Taking care of your health is a useful thing, but even in it there is a lot of room for embarrassment and harmful delusions. We asked Konstantin Lokshin, Doctor of Medical Sciences and Head of the Center for Operative Urology, Oncourology and Andrology of the GMS Clinic Medical Center, about the problems with which one should go healthcare solutions, and what, on the contrary, should not be feared.
What symptoms should you go to a urologist with, and which shouldn’t you be afraid of?
In no case should this moment be ignored. Especially smokers, because smoking is a risk factor for lung cancer, bladder cancer, and, to a lesser extent, prostate cancer.
Other signs are pain and discomfort in the testicles, pain in the perineum, unusual discharge from the urethra, lower back pain, especially if it manifests itself on one side.
If the testicles or one of them change in size, this is also a reason to see a doctor. But their different position just should not be alarming.
It is necessary to monitor how urine is excreted – there should be no pain, and trips to the toilet should be on average 6-8 times a day. If the stream is weak, urination is difficult, intermittent, incontinence appears, frequent nighttime urges – all these are reasons to consult a doctor, although not all of them definitely mean that the person is sick.
Prostate adenoma – is this a sentence and will only get worse?
No, absolutely not. In most men, after 40-50 years, an adenoma appears to one degree or another, and by the age of 90, all of them. But only in about a third of them it becomes a disease, for the rest it is, let’s say, the process of growing up.
For most people who still need to be treated, there are solutions for conservative treatment of this disease. And only 25-30% of this third may ultimately need surgery.
What common fears associated with urological diseases are unfounded?
The fear of adenoma turning into cancer, for example, is unfounded – contrary to what unscrupulous advertising sometimes tries to impose. “Have you been tested for hidden infections? Otherwise, they will cause prostatitis, adenoma, and then cancer. ” Not only is this not so, it just becomes the cause of fears – a person decides not to go anywhere and not to be checked, they say, what will be, that cannot be avoided, and this is just harmful to health.
Yes, it is better not to get STDs, and yes, an adenoma occurs in almost all men in the end, but no, it does not degenerate into cancer. Men after 45-50 years do have a parallel risk of prostate cancer, but they are not related, they even grow from different parts of the prostate gland.
Are there any harmful myths associated with STDs?
Of course, for example, oral sex without a condom is safe and no diseases are transmitted through it. They are transmitted, so protection should be taken care of in any case and checked regularly. According to international recommendations, if a person has two or more partners during the year, it is recommended to undergo annual screening for STDs.
Another is that you can only get infected during sex. Some diseases can be contracted from a towel, from a toilet seat and so on, that is, the sexual route cannot be called exclusive. Another thing is that the probability, of course, is lower, but it exists, especially if there are wounds, cracks, and so on. But there is no need to walk and be afraid – basic hygiene, care and accuracy are enough.
Is a small penis normal?
The fear of size is one of the most common. Recently, colleagues conducted a survey – according to its results, it turned out that the average size of the penis is 21 cm.When the participants were asked to try it on again and were taught exactly how, it turned out that the average length is still 13 cm. These are the average figures – 12-16 cm – moreover, it is necessary to measure not just “from the abdomen”, but from the pubic articulation. Some have fat there – if you do not measure it, then less can be counted. Many people are dissatisfied with their appearance, and dissatisfaction with this area is also common, but this does not mean that there is a real reason for alarm and some serious measures. I am not a supporter of penis enlargement surgery without indications.
There are also pathological abnormalities – there is the concept of “micropenis”, there is a hidden penis. In the vast majority of situations, a person can be helped – modern medicine is not about despair at all. There is a whole subsection of genital surgery in urology, these are specialists who deal with complex operations for gender reassignment, reduction, extension, enlargement, compression. To the extent that you can make a new penis from the latissimus dorsi muscle. A man tensed a muscle – and he seemed to have an erection. I do not own this surgery, but I am familiar with such specialists. There is almost always a solution that allows a person to live a sex life, even if it seemed that there was no chance – for example, with traumatic loss of the penis.
Male infertility – is it worth it to be afraid and what to do?
There is no need to be afraid of anything. To begin with, it is necessary to determine whether it is infertility or a state of subfertility, that is, a reduced ability to conceive. There is statistics that it is worth starting to be examined in this area if a generally healthy couple does not conceive during the year with regular sexual activity – it is with regular, and not occasionally. If a woman in a couple is over 35 years old, then this period is reduced to six months. This is due to the fact that in many modern women, the ovarian reserve (the total number of eggs) is reduced, this is due to interventions and other factors.
Whatever the reason for male infertility, this is not a sentence. Even if we are talking about an extreme degree – azoospermia, in which there are no sperm in the ejaculate. Now there are techniques that allow, at least within the framework of IVF, to conceive a child.