Information on popular complementary and alternative medical topics

The uterus is shaped like a small pear that sits upside down in the pelvic cavity, with the cervix as the “stem.” It is where a fertilized egg implants itself at the beginning of a pregnancy. (An ectopic pregnancy occurs when the fertilized egg implants itself somewhere outside the uterus, such as in the Fallopian tubes.) The uterus has a very rich blood supply and provides nourishment for the developing embryo. The uterus is very muscular and can grow to a very large size during pregnancy, but it shrinks back to just a little bit bigger than its prepregnancy size afterward. The lining of the uterus (called the endometrium) builds up each month in preparation for a pregnancy, and the lining is shed during menstruation (the period) if the woman does not become pregnant.

The lining of the uterus can also undergo cancerous changes, called endometrial cancer or uterine cancer. This is more common among older women. Fibroids are noncancerous growths in the muscle layer of the uterus that can cause pelvic pain and increased bleeding during and between periods.

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There is only one solution if old age is not to be an absurd parody of our former life, and that is to go on pursuing ends that give our existence a meaning – devotion to individuals, to groups or to causes, social, political, intellectual or creative work. In spite of the moralists’ opinion to the contrary, in old age we should wish to have passions strong enough to prevent us turning in upon ourselves. One’s life has value so long as one attributes value to the life of others, by means of love, friendship, indignation, compassion. When this is so, then there are still valid reasons for activity or speech.

Old people have to plan to keep this passionate involvement with life, so that they may continue to enjoy living.

Some do, but unfortunately many do not. Once you cease to be curious about what the future holds – however short or long that future may be – you cease to enjoy living. You become listless, apathetic, and often depressed. You become the stereotype of an old person and prove society right. You also become liable to be treated with drugs, which may make you more listless and more apathetic. While it is true that if you have always chosen a mediocre life it will be hard for you to be different in old age, you can escape if you really try. You do not need to withdraw into the twilight life of ageing. You can accept that you are growing old, and know that there is still much excitement to look forward to. You can strengthen your resolve if you remember that you are still the person you have always been, but that now you are living in an ageing body, which may force you to do things more slowly, but you can do them just as well.

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By his middle forties, a man takes longer to get an erection, he takes longer to reach orgasm, his ejaculation is less powerful, and he needs a longer time before he can start the sequence again.

Unfortunately, if a man’s upbringing has stressed male dominance in sexuality and has equated sexual prowess with the frequency and force of his orgasm, the inevitable changes of middle age may make him feel that he is less sexually potent than when younger, and he may fear a rapid decline, the end of which is impotence. This, in turn, may deter him from sexual activity.

His concern may be increased by the fact that his wife has a greater desire and capacity for sex. Many women in their climacteric years, and after, experience enhanced sexuality.

A middle-aged man should be aware that there is a wide variation in the sexual changes which occur. Some, perhaps most, middle-aged men function sexually as well as, or better than, they did when young. In middle age, the delay in obtaining an erection is well compensated for by the fact that a man can maintain his erection for longer without ejaculating, and so is better able to pleasure his partner.

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If syphilis is the cause, penicillin is the cure. The antibiotic is given daily for 10 days by injection or, using a larger dose, twice weekly for three weeks.

When the injections have been completed, the person is examined, and blood tests are taken, every month for six months and then at nine months and one year after the disease was diagnosed. If the disease is not treated until the second stage, a much longer follow-up is needed, so any man who thinks he may have syphilis should be treated as early as possible.

Syphilis is curable and preventable. If every sexual contact of an infected person could be traced and examined, and if the person who had syphilis were treated, the disease would disappear. This is why it is so important that you inform your doctor of all your sexual contacts if you contract syphilis.

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Investigation into inhibited sexual desire suggests that it may be due in some cases to a hidden hostility towards the man’s partner and in other cases to boredom, the couple having fallen into a routine pattern of life, in which everything, including sex, is predictable. In some cases, the man may lose his interest in sex with his wife because she seems to be devoting all her time to their children, or to her career; in other cases he may be guilty about an extramarital affair and the guilt may make him lose his desire for the wife he has ‘wronged’. An alternative theory is that some men lose interest in sex with their wife because they want to have an affair.

If hey find that they have no sexual desire at home they rationalize that it is justifiable to have extramarital sex. In a few cases, illnesses, such as diabetes and hepatitis, high blood pressure and drugs used to treat it, or alcoholism, may be the reason for the man’s inhibited sexual desire, but most cases are due to a failure in the relationship between the couple. An example of this is the man who complained of inhibited sexual desire.

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The period of adjusting to the changed life-style necessitated by the presence of a small, helpless, demanding, utterly dependent baby can be distressing to both parents. For biological reasons, the mother bears most of the stress. In hospital, after delivery, most mothers are not encouraged to ask the questions which trouble them. Unless the hospital permits the baby to stay all, or nearly all, the time with the mother she may have difficulty in knowing her baby and being able to interpret his cry. She does not know whether the baby is crying because of hunger, the desire for cuddling, or because it is in pain.

When she leaves hospital she may have insufficient confidence to face the demands of an unpredictable baby. In the past, parents and relatives were able to help her. But today, particularly in urban living, the new mother may feel increasingly isolated because distance precludes her mother from visiting and helping her. Even those visitors who come to see her often give her conflicting advice, and tell her of their experiences of caring for a newborn baby. These experiences are usually that the baby always smiled, rarely cried, put on weight, and was no trouble! The harassed mother contrasts this with the reality of her own baby, who wakes frequently, cries often, and seems to demand her constant attention.

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