Category Archives: blog

Sex education set to become part of school curriculum

blog, Sexual Health

Sex education set to become part of school curriculum

2018-04-16

It’s official. Sex education is set to become a part of the country’s school curriculum. The programme will be rolled out by none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself this Saturday at Bijapur, Chhattisgarh, under Ayushman Bharat, a national health protection scheme.

The “role play and activity based” module, titled School Health Programme, will be imparted in government schools across the country with the help of specially trained teachers and peer educators (selected school students).

The module will address various aspects of growing up including sexual and reproductive health, sexual abuse, good touch and bad touch, nutrition, mental health, sexually transmitted diseases, non-communicable diseases, injuries and violence and substance abuse in an age-appropriate manner. The 22-hour programme is a joint initiative by the Union health ministry and the ministry of human resource development and is expected to benefit 26 crore adolescents.

“Instructions have been given to dedicate one period a week for the programme,” said a senior health ministry official. “The module will cover important aspects related to adolescence in an age-appropriate manner,” said the official.

Bijapur, where the programme will be officially launched by Modi, is one among the 115 ‘aspirational districts’ from across the country, identified by the government for development under the aspirational districts scheme. Under this, the government intends to transform these districts through real-time monitoring and various welfare schemes. (Incidentally, Modi will also be the first prime minister to visit Bijapur, one of the most backward regions of the country but has started doing well on various development parameters.) “We will focus on students from class IX to XII in the first phase and eventually extend it to cover all school-going children from class I onwards. All the programmes will be role play and activity-based,” said the health ministry official.

The health ministry believes the manner in which the programme is conducted is as important as its content. “It is important how we tell them. Two teachers from each school will be selected for this purpose and trained by the education department. The ownership of the programme is with the education department, because it’s they who are going to implement it. Our health ministry officials will provide them with all the technical support,” said the official.

Attempts to introduce activity-based adolescent education programme in schools had courted controversy in the past.

A Rajya Sabha committee chaired by the then BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu (now vice-president) had rubbished an activity-based comprehensive Adolescent Education Programme (AEP) launched by the union education ministry in 2005 “as a cleverly used euphemism whose real objective was to impart sex education in schools and promote promiscuity.” It said, there is “no justification” or need to teach HIV/AIDS to schoolchildren in the 14-18 age group, sex education “incites stimulation of instincts which is detrimental to society”, basic human “instincts like food, fear, greed, coitus, etc, need not be taught, rather control of these should be the subject of education”.

Ayushman Bharat, which covers over 10 crore poor and vulnerable families have twin missions. First, creating a network of health and wellness centres to deliver comprehensive primary healthcare close to the community, and second, providing insurance cover to 40 per cent of India’s population that is most deprived, for secondary and tertiary care including for instance, hospitalisation costs.

What We Want When It Comes To Our Periods

blog, Reproductive Health

What We Want When It Comes To Our Periods

As a woman who’s been getting my period for a couple decades now, I thought I knew everything there was to know about menstruation. That is, until my team started developing Spot On, a period and birth control tracking app. In the two years since launch, we’ve gotten feedback from thousands of real users. The lessons they had to offer serve as the North Star as we continue to develop the app, and can also be useful for anyone trying to build products that serve people around their periods.

 

Help me out. Yes, for many people, periods suck. Cramps hurt, remembering tampons is annoying, and the whole thing is inconvenient more often than not. But women have had enough of products that perpetuate period myths and stereotypes equating periods with weakness. They aren’t looking for a pep talk or a promise of chocolate; they just want to be told something useful, like when to expect their period or how to manage their symptoms, and broader advice about their sexual and reproductive health. They want actionable information that’s easy to understand — and specific to their own situation.

Keep it to yourself. According to a recent survey, 68% of U.S. consumers worry about how brands use their personal data — and people are even more sensitive about health data, with 70% distrusting health technology. Whether looking for protection from their information being shared with strangers, or needing an app style and icon that is discreet enough to prevent people looking over their shoulder, people want a worry-free way to understand what’s up with their own bodies.

