Routine Care
The genitals should be kept clean, free from infection.
For this, an uncircumcised male can gently pull back the foreskin and wash off
any hellions with soap and water as often as required to keep the penis cle.in.
The genitals should be protected from blows and other injuries during football
and other strenuous sports. No special food is needed for health. No medicines
arc required, and non" Venereal Disease should be taken except under a
doctor's orders.
Masturbation causes no organic damage or harm; it may,
however, give rise-because of feelings of guilt often associated with this
practice-to emotional conflicts which may lead to phobias about syphilis or to
impotence. Five venereal diseases may affect the male genital system. Syphilis
is the most serious.
Syphilis can
be cured, and we urge you to read the section on this disease so you will not
fail to seek medical advice if you have any reason to suspect you may have
contracted syphilis. (Women, too, should understand venereal diseases.) No one
except a competent physician is capable of treating the disease properly. You
would be running grave risk if you depended upon a quack to even diagnose the
condition.
The fact that syphilis can be cured is no reason for carelessness,
smugness, or delay. Syphilis cases in the United States and in many other countries
have been increasing rapidly. One reason seems to be that many people assume
they have nothing to worry about-but, left to smoulder, syphilis can have
serious consequences.
