Once upon a time young Aladdin found a hidden lamp, and while rubbing dust over it; a Genie appeared.
‘Ask and you shall receive’ the Genie firmly said.
‘It’s very complicated, I certainly need something!’, Aladdin replied and paused.
‘This is a golden opportunity, ask for whatever comes in mind’ Genie said. ‘I truly appreciate, but what I need is ‘Private’ and I don’t dare talking about it’ paused then continued ‘A genie like you have powers right? Can’t you simply find out yourself’ Aladdin asked.
‘Sir, I need some clues first the Genie replied with a gesture.’
‘Well, I don’t feel well and I believe I need help, that’s all what I have to say for now’ Aladdin said with grimace of dissatisfaction.
‘So be it, I’ll give you money!’ Genie said.
‘No, It’s not money that I need’ Aladdin replied.
‘Ok then be it a house.’
‘No I already have a pretty nice castle.’
‘Fine … Fine… how about a fancy sports car?’
‘I already have a flying carpet!!’
‘I’m clueless, what do you need Man Help me Help you !!!?’.
A silent pause took over
‘Well, I’m concerned that my private health life is at stake and I don’t know what to do’.
The Genie smiled and exhaled a sigh of relief, picked up a card from his pocket and handled it to Aladdin ‘This is my urologist, give him a call and he shall fix you… he fixed me too!’
Private life should remain private, that’s legitimate. However, when personal safety and health are concerned and within the appropriate context of patient/doctor relationship; privacy becomes futile. Many men belonging to various cultures worldwide find it difficult to address their reproductive and sexual concerns. They feel intimidated. Sadly, they believe that such complaints will question their masculinity (misconception!!). They postpone medical testing, hesitate to seek counseling, accuse their partners being source of the problems, and refer to the online world hunting for information. Finally they reach dead end, realizing that visiting a Men’s Health clinic is inevitable, and after wasting much of their precious time, they lately decide to get tested. Even worse, for a reason men exhibit difficulty addressing their private concerns even to a medical specialist, seemingly their Super-Ego restricts release of such information, they twist words, address illusionary complaints, nag about irrelevant and non-specific narratives, and even sometimes use fake identities to describe their very own symptoms. Long story short, men are not formatted to express vulnerability especially when masculine domains are concerned.
Reproductive and/or sexual complaints may represent indirect presentations of more serious medical disorders and here is a list of common relevant scenarios (others examples may exist too):
•Low sexual drive, reduced libido and sexual frigidity can sometimes be signs of depression, hypogonadism (low levels of testosterone hormone), thyroid disorder, anemia or kidney disease.
•Erectile dysfunction or Impotence can be a sign of global vascular problem, atherosclerosis (narrowing of the blood vessels secondary to various metabolic syndromes), diabetes, heart diseases, high cholesterol levels, depression, anxiety disorders, reduced testosterone hormonal levels, and more.
•Absent sperms in conventional sperm tests, can result from either defective sperm formation and this is possibly linked to genetic disorders that can affect different body systems, or may result from obstruction to sperm pathways and in selective cases are possibly considered as the reproductive traits of other syndromes.
•Rapid or as medically known ‘Premature ejaculation’ can be an alarming sign of increased stress exposure or may reflect psychological disorder that warrants counseling.
•Painful ejaculation can be attributed to different diseases of male sexual glands, e.g. prostate gland infection, prostate gland enlargement, seminal vesicle inflammation or blockage to the urethra (the tube where urine and semen flow through).
•Reduced volume of semen can be a sign of low testosterone hormone levels, and can also be attributed to blockage of semen pathways.
•Enlarged male breast, can be a sign of elevated estrogen or prolactin hormone (a hormone that is primarily linked to lactation in females, however when secreted in excess in males can result in male factor infertility and swelling of male breasts).
With all that being said, one is compelled to be his very own care giver. Be advised that unusual findings warrant immediate call for medical evaluation, don’t postpone! Be advised to express transparency, clarity, and utmost honesty with your doctor. Simply convey all information regardless to how relevant they may appear to you, sometimes a simple piece of information is all what is needed to diagnose and treat serious condition.
Finally, Grab up your guts. Go ahead and book an appointment with your health care provider and rest assured that this decision can change your life. You don’t need a Genie helping you with this!