Period pride. Menstruation can be as empowering as it is annoying. In fact, many of the people we spoke to described their periods as a time to get back in touch with their bodies and take better care of themselves. In early user research, one young woman described her period as “My free rein for a few days,” while another said, “It’s cleansing. We should embrace it. It’s not a burden to have a vagina.”

Please stop with the pink. Regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation, the vast majority of the users we’ve spoken to are fed up with seeing heavily gendered design in anything and everything period-related — a lesson that most of the products out there, from apps to tampons, seem to have missed. As Mashable writer Rachel Kraus says, “Please stop marketing my vagina to me in a color that reeks of stale marketing meetings, approachability, and tranquility. I’m not afraid of my period, and your app can’t tame it.”

Don’t make assumptions. With all of the sexual health products I’ve worked on, there is one resounding theme in the feedback we hear, especially from those potential users young enough to have grown up with smartphones: they expect their products to treat them like individuals, not like demographics or categories. Regardless of how our users identify, they are wary of anything that makes assumptions about their gender, lifestyle, and sexual activities — including the countless period trackers that default to treating them as cisgender women with male sexual partners.

Don’t be the user—talk to them. It can be tempting to build products that solve the problems that are most familiar — especially when you’re building a period tracker as woman who’s experienced your fair share of periods. But it’s crucial to remember that, as someone working on a product, your own experience is only the tip of the iceberg, and your best guesses about what other people want often say more about you than they do about your potential user. Getting ongoing user feedback, especially if you’re supporting experiences that people often keep private, is invaluable. Whether you’re building something on your own or as part of a big company, find as many opportunities as you can for your team to get some perspective from the people your product will serve. It doesn’t have to be expensive and it doesn’t have to be perfect, but it will get you out of your own head and broaden your point of view.

It’s not one-size-fits-all. Periods are the most normal thing in the world (at least, for those of us who have had one — some dudes seem a little scared?), but that doesn’t mean there’s any “normal” period experience. We talked to some people whose flow came like clockwork and never bothered them. Others got debilitating cramps, and were using birth control to manage their symptoms even if they weren’t worried about preventing pregnancy. Some identified as men, and struggled through gender dysphoria with each cycle. And others still had mostly stopped having their periods thanks to birth control like the implant or hormonal IUD, which can reduce or eliminate periods for many users, and suddenly found themselves feeling a little nostalgic for that monthly marker.

The most important lesson? Whether it’s a cherished marker or one to be avoided, there is no single way to get a period — and our technology has to make room for the full spectrum of experiences.

We Asked 5 Sexual Health Experts What Made ‘Our Bodies, Ourselves’ Such a Revolutionary Resource

blog, Health

We Asked 5 Sexual Health Experts What Made ‘Our Bodies, Ourselves’ Such a Revolutionary Resource

Earlier this month, the group responsible for publishing the long-running sexual health resource Our Bodies, Ourselves announced that it would no longer produce new editions. The website will also no longer be updated and will instead show excerpts from the book, archived reporting from the last 12 years, and information about the history of the book.

The book was originally published in 1970 under the name Women and Their Bodies as a 193-page booklet. Put together by a group of women first known as the Doctor’s Group, then the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective (and now Our Bodies Ourselves), it was a revolutionary resource, thanks to its accurate and honest depiction of women’s health topics, including detailed information about reproductive anatomy and abortion. A year later, the title was changed to Our Bodies, Ourselves and, in 1973, the first commercial edition was published by Simon & Schuster, opening it up to a much wider audience.

Since then, it has been consistently updated every few years and translated into 31 languages. It’s become a staple in many women’s lives—something you might grab out of curiosity from your parents’ bookshelf as a kid or something your mom might gift you once you got to a certain age.

So, certainly, for anyone who grew up with Our Bodies, Ourselves, the announcement felt like the end of an era. But it’s also a sign that the way we seek out information and the wealth of information that’s available has evolved considerably since the book was first published nearly 50 years ago. And, at this point, there are many other ways to get that kind of information (hello, Internet).

