Author: noorali

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Does Coffee Improve Sexual Performance?

Sex has been part of our lives since Adam and Eve decided to have a cup of coffee…ok I am just kidding. Anyway, Adam and Eve did what they had to do without the necessity of having coffee or having a smoke. They just needed and an apple. Now you won’t find an apple in anybody’s bedroom or a hotel room. Instead, you find a small coffee maker.

Coffee is known to do many things. But does it improve sexual performance?

In 1990, a paper was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine looking at sexual function in people over the age of 60 in Washtenaw County, Michigan. Their study showed that estimated proportions of individuals who were sexually active were 73.8 per cent for married men and 55.8 per cent for married women.

Among unmarried men and women the proportions were 31.1 per cent and 5.3 per cent, respectively. The levels of sexual activity decreased significantly with age in both genders. The estimated proportion of married men with erectile impotence was 35.3 per cent. The authors found that consumption of at least one cup of coffee per day was significantly associated with a higher prevalence of sexual activity in women and with a higher potency rate in men.

Ok, one cup of coffee would do the trick? Then why take the blue pill? I doubt whether coffee will ever replace your Viagra, Cialis, or Levitra. But coffee should keep you awake for awhile during sexual performance if you are in a habit of dosing off before the foreplay is over.

Scientists from Southwestern University found caffeine increased the female libido in experiments on rats. The Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behaviour journal study said the effect was caused by it stimulating the part of the brain regulating arousal. But researchers said a similar effect was only likely to be repeated in humans who do not drink coffee regularly. Well, that study does not help much.

According to a report in the Globe and Mail (February 6, 2009), psychologists at Durham University in Britain questioned 200 people about their daily caffeine intake and whether they had ever had a hallucinatory experience.

The researchers found that hard-core coffee drinkers (those who consume an average of seven cups daily) were three times more likely to report seeing things that weren’t there, hearing voices and feeling as if they were floating above their bodies. I wonder who would like to make love to a person who has had seven cups of coffee. It would be a different kind of experience….levitational love making.

Caffeine is a mild stimulant which acts on the central nervous system and some other organs of the body. It temporarily improves concentration, alertness, reasoning, intellectual effort and vigilance. A prerequisite before love making? The stimulant effects of a small amount (say one cup of coffee) take effect after 15 – 45 minutes and last normally for about four hours.

Caffeine is readily absorbed into the bloodstream and does not accumulate in the body, being rapidly metabolized and excreted. It is interesting to know that the effects of caffeine do not last so long in smokers – nicotine doubles the speed at which caffeine is broken down in the body. Alcohol has a similar effect.

In summary, caffeine is a mild stimulant which may help with your sexual performance but do not make love to a person who has had seven or more cups of coffee. If you do then you will be singing …Love is in the air….

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Watch Out for the Blood Sucking Female Mosquitoes

For the past several summers we have been worrying about West Nile virus. This virus was first isolated in 1937 from the blood of a patient on the West Nile province of Uganda. Not too far from where I was born. The man had fever. Initially, the outbreaks of the disease were few. But over the years the numbers have increased.

In North America, the virus was first detected in 1999. It was in New York. From there it was exported to Ontario and rest of Canada. Most cases of West Nile virus are mild and self-resolving. But one per cent of cases get infection in the nervous system.

Culex tarsalis is the blood sucking female mosquito that spreads the virus. As the summer comes and the temperature soars, the West Nile virus activity increases. Alberta Health and Wellness undertook a study of West Nile virus prevalence through June 2007. The report is posted on its website.

According to this report, Alberta experienced its first locally acquired clinical cases of West Nile virus (275 confirmed human cases) in the summer of 2003. Since then, clinical (e.g., symptomatic) infections have been detected every year, though the numbers have fluctuated.

From 2004 to 2006, there were very few clinical cases with a combined total of 51. In 2007 there was an increase in the number of infections with 320 cases and the first two deaths associated with the virus in the province. During the 2008 West Nile virus season, only one clinical infection was detected in Alberta and it is thought to be travel-related, says the Alberta Health report.

It is important to remember that for every clinical infection of West Nile virus there are many more undetected infections in humans, since majority of the infections have no symptoms and are never detected.

West Nile virus is carried by birds. Mosquitoes get infected by feeding on the blood of these birds. Infected mosquitoes then transmit the virus to humans when they bite us.

All mosquitoes need water to develop from their immature stages to adulthood. The life cycle takes less than 10 days to complete if the surrounding temperature is favorable. Once the adult mosquito is ready to fly then it looks for something to eat.

Nectar from flowers provides energy to both male and female mosquitoes. While male mosquitoes feed exclusively on nectar, the female mosquito needs blood to produce her eggs. The source of blood can be animals (including people) and birds.

It is important to control the breeding sites around your home by preventing stagnation of water (flower pots, gardening cans, wheelbarrows, puddles, tire swings, bird baths and eavestroughs) even in small quantities. Boats and gardening containers can be stored upside down.

During mosquito season you should limit your outdoor activities. Minimize exposure of your skin by wearing long pants, shirts with long sleeves, socks and shoes when outdoors. Loose clothings will keep mosquitoes away from the skin. Use insect repellents like DEET. Read the directions carefully before using DEET-based repellents especially on children, infants and yourself.

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Sun Worshipers Should Take Steps to Avoid Melanoma

Melanoma is one of the three common skin cancers which is caused mainly by exposure to sunrays. The other two are basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma.

For Canadian males, the rate for melanoma has tripled since the late 1960s. For Canadian females, the rates have varied over the years but still show a gradual increase.

