your mucosa, making it prone to sores and contracting STDs,” says Tsippora Shainhouse, board-certified dermatologist in Beverly Hills.

5. Shaving

If you’re a woman who prefers trimming her hedges, it’s best to shave the night before nookie to give your skin a chance to heal, says Dr Shainhouse. “Shaving will exfoliate the top layer of the skin, making the area more sensitive,” she adds. “It can irritate hair follicles, causing a pink bumpy rash, and can cause tiny cuts, which would leave your skin open to potential infections, such as herpes and HPV.”

It’s also one of the main reasons why your vagina could be itchy. Use a multi-blade razor to get a closer shave in one swipe and apply a thin layer of 1% hydrocortisone cream to reduce inflammation. Reapply the next morning if there are any signs of irritation hanging around, says Dr Shainhouse.

6. Using food as foreplay

The chocolate sauce pre-game show is hot in the moment, but the post-sex yeast infection? Not so much. “Using anything with sugar in it as a lubricant (whether on purpose or not) can cause a yeast infection, as yeast thrives on sugar,” says Dr Boling. Message received loud and clear! Check out these three foods that make him frisky.

Looking for more advice on what you shouldn’t be doing in the bedroom? Here are the four most dangerous sex positions that could actually hurt his bits, plus did you know that you can also tear, cut and bruise your vagina too?

^{This article was originally published on www.womenshealthmag.com}

^{Image credit: iStock} 

Krissy Brady

Surgeons say they are “very surprised” how little evidence was needed to get spinal rods approved.

A new federal report finds that climate change is affecting the natural environment, agriculture, energy production and use, land and water resources, transportation, and human health and welfare across the U.S. and its territories.

It’s one of those weird anatomical-arboreal coincidences: The human prostate is about the size and shape of a walnut. But what if it really were a walnut? For one thing, you’d never get prostate cancer. Which sounds great, until you realise that you could get “walnut curculio” or “walnut-husk maggot” instead. Better to deal with the devil you know.

Read more: Eating these foods may help stop prostate cancer in its tracks?

Putting the science below into action (read: more sex, more wine) won’t confer absolute immunity, but it will make your prostate one tough nut to crack.

1. Love thyself

As if masturbation didn’t already provide enough of a payoff, an Australian study found that DIY sex may also help prevent prostate cancer. The study of 2 338 men showed that the guys who masturbated five or more times a week were 34% less likely to develop prostate cancer by age 70 than those who handled matters less often.

“Seminal fluid contains substances that are carcinogenic,” says Graham Giles, PhD, the lead study author. “Regular ejaculation may help flush them out.”

And in case you’re wondering, no, masturbating more than once a day won’t offer more protection, and yes, straight-up sex works, too. But before you have unprotected nookie with your partner, be sure she’s been tested for cytomegalo-virus, a type of herpes found in cancerous prostate tissue.

2. Be happy you’re going bald

Turns out the hair-loss drug Propecia has one impressive side effect. In a National Cancer Institute (NCI) study of 18 882 men, researchers found that the men who took 5mg of Propecia, a.k.a. finasteride, daily for seven years had a 25% lower risk of prostate cancer than those taking a placebo.

Finasteride blocks production of dihydrotestosterone, a hormone that triggers hair loss and prostate growth. “It’s the first study to prove that prostate cancer is preventable,” says Peter Greenwald, MD, the NCI’s director of cancer prevention – and one of those 18 882 men. “My prostate’s normal,” he adds.

Read more: Going bald? Here’s when you should shave your head

One caution: Men on finasteride had a slightly greater chance of being diagnosed with a more aggressive form of the disease than the placebo takers did. More research on the drug is needed, but if you’re concerned about prostate cancer, discuss these findings with your doctor.

3. Wine and dine

There’s a good reason Western European men have lower prostate-cancer rates than we do. And it has nothing to do with Speedo thongs. New research suggests that certain staples of the Mediterranean diet have prostate-cancer-fighting properties.

For starters, a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute shows that men who eat more than 10g of garlic or scallions (about three cloves of garlic or two tablespoons of scallions) daily have a 50% lower risk of prostate cancer than those who eat less than 2g. (Give credit to organosulfur compounds, which are common to both vegetables.)

Then there’s red wine; red grapes are flush with resveratrol, an antioxidant found in some plants that may help inhibit the growth of prostate cancer, according to a report from the MD Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas. A glass or two of red wine daily should suffice. “If you drink too much,” says Catherine O’Brian, Ph., the lead study author, “you can neutralise the beneficial effects.”

4. Lower the bar

Here’s a PSA (public-service announcement) regarding your PSA (prostate-specific antigen): Using a score of 4.1 or greater as the alarm for prostate cancer could prove fatal.

A recent study of 6 691 men, published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), showed that this traditional threshold for ordering a follow-up biopsy may be missing 82% of prostate-cancer diagnoses in men under 60. “The threshold of 4.1 that’s being used has never been rigorously studied,” says Karen M Kuntz, ScD, one of the study’s authors.

And while critics say a lower threshold will lead to unnecessary biopsies, Rinaa Punglia, MD, another of the study authors, believes that the broader standard could be worth it. “It’s a trade-off,” she admits. “But it could save lives.”

