Weight loss and diet plan for a healthy lifestyle.

When it comes to how men regard the effects that aging has on their sexuality, I’ve seen three distinct groups of opinions: in one, a man believes the popular myth that his sexuality peaked years ago, when he was 18, so since then life’s been all downhill. A man in the second group tends to deny that aging has any effect at all, even though his physiological signs tell him otherwise.

And then there’s the group in between: At first, a man may rebel a little at the changes in his sexuality—which may be anything from needing more time to become fully erect to wanting to have sex less often—but he eventually accepts the changes and may even learn to use them as a way to make sexuality more exciting and challenging.

From the time a man is in his teens all the way to his 80s and 90s, his reproductive system ages slowly from one year to the next. For most men, sexuality continues to be a very important aspect of life throughout their lives. Sexual desire continues indefinitely, despite the popular image of an uninterested, grumpy old man. One problem an 80- or 90-year-old man may have is that he is ashamed of his sexuality, because he—along with a lot of other people of all ages—has bought into the myth that older people are not and should not be sexual. This myth about sexuality is particularly a problem if he is living in a nursing home or at home with his children, because if the people around him believe the myth, chances are he will, too.

Throughout life, illness and medication can have a significant impact on your sexuality; even acetaminophen and allergies can dampen a man’s sexual desire. Though men do not experience a formal cessation of their reproductive ability such as women do when they enter menopause, the production both of sperm and testosterone decreases as a man ages. However, this usually has no bearing on his ability to father children; even 90-year-old men have become fathers.

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The main course of treatment for hemorrhoids is getting off your butt—both literally and figuratively. You should start exercising, and don’t sit for more than an hour at a time if you can help it. You should also eat a diet that is high in digestible fiber such as cereals and bran but low in nondigestible fiber such as nuts and popcorn. You can also use a stool softener such as Colace two or three times a day, especially if the stool is hard, and use premoistened Tucks pads after a bowel movement to help soothe the area. Preparation H or Anusol in cream form or suppositoties will help shrink the hemorrhoids. Your doctor may also give you a prescription for a suppository containing cortisone, which will help reduce the swelling.

If your hemorrhoids tend to recur, your doctor may want to remove them surgically with a laser or by rubber banding them, a procedure in which a band is placed around the hemorrhoid, cutting off its blood supply so that it falls off. Or he may opt for traditional surgery.

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Even if you normally don’t dwell on the general state of your health, coughing up blood or phlegm mixed with blood is bound to get your attention and your doctor’s as well.

It should. Whether you cough up blood or phlegm mixed with blood that is bright red, brownish red, or pink and bubbly, you must see your physician. It’s usually the sign of a serious underlying disease. Anytime you cough up blood that is bright red in color, the cause can be a problem with your blood’s ability to clot, a tumor in your lung, an aneurysm of the thoracic aorta, a low blood platelet count, or a burst blood vessel. When it’s a frothy pink substance that’s accompanied by wheezing and shortness of breath, it’s a sign of heart failure. Another possible cause of coughing up blood is lung cancer or tuberculosis, especially if your cough has persisted for months and it hasn’t been treated. However, when the blood is brownish and resembles coffee grounds, it’s coming from the digestive tract and is a sign of a bleeding ulcer.

In addition to coughing up blood or phlegm mixed with blood, you may also have a fever, overall body aches, and a general feeling of malaise, all of which are signs of pneumonia.

It is also important to be aware of the amount coughed up. A small amount—a teaspoonful or less—can indicate that a small vessel in the trachea or upper airway has burst, which is a relatively minor occurrence. In fact, if you’ve had a cold or flu recently, it’s highly likely that you have burst a blood vessel by frequent coughing. An amount larger than a teaspoonful can signify a serious medical condition requiring immediate medical attention.

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The first thing you must know about skin rashes is that they cannot be diagnosed over the telephone; they need to be examined by a physician.

I’ve found that the way a patient describes the rash is almost never the way it appears, at least to my diagnostic eyes.

The causes of rashes run the gamut from a reaction to a new medication that you’ve just begun to take, such as penicillin, to a low blood platelet count (if a rash is bleeding). The latter is a condition that looks like a red rash or skin irritation when it first appears but can quickly start to ooze or bleed. The cause may be a viral or bacterial infection that causes a skin infection called cellulitis, or it may be recent exposure to a toxic chemical you’ve never handled before. And people who are highly emotional sometimes break out in rashes periodically. All of these conditions require medical attention, which is why it’s so important to see your doctor for proper treatment when you first notice the rash.

First, however, ask yourself the following questions, since your answers will help your physician to determine the diagnosis and the proper treatment for your rash:

1. Have I recently been exposed to a chemical or a new medication?

2. Does the rash itch?

3. Is the rash flat, diffused, or pinpointed, confined to a certain area?

4. Where did the rash first appear?

5. Is it localized, or does the rash appear all over my body?

6. Do I have a fever and/or chills?

7. Have I recently been exposed to a person who has a rash?

8. Has my skin recently been broken due to a trauma or a bite?

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Cavities form when the bacteria that ate naturally found in the mouth combine with the sugars in food to form plaque, a sticky substance that can eat away at tooth enamel and the exposed tooth roots of adults who have gum disease. Midlife adults who have even a minor case of gingivitis ate especially prone to cavities on the tooth root because there’s no enamel on the exposed surface. And when a cavity forms on the root, it can hasten an advanced case of gum disease. Saliva does help to wash away excess bacteria. But since saliva production decreases with age, you’ll need to pay close attention to your dental hygiene.

Your dentist will treat a cavity by first removing the decay and then placing a filling in the tooth. Fillings are made of gold, a porcelain cement that blends in with your natural tooth color, or silver amalgam, which is a combination of silver, mercury, and copper.

If the decay is extensive and threatens the tooth, your dentist may suggest a root canal, which removes the deep decay and the tooth nerves but allows the tooth to remain.

Your dentist will also map out a detailed home care plan designed to prevent future cavities.

Tips and Precautions

The many different brands of fluoride treatment on the market today can go a long way toward protecting your teeth from decay. Your dentist or hygienist may prescribe a special gel or paste for you. You may find that some are painful to your sensitive teeth, so it’s a good idea to experiment until you find the kind that works best for you.

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