Melanoma is the most serious form of skin cancer. If diagnosed and removed early then the cure rate can be excellent. Once the cancer advances and spreads to other parts of the body, it is hard to treat and can be deadly. The death rate from melanoma continues to rise about two percent annually.

Skin is the largest organ of our body and has many important functions to protect us from environment. Skin is constantly exposed to sun, wind, industrial elements and other causes of external and internal injury.

Melanoma arises from cells called melanocytes. These cells contain melanin (melas = black) – a principal pigment responsible for the color of human skin, hair, and eyes. Melanin also acts as a filter to decrease the harmful effects of ultraviolet rays to the dermis.

When the skin is exposed to ultraviolet radiation, there is immediate increase in the number of melanocytes and production of melanin pigment. This results in tanning. The amount of melanin produced is genetically determined. That is why some people burn easily without tanning.

The risk of skin cancer is increased in individuals who spend too much time outdoors; children who have had episodic sunburn, and if there is a family or personal history of skin cancer (especially melanoma). Males are affected more than females.

There are two important things to remember about prevention of skin cancer: cover up and stay out of the sun.

We need to remember that skin tanned by ultraviolet radiation is damaged skin which predisposes to cancer. We need to avoid sunburn and generally reduce exposure to ultraviolet radiation by staying out of the midday sun, wearing protective clothing, seeking shade, and applying sunscreen.

We should have moles or sun burnt skin surgically removed if they show signs of change or non-healing. Bleeding, chronic irritation, change in color or size should warn us to have these moles removed.

Despite having a good understanding of the relation between overexposure to the sun and skin cancer, 81per cent of North Americans still think they look good after being in the sun. Just like the smokers. They know smoking kills but they still smoke.

Does melanoma occur in children? Yes, approximately two per cent of melanomas occur in patients under the age of 20 years, and about 0.4 per cent of melanomas occur in pre-pubertal children.

Prevention of skin cancer is very important. This should start in childhood. More than 90 percent of skin cancers occur on sun-exposed areas of the body. So, protect yourselves from the damaging effects of sun and tanning beds.

Artificial tanning machines are also dangerous. Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) said the increased popularity of artificial tanning machines is one of the main reasons for a rapid increase in incidence of skin cancer, particularly among young women in Europe and North America.

WHO suggested Governments should pass laws on the responsible use of sun beds, banning their use for all people under 18.

So make an investment in sunscreen, wide brimmed hat, sunglasses which filter ultraviolet rays and stay away from the sun between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Enjoy the summer, get enough vitamin D for the winter but be sun smart.

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Early Diagnosis Saves Life in Flesh-Eating Disease

Dear Dr. B: My son has developed serious infection in his leg. How do I know if this is flesh-eating disease?

The most famous case of flesh-eating disease (FED) in Canada is Loucien Bouchard, the former premier of Quebec. He luckily survived and had to have one leg amputated.

FED is a very serious kind of infection which spreads rapidly in the body. It is deep seated under the skin and progressively destroys fat, fascia and muscles. The condition is also known as necrotizing fasciitis.

FED was first described by Hippocrates around 500 B.C. The condition is not that common. In Canada, it is estimated that 90 to 200 cases of FED occur each year. In the US, approximately 1000 cases are seen in a year. Since the condition is not common, a physician would probably see one or two cases in his career.

The death rate in FED has not changed in the last 30 years and remains around 25 to 35 per cent. Death rate is directly related to early diagnosis and surgical intervention.

The most common sites of infection are perineal and groin areas and post surgical wounds. Infection around the umbilicus in a new born can be life-threatening. Among children the FED can be a serious complication of varicella infection. Infection can occur in the trunk and the limbs. Patient who are diabetic, intravenous drug abusers, immuno-compromised or have peripheral vascular disease are also prone to FED.

How to diagnose FED?

The diagnosis is clinical. It is not always easy to make a diagnosis. But the condition should be kept in mind in any kind of skin infection.

Initially, it is hard to differentiate from ordinary infection of the skin. But gradually patients get very sick. The pain is more severe than the clinical findings. There are only minor changes in the skin in early phases.

The factors that help distinguish FED from ordinary skin infection include a generalized rash, toxic appearance, fever and low platelet count. Plain x-ray can reveal gas under the skin or soft-tissue swelling but cannot show deeper gas under the fascia. CAT scan is more sensitive because it can show inflammatory changes like fascial swelling, thickening, abscesses and gas formation. MRI can add more information but ultrasound has poor sensitivity and specificity in this condition.

“The main diagnostic tool, however, is surgical exploration”, says an editorial in the British Medical Journal (BMJ). The characteristic finding at surgery is of grey, edematous fat, which strips off the underlying fascia with a sweep of the finger. Deeper changes are invariably more widespread than the skin changes. If FED is suspected then surgical exploration should be undertaken and can be life saving.

Intravenous antibiotic therapy has an important role in reducing generalized infection and spread of bacteria in the body. The BMJ editorial says that no evidence exists that antibiotics halt the infection in FED and their use may tempt the surgeon to perform less mutilating and less effective surgery. Nevertheless, broad spectrum antibiotic cover is routine and should specifically target anaerobes and streptococci.

Hyperbaric oxygen is strongly advocated by some. But there are no controlled studies to prove its usefulness. Using it would seem reasonable if it was readily available but not if the need for inter-hospital transfer delayed definitive surgery, says the editorial.

In summary, the diagnosis of FED is mainly clinical. Surgery is the mainstay of management. Patient should be taken to the operating room as soon as flesh-eating disease is suspected. Massive removal of dead and dying tissue is undertaken. Sometimes amputation becomes necessary. Patient may require surgery more than once.

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