Read more: Beat prostate cancer with sex

So how low should you go? Dr Punglia recommends that when you have your PSA level checked (annually beginning at age 50 – or 45 if you have a family history or are African-American), you observe a threshold of 2.6, especially if you’re under age 60; according to the NEJM study, following this guideline doubled the cancer-detection rate, from 18 to 36%

5. Calculate your risk

Let’s say your PSA is 2.6. You still may not need a biopsy. Instead, ask your doctor to use a nomogram. This needle-free analysis turns a patient’s age, PSA density (PSA divided by the volume of the prostate), digital-rectal-exam result and transrectal-ultrasound result into a score that helps determine whether a biopsy is really warranted.

“We can say whether or not, for your prostate, that’s a high PSA,” says Mark Garzotto, MD and director of urologic oncology at the Portland VA Medical Center.

In a study of 1 200 men, Dr Garzotto found that if a nomogram had been used in every case, it would have spared 24% of the men from unnecessary biopsies.

If your doctor can’t crunch the numbers, ask for copies of your test results; you can find and print out the same nomogram here, and do the math yourself.

6. Hit the spice rack

Researchers at the Center for Holistic Urology at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City recently found that a blend of herbs including ginger, oregano, rosemary and green tea reduced prostate-cancer cell growth by 78% in the lab.

Sold as Zyflamend, it’s thought to inhibit the activity of COX-2, a protein linked to the progression of the disease. “We’re using it with promising results in some of our patients,” says Dr Aaron Katz, the centre director.

Read more: 100 simple things you can do right now to protect your heart

Another herbal option is FBL 101. When researchers at the National Cancer Institute gave FBL 101 to mice with prostate cancer, they found that it decreased a tumour blood-vessel growth factor called VEGF to undetectable levels. Crimp the blood supply and cancer can’t survive, says William Figg, PharmD, the principal investigator.

“Men who want to delay the time before they begin traditional treatment should check this out,” he says.

Get your doctor’s okay before starting on either treatment.

7. Use a computer-assisted doctor

The radical prostatectomy recently became a lot less radical, thanks to a new robotic version of the procedure. With the da Vinci system, doctors use three-dimensional imaging to direct two nimble robotic hands through a few small slits in the patient’s abdomen to remove the cancerous prostate.

According to data from the Vattikuti Urology Institute at the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, 90% fewer men became incontinent and 50% fewer became impotent with the da Vinci system than with manual gland removal. “It’s like playing golf with a titanium driver versus a wooden driver,” says chief of urology Mani Menon, MD.

Another plus: Patients spent an average of 1.5 days in the hospital, compared with 2.3 days for open surgery.

8. Rehab your erections

Unless you’re David Beckham, this one’s a no-brainer: Take a nerve graft from your ankle and save your sex life.

The cavernous nerves, a.k.a. the boner bugle corps, are often a casualty of prostate removal if cancer has (or might) spread outside the gland. But by replacing the cavernous nerves with the sural nerve that runs along the ankle, as many as 9 000 men a year could recover erectile function, says Peter Scardino, MD, one of the developers of the procedure and chairman of urology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.

“If you’ve got only one (cavernous) nerve left, you’re firing on four cylinders, but if I do a graft, it’s like you’re firing on seven out of eight.”

And don’t worry; a slight numbness in your foot is the only side effect. Talk to your urologist about where to find a surgeon experienced in sural-nerve grafting.

^{This article was originally published on www.menshealth.com}

^{Image credit: iStock}

Interval training is one of the fastest ways to get fit, says Ryan Sandes, pro trail runner. Here’s how to slash your times.

One minute hard, one minute easy

“You run as fast as you can and you do it as many times as you can,” says AJ Calitz, a competitive trail runner. This spikes your heart rate, he says. Subtract your age from 220, this is roughly 90% of your maximum heart rate. The brief recovery time allows you hit this as often as you can.

Read more: Everything you need to know about high intensity interval training

Three minutes hard, one minute easy

“This mimics running on a trail where you run uphill for an extended amount of time and you only have a short recovery period.” He runs these at about three minutes a kilometre. “You need to be able to hold that intensity – albeit a lower intensity – for a longer amount of time.”

But remember, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Do this in your downtime:

Surf

Ryan Sandes and AJ Calitz are both keen surfers. “Surfing is great for stability exercises. It’s a full-body workout and it’s also low-impact,” says Calitz, adding that it’s one of those exercises that’s so enjoyable you don’t realise you get tired. “After four or five hours you realise that you are exhausted.”

Read more: Try this surfers workout for a strong, flexible and fit beach body

Cycling

“I believe in active recovery to maintain some conditioning and strength in my legs,” says Sandes. “I’d recommend going mountain biking two sessions a week.”

Calitz says, “It’s an awesome low-impact exercise that gets the legs ticking over. It’ll also teach you important aspects of trail running, such as managing your grip on the terrain and how to ascend.”

Read more: This man lost 74kg and is now a cycling king

Swimming

Sandes aims for two swimming sessions a week. “Swimming is a great low-impact exercise that builds good core strength,” says Calitz. “I think people misjudge the amount of core strength required to run trails. Balance is so important – especially going down, because it’s so stop-start.”

^{This article was originally published on www.mh.co.za}

^{Image credit: iStock}  

Friends Judith and Anne turned insecurity after surgery into an environmentally friendly business.