Reading Time: 2 minutes First, the Facts The penis is the major male reproductive organ. It also forms part of the male urinary tract system since it contains the urethra, which not only carries Read more
Reading Time: 2 minutes Semen is usually a thick, creamy-white liquid. Blood in the semen (haematospermia) is common and looks like red streaks in the fluid. It is scary to notice blood in your Read more
Reading Time: 2 minutes Delayed orgasm and anorgasmia are defined as the persistent or recurrent difficulty, delay in, or absence of attaining orgasm after sufficient sexual stimulation, which causes personal distress (Fertility & Sterility Read more
Reading Time: 3 minutes Sperm are made in the testicles. To reach the penis, they travel along the narrow tube of the epididymis (which lies just outside the testicles) and then along larger tubes Read more
Reading Time: 2 minutes If your semen goes backwards into your bladder at orgasm, instead of shooting out of the hole at the end of the penis, you have ‘retrograde ejaculation’. Men with retrograde Read more
Reading Time: 8 minutes Ejaculation is the peak of male orgasm, when the semen squirts out. How to Know If You Have Premature Ejaculation In premature ejaculation, the point of no return arrives too Read more
Reading Time: 4 minutes What Happens during an Erection? The penis contains three long cylinders of erectile tissue. Two of the cylinders lie side by side, while the third lies beneath them. The urethra, Read more
Reading Time: 3 minutes Questions to Ask Yourself Is it really an erection problem? Or is the actual problem premature ejaculation or a lack of sexual desire? Can you achieve an erection by masturbation Read more
Reading Time: 3 minutes How to Approach Your Doctor According to Men’s Health magazine, “on the Richter scale of embarrassment, impotence comes near the top”. The Viagra publicity has loosened the taboo to some Read more
Reading Time: 5 minutes Getting Treatment In the UK, only men with certain conditions (prostate cancer, spinal cord injury, kidney failure, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, spina bifida, polio, Parkinson’s disease, ‘single-gene neurological disease’, severe pelvic Read more
Reading Time: 3 minutes Sometimes we look at our bodies in a new light, and notice things that we have never seen before, and we think they are not normal. This often happens with Read more
Reading Time: 5 minutes What’s Normal? An absolutely straight penis is unusual – most have a slight curve when erect. But this should not be more than about 25° from straight, like a banana. Read more
Reading Time: 2 minutes The hole at the end of the penis is the opening of the urethra (the tube for urine and semen that is inside the penis). Discharge is usually a sign Read more
Reading Time: < 1 minute It is quite common to notice an area of skin on the penis that looks different from the surrounding skin. It may be red, shiny or scaly, or pale and Read more
Reading Time: 3 minutes Not Peeing Straight If you look carefully at the stream of urine as it leaves the penis you will notice that it comes out as a spiral. This is because Read more
Reading Time: 4 minutes What’s Normal? Most men do not think rationally about penis size. Research has shown that men do not have a clear idea of the size of their own penis. Looked Read more
Reading Time: 2 minutes The foreskin is the hood of skin that covers the head of the penis. If you have been circumcised, you will not have a foreskin. In small children the foreskin Read more
Reading Time: 2 minutes It is a good idea to examine your testicles (testes) regularly, so that you become familiar with your own anatomy. Then you will be able to tell if anything unusual Read more
Reading Time: < 1 minute If your testicles feel itchy, it is probably the scrotum that is itching – the bag of skin that contains the testicles, not the testicles themselves. Or, more often, it Read more
Reading Time: 2 minutes Pain in the Testicle or Scrotum (No Swelling) Often, the scrotum or testicle is not swollen, but there is a dull, throbbing pain or discomfort on one side that may Read more
Reading Time: 2 minutes The testicles (testes) are factories for making sperm, and the scrotum is like an air-cooled radiator that keeps the testicles at the best temperature for making sperm. About 2–3 °C Read more
Reading Time: 3 minutes It is important that all lumps within your scrotum, on or alongside your testicle are examined by a doctor. Even if you think the swelling is non-cancerous, get it checked! Read more
Reading Time: 3 minutes Some people have a testicle on only one side. On the other side, the testicle is completely missing or it may be felt as a lump in the groin. In Read more
Reading Time: < 1 minute Dr Kevin Barrett has been General Practitioner in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire since 2002 and a Primary Care Commissioner since 2008. In November 2017, Kevin became chair of the Primary Care Society Read more
Reading Time: 2 minutes Smear tests are important and can save your life. You should get yours regularly when invited even if you are not currently sexually active. They are designed to detect changes, Read more