Below, we spoke with five sexual and reproductive health experts about how Our Bodies, Ourselveshelped shape their ideas of women’s health and how we can help pass those ideas along to younger generations.

It’s hard to overstate the legacy of a book that’s impacted women’s lives for nearly five decades.

“Our Bodies, Ourselves was the women’s health book for decades,” Debra Herbenick, M.D., professor and director of the Center for Sexual Health Promotion at Indiana University, tells SELF. “Many people don’t know this, but when it was first published, the collective of women who made it priced it incredibly low in order for the most number of women to be able to access it.” It was originally sold for just 75 cents.

“Our Bodies, Ourselves is one of those rare books that generations of women can recall shaped their early sense of their bodies and their sexual and reproductive health,” she says.

Bodies in the book were realistic and authentic—rather than sexualized or pornographic.

“I remember reading Our Bodies, Ourselves cover to cover before I had even had my first period, which was probably the mark of a future gynecologist,” Gillian Dean, M.D., senior director of medical services at Planned Parenthood, tells SELF. “It was hugely important to me, it gave me a powerful feeling of being in control of some very important information and was a resource to me as I looked ahead to the changes that I was going to be going through.

“I’m sure it [impacted the way I practice medicine], I certainly came across it at a very formidable time,” she says. “I remember things like, in the ’70s, pen-and-ink drawings with all of the hyperrealism, the bodies with their different shapes and hair and in all of their real material humanness. And that really was part of why it was so powerful, because it didn’t provide an idealized image of people’s bodies and sexuality, but just a very real one that was nonetheless very positive and embracing without having to resort to something airbrushed or pornographic.”

The book covered all aspects of sexuality—not just safe sex, but also pleasurable sex.

“It really was a critical book,” Lauren Streicher, M.D., associate clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Feinberg School of Medicine, tells SELF. “When it came out it was the very first time there was a book that was frank, that looked at women’s sexuality in a way that was medically accurate and that was accessible to women, taking away the mystery behind it. For a lot of women this was really their only source of information, they certainly weren’t getting it in sex ed, they weren’t getting it from their doctors. And if not for Our Bodies, Ourselves they would have had no source of this critical information to help them navigate through these reproductive issues and even something as simple as normal anatomy.”

At the time it was originally published, marital guides—which contained information about how to keep your husband happy—were common. But Our Bodies, Ourselves “took a very different approach,” Dr. Streicher says. There were other books out there that explained safe sex or what happens in terms of the reproductive cycle, but this one also covered “the element beyond that, [which] is pleasurable sex, pleasurable intimacy,” she says. “This was about what you need to know as a functional mature woman in terms of your own body, your own sexuality, and your own reproductive functions.”

It encouraged everyone to take ownership of their body in a revolutionary way.

“I was privileged to work on an update of Our Bodies, Ourselves a few years ago and it’s difficult knowing where to start in reflecting on the impact of this ground-breaking publication,” Fred Wyand, director of communications at the American Sexual Health Association, tells SELF.

“The title itself gives insight into the value, and Our Bodies, Ourselves is much more than a book, it’s a vision of empowerment and ownership in a world where women still often struggle for basic rights. Proclaiming ‘our bodies’ makes it clear that this ownership is fundamental to good health and reproductive justice. It is an honor to be associated with Our Bodies, Ourselves and we all owe a deep debt of gratitude to the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective.”

Having accurate knowledge about our bodies is the first step toward advocating for our health.

“Learning that Our Bodies, Ourselves will no longer be published struck me with a pang of grief,” Michelle Nichols, M.D., a fellow with Physicians for Reproductive Health, tells SELF. “This iconic book of the women’s liberation movement was born from a brave group of women’s desires to empower other women through education.”

“By learning about the anatomy, functionality, and health of female bodies, it emboldened a generation of women to advocate for themselves both in health care as well as in society at large.”

And that’s something we can’t let ourselves lose sight of.

