Alcohol and sexual relationship

Too much alcohol eventually decreases sexual potency, as it does health in general. A well-balanced diet, enough rest, and general care of the body, as discussed elsewhere in this book, are essential to your health, of which your sexual health is an important part. It is obviously hazardous to try to decrease sexual desire by exhausting yourself or eating so little as to feel generally below par. Let us add that there are no special foods that increase or decrease potency. 

When abstinence is necessary, keeping busy and avoiding erotic stimulation as much as possible may relieve sexual tensions. Is intercourse ever dangerous or harmful? It is dangerous when either partner has a venereal disease. Intercourse, as well as other forms of close contact, should be avoided during contagious illness of any type. Certain non-contagious diseases make intercourse unadvisable or even dangerous.

Anyone who is not in good health should discuss this matter frankly with his or her physician, who will be able to decide whether or not coitus is permissible. However, we want to make the point that it is often possible to prevent undue strain or overexertion for one or both partners by using certain positions during intercourse. 

We know of couples who have abandoned sexual relations because the wife could not tolerate the weight of her husband, or the activity was too much for the husband's heart. They had the misconception that it was not "nice" or "right" or "normal" to use positions for coitus that would overcome their difficulties. While most people in our culture assume one position for intercourse, this is only a matter of custom.

There is absolutely no reason to consider those over 40, worry unduly about such an episode and develop a "fear of failure" cycle. It is the fear, not the aging that leads to their chronic impotence. What if a husband wishes sexual relations when the wife is not in the mood? Assuming that she is not disturbed by unsettled problems outside the bedroom and that she is not withholding sex as a kind of punishment, the fortunate fact is that a wife can participate in sex as a loving partner even if she is not in the mood. Often, the fact that she is giving pleasure to her husband is enough to change her mood, to transform passive acceptance into active desire. 

HOW CAN YOU USE PREVENTIVE TECHNIQUES for Dental care?

HOW CAN YOU USE PREVENTIVE TECHNIQUES?

A cardinal rule is to see your dentist for regular checkups. Get your children to him early, even at age two. Encourage your dentist to use preventive measures in the office-fluoride topical applications once or twice a year, or oftener if needed, and not only for children but for adults in the family. 

If your dentist is too busy or not interested, you can find one who will be interested, happy to take the time for the applications and for instruction.

Make use of the following guide for mouth care which details, step by step, the home oral hygiene measures advocated by many dentists who are leaders in the preventive approach. You can check the guide with your dentist for any special suggestions he may have that could make it even more valuable for you.

A GUIDE FOR EFFECTIVE MOUTH CARE

This is a guide to thorough cleaning of the mouth, not just brushing of the teeth, as a means of helping to prevent both decay and gum disease. It is important to remember that decay occurs when bacteria attack food particles and produce acid which eats away at the tooth structure. The bacteria cluster on teeth in a film called plaque. 

Plaque also fosters tartar formation and, in turn, gum inflammation and infection. Whenever possible, brush after eating to remove food particles.

But remember: one complete cleaning of the mouth, preferably at night before retiring when you can take time to be thorough, is essential. Because it takes 24 hours for plaque to form anew, one such cleaning daily can help eliminate this prime factor in both gum disease and decay.

Dental care

Dentists take the time to show patients exactly how to break up and clean away plaque with toothbrushing methods not the same as those most of us use; and they demonstrate the use of dental floss, not as most of us use it to merely dislodge food particles from between the teeth, but also to get plaque off the sides of the teeth. 

They send patients home with a supply of wafers and a little dental mirror to be used for self-checking on home cleaning. They take the time to recheck with wafers in the office on subsequent visits to make certain home care is effective. Ideally, the mouth should be cleansed immediately after a meal or snack. Practically, that is a difficult goal for many people. But these dentists emphasize that, because it takes 24 hours or more for plaque to reform, even a single thorough cleansing of the mouth at night before retiring can go a long way to minimize decay and gum disease.

