When it comes to losing weight there are many options, from simple diets to increased exercise as well as taking weight loss drug Xenical or major surgery like having a gastric band fitted. The latter two options do have side effects unfortunately in the news recently there has been a story about horrific complications from having a gastric band fitted.

Samantha Haworth, 25, had a gastric band fitted to lose weight but was left fighting for her life when the procedure caused her stomach to ‘explode’.  Weighing 28 stone at age 25 the young woman was putting her life at risk, so she took the decision to have the band fitted and for two years it seemed to be a success after she lost fourteen stone.  However after a rare complication where her band slipped and turned septic, Samantha was left in pain which at first she mistook for heartburn. She was rushed to hospital when her stomach ruptured and was minutes from death, surgeons faced a race against time to save the young lady and salvage what they could of her stomach. Samantha spent nearly a month in hospital and is still recovering at home now.

This incident does highlight some of the dangers involved in having major surgery to lose weight, however it must be mentioned that cases like this are rare.

Taking weight loss drugs can also have adverse effects on your health medications like Xenical have mild side effects as well as more serious ones:

Mild

-Headache.
-Oily spotting from the rectum.
-Abdominal pain or discomfort.
-Flatulence (wind), sometimes with discharge.
-Oily or fatty stools.
-Urgent or increased need to open the bowels.
-Diarrhoea.
-Low blood sugar levels (hypoglycaemia) in people with type 2 diabetes.
-Pain or discomfort in the rectum.
-Abdominal bloating in people with type 2 diabetes.
-Faecal incontinence.
-Tooth or gum disorders.
-Chest infections.
-Urinary tract infections.
-Fatigue.
-Irregular menstrual cycle.
-Anxiety.

Serious

-Rectal bleeding.
-Inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis).
-Diverticulitis.
-Gallstones.
-Raised liver enzymes.
-Inflammation of the liver (hepatitis).
-Kidney stones in people with chronic kidney disease.
-Skin blistering.

Many men suffer from hair loss, or male pattern baldness, (MPB) now for many years, some men would just have to live with the fact that they we losing their hair and would have to put up with it or buy a wig. However now there have been a few medical advances which can reverse the effect of MPB and hair loss.

Most recently England striker has decided to sort out his balding head, after years of torment by his Manchester United teammates he has gone under the knife and had a hair transplant, pictures of which he kindly tweeted. There has also been a string of other celebs that have also opted for this treatment, which we have mentioned in the past trying to reverse their MPB.

Wayne Rooney after hair transplant

However a hair transplant is probably not in the realms of reach for mere men on the street, you do need a large salary to afford it; however there are other methods such as a drug called Propecia, which is a once-a-day tablet that should reduce hair loss. However you do need to keep taking it for the effect to work, which can be a problem if you suffer any unfortunate side effects such as erectile problems or a low sex drive. But then again there is a pill for that too (Levitra)!

There are a couple of old wives tales which may help, but I doubt it, such as:

-Brushing what you have left of your hair vigorously
-Standing on your head
-Smearing cowpat on your head

Really not sure on that last option though, you can also get some over the counter remedies however the results for these do vary.

A recent study by Harvard University found that men taking drugs to treat erectile dysfunction showed triple the rate of sexually transmitted diseases compared with those not taking the drugs, Viagra and Cialis.

The results of the study came from an analysis of the health insurance claims of men who were aged forty and older. It’s thought that the reason for an increase in STD’s in this group of men and is more to do with attitude than the actual drugs themselves. Some men may be taking a less cautious path when it comes to their sexual experiences when taking ED medication.

According to analysis the higher rate of infections were seen a year after the men started taking the drugs like Viagra, Cialis and also Levitra to treat ED, which has lead experts to believe that men taking the drugs may be more likely to engage in unsafe sex than nonusers. The leader of the study Anupam Jena said: “Younger people have more sex partners than older folks. But per sexual encounter, the actual safeness of the sex is probably lower among older folks in the sense that they don’t use condoms.”

Currently in the US there are about 19 million new sexually spread infections occurring each year, with almost half of them aged 15 to 24 years old. However people aged 30 to 40 accounted for the largest proportion of those who were newly diagnosed with sexually transmitted infections, which included a high proportion of HIV/AIDS cases.