Should all patients be asked about their sexual orientation?

blog, Sexual Health

Should all patients be asked about their sexual orientation?

2018-01-18

In late 2017, NHS England released guidelines recommending that health professionals ask all patients about their sexual orientation in order to improve services for non-heterosexual patients, but should they? Experts debate the issue in The BMJtoday.

After decades of campaigning from lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) charities, sexual orientation is now a protected characteristic that is written into the Equality Act 2010. General practitioner and research fellow Richard Ma, from Imperial College London says all patients should be asked about their sexual orientation.

Ma comments that it would seem like a welcome step for NHS England to include sexual orientation monitoring in  and social care systems.

“Some doctors and patients have expressed concerns about this policy, citing reasons such as intrusion or invasion of privacy, fear of causing offence, doubts about relevance, data security” he says. “Whilst I understand these concerns, they result in inertia; and failure to act undermines hard fought rights of LGBT patients to better healthcare.”

Ma states there are flaws in recognising LGBT health needs. A survey of nearly 7000 gay and bisexual men, commissioned by LGBT charity, Stonewall, shows that smoking, alcohol, and drug use were more prevalent in this group compared to men in general.

“Sexual orientation monitoring is necessary to make the health service for LGBT patients fairer. If we don’t count our LGBT patients, they don’t count.” Ma concludes.

But Michael Dixon, a , says that it should be up to the individual judgement of GPs as to when it’s appropriate or useful to ask such questions about patient sexual .

He says that whilst there are health benefits from knowing a patient’s sexuality, the approach of asking ‘all’ patients is wrong.

“Apparently this is all to stop discrimination under the Equality Act, but surely the best way to avoid discrimination is by not knowing people’s sexuality in the first place” he says.

“In good medical practice, the patient’s own needs, wishes, choices, beliefs, culture, and perspective should come first – not the rules or diktats of any higher body” he concludes.

In a linked patient commentary, Tamás Bereczky, from the European AIDS Treatment Group, says whilst discussing  between doctors and  can be embarrassing, healthcare professionals should be able to talk about all sensitive topics.

“Visibility and honest discussion can also eventually reduce stigma” he concludes.

Provided by: British Medical Journal

Lesbian sexual health neglected by healthcare and education, researchers find

blog, blog-home, Sexual Health

Lesbian sexual health neglected by healthcare and education, researchers find

Due to the AIDS crisis and the HIV epidemic, sexual-health initiatives within LGBT communities have historically been heavily geared toward addressing men who have sex with men (MSM). Meanwhile, sex education in schools has used opposite-sex partners as its primary focus.

Unfortunately, research is revealing that several groups have been neglected in the process.

A new study led by researchers from the University of British Columbia reveals that although lesbian and female-bisexual teens face a higher risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) than their heterosexual counterparts, raising awareness of safe sex between women has been overlooked.

In the study, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health on December 28, 160 U.S. girls aged 14 to 18 participated in online focus groups based on whether or not they were sexually experienced.

What the researchers discovered was related to the exclusion of LGBT issues from mainstream sexual-health programs and preconceived ideas about gender.

The researchers identified four main themes as to why participants did not use latex barriers during sex.

A recurring theme was a concern about sexual pleasure or mood being reduced by awkwardness or discomfort. The study’s authors pointed out that sexual-health-promotion interventions have faced challenges in raising awareness of how pleasure can be increased by some STI–prevention methods, such as female condoms that stimulate the clitoris or lubrication on the underside of a dental dam.

Despite these issues, participants did express a willingness to use barriers in the future. Nonetheless, many participants preferred to use STI testing as a safe-sex strategy to determine whether or not they needed to use barriers. For instance, if both partners tested “clean” or “STD-free”, participants didn’t feel they needed to use barriers.

Another reason for avoiding barriers was the idea that sex with another female is low-risk due to the impossibility of impregnation. Several participants also stated that they trusted their female partners more than male partners regarding STIs.