And these dentists can point to patients, children andadults, with long histories of severe decay brought under control by educated home care. Among these dentists are periodontitis, specialists in gum diseases, who get only the worst cases referred to them-so far advanced that surgery to eliminate the deep gum pockets is necessary. But, typically, they will not operate until the patient is shown how to care for his mouth at home and goes on a prevention program for several weeks or even months. In virtually every case, these periodontitis report, they are able to demonstrate that the patient himself, with proper home care, can bring even the most advanced periodontal disease under control so that, once surgical repairs are made, there will be no recurrence.

 Under way today is a vast amount of research seeking additional preventive measures. Before long, anti-decay agents may be going into foods. Recent studies with children suggest that a chemical, sodium dihydrogen phosphate, added to breakfast cereals, can help reduce decay. Other work indicates that adding phosphate to chewing gum can be similarly helpful. In a dozen laboratories, scientists are busy trying to develop a vaccine that may immunize against decay-causing bacteria. Much other research is going on. But the preventive measures available right now can drastically reduce dental disease. 

PREVENTION OF DECAY

 MOVING TOWARD PREVENTION OF DECAY

The first glimmer of hope for avoidance came with the discovery some 30 years ago of the value of fluoridated drinking water. Ingested regularly during childhood while the teeth were being formed, fluoride could combine with the developing enamel to make it more acid-resistant. It could halve the incidence of decay in children. Currently, some 3,000 communities serving about one third of the total population have fluoridated water. 

Many dentists in no fluoridated areas now prescribe fluoride tablets, or vitamins with fluoride added, for children. Another advance came about 20 years ago with the discovery that painting a sodium fluoride solution directly on the enamel could cut decay 25 to 40 percent. This, however, was true only for children up to about age 15. And the applications, which took quite some time, did not add extra protection for children in fluoridated water communities. 

After some searching, scientists next turned up stannous fluoride, a combination of tin and fluorine. One application a year of stannous fluoride proved far more effective than sodium fluoride applications. It added to the protective effect of ingested fluoride. And it worked for adults as well as children.

There followed incorporation of fluoride in toothpastes-to provide, in effect, a daily topical fluoride application that could supplement periodic applications by the dentist. In 1960, for the first time, the American Dental Association established a therapeutic category for dentifrices. 

Where before toothpastes had been considered aids to cleaning and no more, now, with fluoride added, they could also reduce decay by one third or more. At that point, the picture was this: Ingested fluoride could help endow youngsters with teeth better able to resist decay. Topical applications by a dentist and use offluoridated toothpaste could increase protection. Combined, the measures could reduce decay by as much as 90 percent in children. 

Another important development was to come when work of the Armed Forces demonstrated dramatically that adults, too, could benefit. These very same methods provide for even further improvement in reducing decay. 

PREVENTIVE CARE OF THE ENDOCRINE SYSTEM

PREVENTIVE CARE OF THE ENDOCRINE SYSTEM 

It has been said that we are what our glands make us. That, of course, is an oversimplification. Other factors enter the picture-but the glands do, indeed, have a vital role, influencing structure, function, and personality. What everyday care is required to prevent disease of the endocrine system? Everything that contributes to good general health contributes to good health of the endocrine glands. 

That includes sound nutrition; it includes proper exercise and other physical activity, which have a stimulating effect on many of the glands; it includes the avoidance as much as possible of excessive stress and strain, which may debilitate glandular functioning. If you suspect at any time that you may have a glandular problem, don't toy with the idea or attempt self-treatment. 

Let your physician consider the problem, make any necessary tests, arrive at an informed diagnosis-and then, using the constantly growing knowledge of endocrinology and growing stockpile of therapeutic aids, provide treatment.

 The sooner any endocrine disorder is discovered and properly treated, the more likely the prevention of debilitating conditions and complications. Some specific things to do : To protect the islets of Langerhans so they will secrete insulin normally, two items are important. First, keep your weight normal; obesity promotes diabetes. 