Many guys were told when they were young that if the ‘pleasured’ themselves all the time they would go blind. However now the tables have turned and men, who have been treating themselves with those helpful little pills, (PDE-5 inhibitor) for erectile dysfunction, may actual find themselves going blind and deaf!

According to a new study, men using Viagra, Cialis, or Levitra (the most popular erectile dysfunction treatments) could risk losing their hearing and their sight. Currently, the numbers are low risk, after a relatively small case study however the number could have increased since then as the use of these drugs has increased. They found 47 cases of sensorineural hearing loss, which is a rapid loss of hearing in one or both ears which they believed were related to Viagra, Cialis and Levitra, which included eight people in the UK.

More research and test case are needed in of erectile dysfunction drugs, there have been no serious hearing and sight losses as yet and complaints of any kind of loss are still rare.

Cialis is a successful treatment for erectile dysfunction, it’s also known as the ‘weekender pill’ due to the fact its effectiveness lasts around 36 hours. You can visit your doctor if you feel that you would benefit from taking Cialis or you can also buy Cialis online, however you need to make sure it’s from a reputable and authorised seller.

Cialis works by allowing the arteries in the penis to open wider so more blood can flow into the penis, which results in a better erection. This happens because Cialis blocks PDE5, which is important because PDE5 (phosphodiesterase type 5) is what causes a man to lose an erection. So when Cialis blocks the PDE5 chemical, more of the chemicals responsible for the erection remain, this means blood can stay in the penis longer, which allows the man to keep an erection.

It must be noted however that Cialis won’t work without stimulation, this is because chemicals that cause and erection need to be released into the penis, which only happens when the man is aroused. Also like many medications there can also be some more common side-effects, these include; headaches, facial flushing, indigestion, back pain, nasal congestion, muscle pain and pain in arms and legs. There are some more severe side effects however these can also be attributed to existing medical conditions which can be made worse by taking Cialis. This is why it’s always important to seek medical advice before taking any drug.

If you are looking at taking a medicine that treats premature ejaculation, such as Priligy, then you should always speak to a doctor or health practitioner first. Priligy is an effective treatment for premature ejaculation (PE) which is a common problem in men. It is a frustrating condition which can have an effect on both partners. Priligy helps to prolong ejaculation during sex to help increase sexual satisfaction.

If PE affects you, you should seek a Priligy consultation from a doctor who can best advise you whether or not it would be suitable or even safe for you to take, because there are some people who aren’t able to take it. If you are over 65, or suffer from heart problems, you won’t be recommended it as a treatment, also if you are taking the following medications: migraine or depression treatments, Tramadol, St John’s Wort, Tryptophan, Lithium, Thioridazine and Linezolid. So as you can see speaking to a doctor first before taking Priligy is important.

You will also be made aware by your doctor before taking Priligy that there can be side effects, such as nausea, dizziness, headaches, diarrhoea, stomach pains, bloating or sickness. However these don’t affect everyone and are normally mild symptoms of the above. Also you will be advised that Priligy should only be taken as and when it’s needed and that it is not an ongoing treatment. If premature ejaculation condition persists, it could symptomatic of a more serious problem and there for a visit to your doctor is requires.

Erectile dysfunction (ED) or impotence as it is also known is an inability to get a good enough erection to achieve satisfactory intercourse. It can also vary from man to man as well, some men can’t get a hard-on at all, some get one but it isn’t firm enough to penetrate the partner and then others can manage penetration for a bit, but then lose it quickly. Luckily now there are number of treatments available that can help such as Levitra which they can get prescribed from their doctor, so you no longer need to suffer in silence.

There are a variety of reasons why ED occurs and why it is so common, no matter what the age of the sufferer. For young males the main cause is anxiety, in particular nervousness about having sex and also using a condom. For slightly older men, around middle-age normal causes for ED tend to be stress related which can come from work, family, guilt or bereavement. Also in this age group a few cases are down to diabetes. Finally for those past middle-ages the main cause for ED with them is increasing age, which can cause deterioration in the blood vessels in the penis. For all age groups there are also some outside factors which can cause erectile dysfunction:

Diabetes
Smoking
Excessive drinking (hence the phrase ‘Brewer’s droop’)
Being obese and out-of-condition
Side-effects of certain drugs, notably ones for blood pressure and depression
Effects of recreational drugs, like cocaine.