Reading Time: 3 minutes First, the Facts The female genital tract includes the vulva, vagina, cervix, uterus (womb), fallopian tubes and ovaries. The vulva is the area surrounding the openings of the vagina and Read more
Reading Time: < 1 minute The vulva is usually slightly darker than the rest of your skin – dusky pink or brownish. There are two conditions in which it becomes white in colour. Lichen sclerosus Read more
Reading Time: 4 minutes Vaginal Lubrication The natural moistness of the vagina prevents its sides from rubbing against each other as you move about during the day. The vaginal moisture is also slightly acidic, Read more
Reading Time: < 1 minute If your vulva smells fishy, you may have bacterial vaginosis (also known as anaerobic vaginosis). This is an imbalance in the bacteria in the vagina. All women have harmless bacteria Read more
Reading Time: 4 minutes Cervix The main lump in the vagina is the cervix (neck of the womb). This projects into the far end of the vagina and is about 3 cm across. You Read more
Reading Time: 4 minutes Any of the causes of vulval itching may cause actual pain if they are severe (see section on vulval itching). Thrush or trichomonas, for example, can both make the vulva Read more
Reading Time: 3 minutes What Are the Vagina and Cervix? The vagina is a tube connecting the uterus (womb) to the outside. At the top is the cervix, which is the base of the Read more
Reading Time: 5 minutes What’s Normal It is normal to have some vaginal discharge, because the vagina stays moist as part of its self-cleansing mechanism. The normal moist discharge clears dead cells and bacteria Read more
Reading Time: 2 minutes What’s Normal To be wholly accurate, the vaginal lips should be called ‘vulval lips’. The outer lips are usually fleshy, and the inner lips are usually thin but, like every Read more
Reading Time: 5 minutes Itchiness of the vulva is almost never caused by a sexually transmitted infection, but is usually a result of thrush or a skin condition. The lips of the vulva (the Read more
Reading Time: 2 minutes The exact reasons for bedwetting are not very well understood, but here are some possibilities: Bedwetting seems to run in families. The likelihood of a child wetting the bed is Read more
Reading Time: 2 minutes Of course babies wet their nappies (diapers) any time they feel like it. Becoming dry is a complex process. The bladder has to develop its ability to hold urine at Read more
Reading Time: 5 minutes Do not worry about bedwetting if your child is 6 years old or younger, just be patient. Help your child not to feel bad about bedwetting. Smelly bedrooms and lots Read more
Reading Time: 4 minutes Are any tests needed? If your child seems healthy apart from the bedwetting, it is very unlikely that there is a serious cause. The only necessary test is a urine Read more
Reading Time: 2 minutes Adults who wet the bed at night often have problems in the daytime as well, such as having to rush to the lavatory (urgency). It may be caused by a Read more
Reading Time: < 1 minute Do not blame yourself. Remind yourself that it is not your fault. There is no need to feel guilty or dirty. And remember that no one can tell just by Read more
Reading Time: 2 minutes Check that there is nothing seriously wrong. Your doctor will ask you questions, especially about whether you have wet the bed since childhood, or whether it is a new problem. Read more
Reading Time: 2 minutes Cystitis means inflammation of the bladder, usually caused by a urinary tract infection. It may not cause any symptoms at all, or it may cause pain or burning when you Read more
Reading Time: 3 minutes What Is Cystitis? Cystitis is inflammation of the bladder. There are two main types: Bacterial cystitis is caused by bacteria, and is also referred to as a urinary tract infection Read more
Reading Time: 2 minutes Most women who have a urinary infection do not get another one, but some unlucky women seem to get them constantly. Here are some things you can do to lessen Read more
Reading Time: 2 minutes Cystitis can come on very suddenly, and the last thing you may want to do is go shopping. So make sure you have paracetamol (acetaminophen), long-life cranberry juice, potassium citrate Read more
Reading Time: 3 minutes Checking Your Urine for Bacteria Your doctor or nurse can check your urine for bacteria with a simple dipstick test, although they may not do this for a single episode Read more
Reading Time: < 1 minute Matt Brewer BSc (Hons), RN, RN(C) is an Advanced Nurse Practitioner in Primary Care. Prior to working in Primary Care, Matt was a Senior Nurse in emergency care. Subsequently going Read more
Reading Time: 5 minutes First the Facts There are three different ways to take combined hormonal contraception (CHC): A pill A patch A vaginal ring It prevents pregnancy by preventing ovulation It is over Read more
Reading Time: 6 minutes First the Facts Condoms are the only contraceptive method that can protect against both pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), if used correctly. There are two types of condoms: external Read more