Second, use as little refined sugar as possible. We urge, too, that you read our section on diabetes and make certain that at your periodic medical checkups tests for diabetes are included. To protect the thyroid gland, use iodized salt, especially if you live away from the seacoasts. To protect the ovaries and testes against venereal disease, see our discussion of gonorrhea (page 580). 

To help assure the health of the adrenals, get reasonable amounts 'of physical activity which can provide normal stimulation for these glands. There is no primary protection for the pituitary, parathyroids, and other endocrine glands. See the Index for listing of diseases of these glands and what can be done for secondary prevention. 

Male Impotence

MALE IMPOTENCE

 Inability to have sexual relations is a complex problem. It may result from a disease of the testes or of the pituitary. Some nervous .system disorders cause impotence. In most cases, however, the testes and entire endocrine system are normal and the problem is trace- able to emotional disturbances or psychoneuroses. Such men may be helped by a family physician who understands emotional disorders. 

If necessary, the family physician may suggest help from a specialist in psychotherapy. Sterility, the inability to beget children, occurs in some men who are not impotent. It may be due to failure, for many possible reasons, to produce enough sperm or sperm active enough to reach and fertilize the female cell. 

While only one healthy sperm is needed for fertilization, and 300 million or more are usually released in an ejaculation, the journey to reach the female cell is so hazardous that many lively ones are required to ensure that a survivor gets to the right place at the right time. Ways have been found to help many men with sterility problems, as discussed elsewhere in this book. 

Male Sex Glands and Impotence

THE MALE SEX GLANDS

The two testes, which lie enclosed in the scrotal sac of skin just below the penis, secrete semen containing the male reproductive element, the sperm. They also produce the important male sex hormone, testosterone. One of the first known hormones, testosterone's activity was deduced from the events that followed removal of the testes.

 It has been known for centuries that if the testes of a boy are removed or destroyed before puberty, he does not develop typical masculine characteristics. Instead, his personality is gentle, his voice high-pitched, his chest narrow and flat, hismuscles underdeveloped. He lacks facial hair and pubic hair, his penis is small and underdeveloped, and he is impotent. In addition to affecting male sex organs and secondary sexual characteristics, testosterone stimulates muscular and bone development and helps maintain muscle strength. 

If testosterone is injected into a female animal, certain masculine characteristics develop and female hormonal function is inhibited as long as the testosterone injections continue. If testosterone is injected into a eunuch or a man with underactive secretion, the size of the sexual organ increases, secondary sexual characteristics develop, and there is an in- crease in sexual desire and potency.

The effect is transitory. 

People who benefit from testosterone require treatment for their entire lives. It is important to note here that while testosterone administration may be helpful in cases of hormone deficiency; injections of the hormone are ineffective for "rejuvenation" and may in fact be dangerous, sometimes leading to tumor or cancer of the prostate. 

The aging process is not con- fined to sexual function and cannot be halted by a single hormone or any combination of hormones yet discovered. Actually, many men can reproduce at age 70 and beyond. The feeling of decline experienced by some men is more likely to be due to factors other than sex gland inadequacy-either other physical problems or psychological difficulties. A thorough medicalcheckup is advisable rather than costly and potentially dangerous testosterone injections. 

Pulse blood system blood distribution blood pressure

THE PULSE You have undoubtedly noted physicians-and perhaps you have done the same yourself-place a finger on the radial artery ,It the wrist to "take" the pulse. The pulse is caused by the impart of blood on the arteries as the heart beats. It provides useful information about the strength and regularity of blood flow. Generally, for a person in good health, the pulse may speed up from around 70 a minute to more than 120 after vigorous exercise, but then, within three minutes, should return to the original value. There may be some quite normal deviations from average beat, deviations too from the beat with vigorous exercise, and deviations from the average interval required for return to the pre-exercise rate. If you have any doubt in your own case, you should check with your physician.