Drug firms claim four in ten women have a low libido, expert’s claim that millions of British women suffer from sexual difficulty and one widely quoted study calculated that 43 per cent of women have problems with sex, so it’s no surprise there is an increase in pills to treat it. Many drug firms hope to make a killing with pills to treat female sexual dysfunction (FSD) as they have in the past with Viagra the treatment for male sexual dysfunction (MSD), Viagra is worth an astonishing $500 million (£316m) in sales every year.

Currently women can be prescribed a testosterone patch to boost low libido called Intrinsa, there are also other drugs currently waiting to be approved which include an anti-depressant-type drug that affects the feel-good brain chemical serotonin and one containing the hormone DHEA that the body can turn into testosterone.

However some people believe taking all this different medication may not be the answer to help women who suffer from FSD in fact a new book out states that not only is the effectiveness of such treatments is questionable, but the claim that nearly half of all women have a problem is deliberately misleading and a wild exaggeration.

FSD is not about mechanics as it is in men instead tends to be more about physical and social stress, and exhaustion, so sometimes a pill or a patch is not the best line of treatment, instead some might be helped better with counselling.

For years many men suffered with erectile dysfunction (ED) with the only treatment being drugs injected straight into the penis, or using a pump that manually increased blood supply to the organ. Then along came the little blue pill Viagra, which revolutionized treatment for ED, its estimated that one in two men over the age of 40 suffers from ED with potential causes ranging from diabetes and hormonal problems to stress and depression. Each year the NHS spends around £58 million doling out more than 17 million repeat prescriptions for Viagra and other impotence drugs to combat this.

However now a new melting wafer that can work faster than Viagra has been developed and could be a new way of helping men with ED. In the past drugs like Viagra, Cialis and Levitra have been the only option for men, but did have draw backs including side effects and time delay in working. Viagra can take between 30 minutes and an hour to fully work, a delay which can prove a passion-killer for many couples. However this new wafer, which is similar to breath freshener strips sold in sweet shops, appears to work quicker than Viagra, they contain the same active ingredients as other anti-impotence pills, but in smaller molecules. The tiny soluble strip sits on the tongue and disappears within seconds.

During a pilot study where the strip was compared with a conventional impotence pill, researchers found the strip released similar amounts of medicine into the bloodstream and other trials showed that strip works 30 per cent more quickly than Viagra, with most men responding in less than 30 minutes, compared with 40-60 minutes for other drugs. The developers believe the response time is quicker because the tissues lining the mouth are packed with hundreds of tiny blood vessels which lie near the surface of the cheek and under the tongue and these provide a quick access route into the bloodstream for the drug.

Canadian firm IntelGenx, who is the manufacturer of this pioneering medicine, is planning bigger trials to confirm the initial findings and the melting wafer could be available within the next two to three years. They also hope the same fast-acting ‘wafers’ technology could be used for other forms of medication such as pain relief, high blood pressure and depression.

Even if you have good oral hygiene, and your teeth are in good condition, they may not always look as clean as you, may want, regular checkups and teeth cleaning at your dentist in Liverpool will help however sometimes you may need a little boost to achieve the smile you want. Many people want to achieve they shiny white ‘Hollywood’ smile as seen on their favourite celebrities, you can achieve this by opting for tooth whitening treatments. There are a number of different bleaching methods available to lighten the natural shade of your teeth, some can be done at home by yourself and others require a visit to your dentist.

Treatments that can be done at home include:

Tooth whitening toothpastes, which is slightly abrasive, can help to reduce surface staining but don’t alter the natural shade of your teeth.

Over-the-counter (OTC) kits, can be bought at many pharmacies or even supermarkets, normally they contain rubber mouth trays (moulds that are approximately the same shape as your teeth) and tubes of bleaching gel. OTC kits only contain weak hydrogen peroxide, and tend not to be as effective as stronger products that may be used by your dentist.

Treatments that require a visit to your dentist in Liverpool include:

‘Power’ or ‘laser’ bleaching, you have a bleaching gel painted onto your teeth then a special, bright light is pointed at them to try to enhance the whitening process, a rubber seal around your teeth will protect your gums.

Internal bleaching involves placing a bleaching product inside a tooth and can only be done on teeth that have been successfully root-treated, which means the blood vessels and nerves inside the tooth have been replaced with a rubber filling.