Important Facts that Every Woman Should Know About Men

Posted on November 16th, 2009 in sexual health | No Comments »

sexual_healthMen women relationship is one of the best relationship.It’s not an enormous stretch to say that men are somewhat clueless about women’s sexual health.Still, the male body holds a few mysteries of its own. There are so many hard facts that every women should know about it.

It Is natural for his sexual drive to drop

How does male drive play into expected sexual frequency? According to the American Sexual Behavior Study of 2006, the frequency of intercourse for married couples between the ages of 18 and 29 is 109 times per year. Levels of testosterone, the hormone that fuels the male libido, drop 1 percent to 2 percent every year once a male hits the age of 30.For couples in their 30s, the mean drops to 87; and for couples in their 40s, to 70 times per year. Couples over the age of 70 have sex at an average of 17 times per year.

He may not in mood for sex

Mood disorders or intermittent mood disturbances like a bout of anxiety will dampen desire. Physical pain, likewise, usually sends a signal to the body that it’s time to be insular and protective. “One of the biggest things that [can cause] a decrease in sex drive is drinking too much,” says Dr. Fisch. “Alcohol is a depressant and will ultimately diminish drive. If a man is repeatedly having trouble in bed, the first thing he should do is cut out the alcohol.”

health men have more sexual drive

Age, as well as physical health, plays a role in testosterone levels and, by extension, sexual drive. Testosterone is broken down in fat—especially fat found around the waist, which absorbs the hormone with disturbing efficiency. Varicoceles are distended veins in the scrotum, and the heat emitted by their heavier blood flow disrupts the production of testosterone and sperm.

He may not be aware of STD

It’s not a matter of trust—even the most sensitive, honest guy can simply not know he’s carrying a sexually transmittable disease. That goes for HPV, the most common STD, and other widespread conditions including trichomoniasis, chlamydia, and even HIV.

Suggesting “penile enhancement” may hurt him

Your message may not be so subtle nor so welcome. Besides, the late-night TV ads that promise to increase membership are for the most part bogus.You’ll both be well-served to know that average size is a little more than five inches, seen in all its glory. You can preserve your guy’s self-respect by quietly sharing your blueberries and pouring him a daily cup of green tea. Meantime, when estimating your partner’s size in a discussion with friends, he’ll thank you for rounding up.

(referd from: health.msn.com)

Women Eagerly Waiting for Their Viagra

Posted on September 24th, 2009 in health news | No Comments »

viagraIt’s been a decade since Pfizer’s lovechild was borne through the straits of regulatory approval. The little pill has helped millions of men reclaim their pride and their sex lives. It has also spawned progeny, in a sense, in the form of the erectile dysfunction drugs Levitra and Cialis. Men these days have little reason to let ED ruin a romp in the bedroom. Women, on the other hand, might not be as eager to celebrate.

After 10 years of buzz about a Viagra-like drug for women, nothing has been approved to date. Two companies are racing to change that. Both have active, advanced research programs working on prospective female libido drugs, one of which is available now to women who qualify to join a clinical trial.

Illinois-based BioSante Pharmaceuticals has launched several late-stage studies of a testosterone gel intended to remedy libido loss after menopause. About 100 U.S. medical institutions are now on board to test the drug’s safety and effectiveness among thousands of women; volunteers, some of whom will unknowingly receive a placebo, are still being recruited.

Earlier trials found the gel useful in women bothered by low desire following medically needed surgery to remove their ovaries. (Those sex organs produce roughly half a woman’s natural testosterone. Though often thought of as a “male hormone,” testosterone is tied to libido in both sexes.) A dollop a day of the gel on their arm boosted the frequency of satisfying sexual events compared with a placebo.

An approved medication for low female libido may be in higher demand than Viagra ever was for men, says Stephen Simes, president and CEO of the company. His rationale: 1.4 million off-label testosterone prescriptions were written for women in 2006 alone. He forecasts the drug will be available by 2011, as long as no snags arise. (Women interested in enrolling in the trial can E-mail the company’s investigators to see if they’re eligible.)

A nonhormonal treatment is also on the horizon, with late-stage testing well underway. Boehringer Ingelheim’s once-daily pill acts on serotonin receptors in the brain, which, after all, is the organ most heavily involved with sexual desire. Studies involve pre-menopausal women bothered by a low sex drive.

TOO SOON TO TELL. Still, excitement might be premature at this point, experts say. In 2004, a testosterone patch poised to be the first-ever treatment was denied approval by an FDA advisory committee. Long-term safety was a major worry. Procter and Gamble had demonstrated the patch’s effectiveness with minimal side effects, but that couldn’t shake concern that it might carry health risks down the line. After all, painkiller Vioxx had just been yanked off the market and the unforeseen ills of female hormone replacement therapy had recently surfaced.

“Before we approve a therapy that could be used by millions of women, I’d like to know that we’re not going to hurt them, particularly when the benefit is modest,” says Steven Nissen, chairman of the department of cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic ( Cleveland, Ohio), who was involved in deciding the patch’s fate. “This is not a lack of sympathy for those who are unable to have a satisfying sexual relationship, but about balancing risks and benefits.” The patch is approved in Europe.

One reason for the delay is that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has set its approval standards high: A drug for women must not only elicit desire but also yield an increased number of sexually satisfying events. That’s a requirement that Viagra never had to meet, says Anita Clayton, professor of psychiatry at the University of Virginia, and coauthor of “Satisfaction: Women, Sex, and the Quest for Intimacy.”

“I think the holdup is really our lack of understanding of female sexuality and applying this greater complexity to how we’re studying potential treatments,” says Clayton. “For women, a lot of our sexuality is above the neck, not below the waist,” she says, which could explain why Viagra failed to produce results when tested in females. Viagra helps men with their most typical sexual problem–the inability to achieve and maintain an erection during sex–by causing blood to pool where it’s needed. But female sex problems are more complicated and can be caused by a combination of hormonal, psychological, and interpersonal factors.

Nonetheless, treating patients will remain a difficult process until a product for women is approved, says Irwin Goldstein, director of sexual medicine at Alvarado Hospital, San Diego, California. Patients trek to his clinic from all corners of the country to seek a solution for their sexual woes.

When medically appropriate, Goldstein and other specialists prescribe testosterone products approved for men off-label in significant numbers of women like Bette (who asked that her last name not be used), whose levels of the hormone are deemed low by blood tests. Doses, of course, are scaled way back because men have much higher levels of the hormone to begin with (too much testosterone can cause acne, excess hair growth, and voice lowering in women).

“There are people who would like to go to their nearby doctor to get this care,” says Goldstein. “Having a drug that’s FDA approved would (make that possible).”

Some don’t agree. A group of self-appointed feminists are doing everything they can to ensure that female libido drugs don’t reach pharmacy shelves. “This is not what women want, and this is not what’s in their best interest,” says Leonore Tiefer, clinical associate professor of psychiatry at the New York University School of Medicine, who’s at the helm of this countermovement. Her view: It’s normal for some healthy women to experience a decline in sexual interest, and it doesn’t warrant medical treatment.So much controversy, and pink Viagra hasn’t even entered the world yet.