BLOOD PRESSURE Blood pressure is the force exerted against the walls of arteries as blood flows through. With each contraction of the ventricles, which is called a systole, there is a spurt of blood and this increases blood pressure. During the art of the cycle when the ventricles are not contracting, called the diastole, the pressure decreases. Thus, there is always pressure of blood, highest during systole and called the systolic pressure, lowest during diastole and called diastolic pressure. These pressures can be readily measured with an instrument, the sphygmomanometer (see page 24). And, as the discussion under high blood pressure indicates (page 596), measurement of pressure is an important means of determining the health of the heart and circulatory system.

BLOOD DISTRIBUTION The circulation of blood-so often dismissed as "blood from the heart into the arteries, to the tissues, then back to the heart through the veins" -is, in the human body, a really intricate and marvelous process. For it is remarkably adaptable. When blood moves from the heart into the aorta, it is at a speed of about 15 inches a second. Almost immediately, distribution around the body begins through arteries branching off from the aorta. From the smallest arteries, even smaller vessels called arterioles branch out. From the arterioles, blood flows to the smallest of all vessels, the capillaries. The capillaries transport blood to individual cells; and through microscopic spaces in the capillary walls, oxygen and other supplies are diffused to the cells and, in return, waste materials move into the blood- stream. The capillaries connect with venules, tiny vessels of the venous return system, which run into veins. The veins carry the blood to the great venae cavae, large vessels which empty into the right atrium of the heart.  

WHY SOME PEOPLE DRINK EXCESSIVELY? effects on blood and psycological problems

WHY SOME PEOPLE DRINK EXCESSIVELY

A drink or two can help to create an aura of relaxation and contentment, allowing cares and responsibilities to be forgotten temporarily, and encouraging sociability. Most people find this desirable--and recognize that it is desirable only as a temporary state. Some people, however, want to extend the state, cling to it, and accentuate it. When they yield to the desire, drinking more and more and even almost continuously, they become alcoholics, addicted to drink. 

Addiction involves an accommodation by the body to the presence of a drug. With the accommodation comes dependence. Details of the mechanism are not entirely clear, but it appears that the cells of the body may shift their metabolism.

They depend, of course, upon circulating blood for their nourishment. As they are exposed to alcohol in the blood, they accommodate to the presence of the alcohol. Once they have made the accommodation, they have, in effect, become as dependent upon alcohol being there as they once were upon it not being there. At this point, it is difficult to stop drinking. If an addict's alcohol supply now is taken away suddenly, he reacts with distressing symptoms which may include violent tremors, nausea, and headaches.

There is still no definitive answer to the question of what causes alcoholism. Both physical and psychological factors have been cited. Studies have failed to establish anyone specific type of pre-alcoholic personality. People who become excessive drinkers’ may or may not be immature or neurotic. Some, in early life, may have been well-adjusted only to regress, as the addictive process takes over, to immature behavior. As their addiction takes hold, all alcoholics, whatever their back- grounds, tend to become much alike in behavior.

It is as though the disease of alcoholism remolds them into a stereotype. The procurement of alcohol becomes their chief concern, superseding other interests, producing deterioration in their work, social life, and relationships with their families. One physician specializing in the treatment of alcoholics has reported that a battery of psychological tests given to 300 consecutive patients showed gross disturbance in every case. 

The patients did not conform to any single personality type and yet showed markedly similar character traits. All had low frustration tolerance and inability to tolerate tension or anxiety. All gave evidence of mental depression, withdrawal, low self-esteem, and a sense of isolation. In all cases, there was marked hostility.

Sensory organs and alcoholism-dizziness-unconcious state of brain- effects on memory

Sensory Organs and alcoholism

The potency of an individual drink is, of course, determined by the percentage of alcohol it contains. Commonly, alcoholic content is measured by "proof," a term indicating concentration by volume. The proof number is actually twice the percentage of alcohol-so that 86 proof Scotch, for example, is 43 percent alcohol. While there are variations between individuals, generally these are the effects of various blood concentrations of alcohol.