However, the researchers pointed out that the exchange of vaginal fluid by mouth, fingers, or sex toys can transmit STIs; the human papilloma virus (HPV) can be spread by skin-to-skin contact; and genital HPV has been found on fingers, sterilized forceps, and surgical gloves (making transmission via sex toys possible).

The researchers also found that the participants often lacked awareness of safe-sex practices for sexual activity between women and lacked knowledge of the risks involved.

One 18-year-old participant said that when she started having sex, she couldn’t find any online information about safe sex for lesbians. A 15-year-old girl pointed out she had never been taught about STI transfer between female partners. Meanwhile, others were unaware of dental dams (for use during oral sex) or where to obtain them, and still others mentioned that LGBT sex was excluded from heterosexual-based sex education at school.

The researchers noted that the bias toward focusing on men as transmitters of STIs was prevalent within health-care systems, as female-to-female transmission of STIs was only considered once male-to-female transmission was ruled out.

The findings of this study recalls themes of a 2016 UBC–led research paper about transgender youth and sexual activity that pointed out similar gaps due to preconceived notions about which sexual issues are relevant to LGBT people. That study revealed—contrary to assumptions that pregnancy concerns were not relevant to transgender youth—that trans teens and their cisgender counterparts were equally at risk of being involved with pregnancy.

Consequently, such analyses highlight the need to rectify these areas of omission and oversight in both health care and education in order to achieve equality in treatment within health-care systems.

Cycling Won’t Sabotage a Man’s Sex Life: Study

blog, blog-home, Sexual Health

Cycling Won’t Sabotage a Man’s Sex Life: Study

Men who are avid cyclists needn’t worry that hours spent on the bike will translate into problems in the bedroom or bathroom, new research claims.

Reportedly the largest study of its kind involving bikers, swimmers and runners, the findings buck prior reports that cycling could harm sexual or urinary function due to prolonged pressure on the buttocks and the perineum (the area between the scrotum and the anus).

The results provide some reassurance that cycling doesn’t harm the perineum any more than swimming and jogging do, said study author Dr. Benjamin Breyer, a urologic surgeon at the University of California, San Francisco.

“Those athletes [swimmers and runners] also have erectile dysfunction,” he explained. “The truth of the matter is, many men develop erectile dysfunction, but I think if you ride safely the health benefits of cycling are tremendous. The benefits to overall health far outweigh other concerns.”

Cycling, whether done for leisure or transportation, has become increasingly popular, Breyer said. But the activity has received much attention for its potential effects on sexual and urinary health.

“I think a lot of effort goes into cycling from some men to protect their perineum by wearing padded shorts and using different seat types,” he said.

The new research on men surveyed 2,774 cyclists, 539 swimmers and 789 runners. All completed several research-validated questionnaires about sexual health, prostate symptoms, urinary tract infections, genital numbness and saddle sores, among other factors.

Cyclists were also asked about their bike type, saddle (seat) type and angle, frequency of wearing padded shorts, percentage of time spent standing out of the saddle, handlebar type and type of surface on which they usually ride. The cyclists were split into a high-intensity group (cycling more than two years more than three times weekly and averaging more than 25 miles per day) and a low-intensity group.

Notably, high-intensity cyclists logged better erectile function scores than low-intensity cyclists.

Also notably, cyclists did experience more than twice the incidence of scarring or narrowing in the urethra — a condition known as urethral strictures — compared to swimmers or runners. The condition can affect the flow of urine from the body. But cyclists’ sexual and urinary health was comparable overall to the other athletes.

Among cyclists, those standing more than 20 percent of the time while cycling significantly cut their odds of experiencing any genital numbness. Additionally, having handlebar height lower than seat height increased the odds of genital numbness and saddle sores.

Urethral strictures “are such an uncommon event that I wouldn’t keep people from riding,” Breyer said. “I would try to avoid riding habits that result in really significant numbness in the perineum for really long periods.” Instead, he suggested men adopt more of these practices: getting out of the saddle, wearing protective shorts, using a seat that has a cutout, and getting an appropriate bike fitting.

Other urologists praised the study design, saying the comparison between cyclists and other athletes added strength to the findings.

“In my experience with bicyclists, this really reflects what I see,” said Dr. Brian Miles, a urologist at Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas. “Erectile dysfunction, of course, happens to men as they age for various reasons, but with cyclists, their rate seems to be no different in my experience.”

Dr. Aaron Katz is chairman of urology at NYU Winthrop Hospital in Mineola, N.Y. He said the findings were a little surprising, “because as a urologist who’s been in the field for many years, we’ve had this notion that prolonged cycling can have an effect on sexual function.

“But those studies were older and didn’t use a [similar] cross-sectional analysis,” Katz added. “I was really happy to see this study. I think it will allow men who are cycling to continue and not be so worried about it.”

The study is published in the March issue of The Journal of Urology.

More information

The American Sexual Health Association offers more on men’s sexual health.

6 Things That Can Cause Penis Allergies After Sex

blog, blog-home, Sexual Health

6 Things That Can Cause Penis Allergies After Sex

2018-01-04

Pains on the surface of the penis, redness or itchiness are some common symptoms of a penis allergy and it can have a huge impact on a couple’s sex life.

All couples seek a healthy relationship with a satisfying sexual life. But no matter how sexually compatible they are, there are always chances that allergies or side-effects of the products used while sex, come in the way of happy couple who are having great sex. One such condition is men having penis allergies immediately after having intercourse. Pains on the surface of the penis, redness or itchiness are some common symptoms of a penis allergy and it can have a huge impact on a couple’s sex life.

While an expert medical attention is required to treat the condition, there are some steps that men can take in order to prevent having such allergies.

Here are some common triggers of penis allergies:

1. Diabetes

Rashes and red spots can develop on the skin because of high blood sugar level. An unusual sign of diabetes, this causes burning sensation and redness on the skin. Antibiotics or anti-allergens too seem to show no results. It is a clear symptom of balanitis and patient must get their blood sugar levels checked if this happens.

2. Latex condoms

Many men are allergic to condoms and may develop itchiness or redness on being exposed to condoms. People who work in the healthcare industry are most prone to such allergies as they wear latex gloves all day long. The spermicides that are present on the lining of the condoms and the dyes that are used to colour these products can cause allergic reactions in some men. There are latex-free condoms available in the market, which are slightly more expensive. But these are an effective rash-free solution.

3. Allergies

In some rare cases, some allergic reactions cause burning sensations, pain and itchiness on the penis. These allergies can be aggravated by pubic hair, female secretions or pubic lice.

4. Infections

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are another possible reason for penis allergies after sexual intercourse. These include trichomonalis vaginalis (red spots on the penis), syphilis (boils on the penis after a few days of sexual intercourse with a person suffering from syphilis) and herpes (red spots on the genital area).

5. Products used by women

Many men are under the misconception that vaginal secretions are to be blamed for their penis allergies. But it is actually some of the products that women use which may be triggering these allergies. These products include creams, lotions, lubricants, perfumes, powders and soaps to name a few.

During sexual intercourse, the delicate skin of the penis might come in contact with these irritants, thus leading to rash or redness of the skin. To get the condition properly treated, medical attention is required. But if an emergency situation rises in the odd hours of the night, you can opt for hypoallergenic products or products which mention they are free of allergens and perfumes.

6. Lack of Lubrication

When couples indulge in sex in a hurry, it often leads to lack of lubrication in women. This causes red spots and abrasion of the skin on penis. However, this kind of sexual intercourse is more painful for women than men.

Ways to deal with penis allergies

Wearing breathable fabrics can go a long way in terms of preventing penis allergies. Also, prevent using lotions or creams as they can cause an adverse allergic reaction. You can penis health creams that are available in the market.

However, we do suggest taking medical assistance for treating penis allergies as a long-term method to prevent them.