Sensory organs in the mouth and digestive tract are stimulated; blood circulates more rapidly; and there may be feelings of well-being. Bodily warmth is experienced; inhibitions begin to disappear; the drinker talks freely. Some dizziness may be felt; judgment and memory now are affected. Reaction time has slowed considerably; the drinker may be gay but somewhat wobbly. 

There may be some boisterousness, lack of self-control, unjustified confidence in the ability to drive and do other tasks. In some states, this is considered legally to be drunkenness. At this level, the drinker has little if any conscious control left. For the average drinker, this level is induced by 6-7 ounces of whiskey. It produces incoherence, confusion, inability to walk normally. 

If the drinker is still conscious, he needs help even to stand up; bladder control is lost. The drinker now may alternately sleep and wake to vomit, is unable to understand what is said to him when he is awake. When this level of blood alcohol is reached, the drinker is unconscious.

While it is possible to become drunk quickly, sobering up takes much longer. Most of the alcohol in the body is handled by the liver. There it goes through a chemical process, oxidation, in which its energy is released as heat. A feeling of warmth is experienced at first but the heat is quickly lost through the skin. Some alcohol also is oxidized or burned off in the lungs; and some is removed through sweat and urine. 

Alcoholism -Perils and precautions to take - How to come out alcoholism?

Alcoholic Drinking

THIS IS not a Prohibition treatise. If you drink alcoholic beverages-and it is certainly possible to do so intelligently and, in our opinion, rewardingly-it is important from the standpoint of preventive medicine to understand certain facts.

Drinking can begin moderately and remain moderate, and all will be well. But the number of people who fall into the trap of excessive drinking, who end up as alcoholics with a disease serious in it and serious because of other grave health problems it can trigger, has been increasing. Alcoholism ranks today as the fourth most important health problem in the United States, afflicting between 5 and 6 million persons, and exceeded in importance only by heart disease, mental illness, and cancer. One of every 13 adult males over 20 years of age is an alcoholic.

There are many women alcoholics-an unknown number because they come less to medical and public attention. Only 3 percent of the total alcoholic population is on a Skid Row. Alcoholics are to be found in every walk of life, in all occupations, races, and social strata. Drunkenness is only the most obvious manifestation of alcoholism. A slow, insidious, malignant disorder, alcoholism is a major cause of death in the 35 to 65 age group. The life expectancy of alcoholics is 10 to 12 years less than that of others.

Common causes of death include liver and heart failure, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, accident, suicide, and acute intoxication itself. Many if not most heavy drinkers are poorly nourished. One reason is that alcohol may dull the appetite so that food is forgotten after several drinks. In addition, alcohol can irritate the stomach lining, and the resulting pain may make the thought of eating repulsive. 

Drinking heavily and failing to eat properly, the alcoholic suffers malnutrition though taking in several thousand calories daily (each fluid ounce of alcohol has an Drinking energy content of 150 calories-"empty" calories which provide no sustenance for body tissues).

Delirium tremens may follow an excessive siege of drinking. This can be a temporary disorder, lasting several hours to a week, during which the victim talks incoherently and usually has visual and aural hallucinations, sleeps with difficulty, experiences nightmares. But for a person already seriously weakened by malnutrition, the DT's can be fatal. Chronic alcoholics are about eight times as likely to fall victim to cirrhosis of the liver as other people. 

The liver degenerates, sometimes so seriously that function ceases completely and the victim dies. Excessive drinking can have nervous system effects, producing painful nerve inflammation as well as impairing memory and intellectual powers. Resistance to infection is impaired, so that lobar pneumonia, for example, is more often fatal among drinkers than among nondrinkers.

Alcoholic psychosis-serious mental disturbance-constitutes about 5 percent of all mental illness. Unhappily, too, alcoholism affects not only the victim but Spouse and children as well, often leading to emotional or psychosomatic illnesses among the latter.