Indian start-up ‘Buttalks’ is helping men buy better underwear

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Indian start-up ‘Buttalks’ is helping men buy better underwear

2017-11-14

At a time when internet-based companies are changing the way Indians pay bills, buy groceries, and commute, three Chennai-based entrepreneurs (Brijesh Devareddy, Surej Salim, and Manish Kishore) are using an e-commerce platform to help Indian men buy better underwear.

The start-up, called Buttalks, went live in August 2017, and already boasts of 1,400 customers, of whom 30% are annual subscribers.

What are their unique offerings?

India has had other innerwear start-ups like Zivame and Pretty Secrets, both of which preceded Buttalks. However, Buttalks is the first subscription-based, personalized innerwear start-up focusing solely on men’s innerwear.

Habits of Indian men with regard to underwear shopping

Despite the proliferation of e-commerce platforms, underwear shopping habits of Indian men remain backward, for the most part.

Buttalks’s initial research found that most men buy underwear in a somewhat mechanical manner without paying attention to what they exactly require.

Indian men also often do not know when it’s time to replace their underwear.

The size of the Indian innerwear market

The Indian innerwear market is expected to reach a valuation of Rs. 68,270 crore by 2024. According to consultancy firm Technopak, the men’s innerwear segment is currently worth Rs. 7,450 crore.

Health implicationsHealth implications of underwear habits

Apart from causing discomfort, ill-fitting and old, worn-out underwear has several health implications for men, implications which are often ignored and played down in Indian society.

According to Rajan Bhonsle, a professor and consultant in sexual medicine, wearing right-sized underwear has direct benefits for a man’s sexual health, while a proper fit helps reduce issues related to infertility.

Men’s health issues need to be highlighted too

“I see that there is so much ignorance about something as basic as this [choosing the right underwear]. This is something that’s never spoken about…women’s health issues have their space, but men’s issues lag behind. All these have to be highlighted,” added Bhonsle.

PackagesThe packages offered by Buttalks

Buttalks works through a subscription model wherein subscribers get periodic doorstep deliveries of underwear from the start-up.

The start-up offers three differently priced sampler or annual subscription plans starting at Rs. 999, the prices of which differ based on the brands that are included in a package.

Customers using the annual plan get three pairs of briefs four times a year.

What about Buttalks’s funding?

However, owing to the as yet unsuccessful subscription model, Buttalks faces many challenges in terms of funding. Although the start-up is set to close its first funding round soon, it remains boot-strapped so far. The co-founders also declined to share details of investors and revenues.

PersonalizationHow Buttalks personalizes underwear for a user

Regardless of one’s subscription plan, the briefs which go into boxes are personalized as per a user’s preferences.

Users have to fill out an exhaustive questionnaire while signing up so that Buttalks knows every customer’s preferences.

The questions range from a user’s preferred choice of fabric, colors, styles, and brands, to even users’ lifestyles.

Sexual partners shun CPR: Fewer than one in five men survive sex heart-attacks sex because their partners are reluctant to give the life-saving technique

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Sexual partners shun CPR: Fewer than one in five men survive sex heart-attacks sex because their partners are reluctant to give the life-saving technique

 

  • Only a third of cases that occurred during intercourse received ‘bystander CPR’
  • This accounted for 20% of patients who survived to hospital discharge
  • Statistics come from 13-year study of 4,500 sudden cardiac arrests in Oregon
  • The technique has been found to double the chance of survival
  • Findings highlight importance of educating public on CPR method
  • Read on for a step-by-step guide to carrying it out by British Heart Foundation

 

Fewer than one in five men who suffer a cardiac arrest during sex survive, according to new research.

This is because their partner does not know how to perform a simple, life saving technique, say scientists.

It underlines the importance of teaching CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) to the general population, they warned.

Sex is known to trigger a sudden cardiac arrest and this causes the heart to suddenly stop beating. It usually occurs without warning.

The 13-year study of more than 4,500 sudden cardiac arrests (SCAs) in Portland, Oregon, found only a third of cases that occurred during intercourse received ‘bystander CPR’.

It was determined this accounted for the less than 20 per cent of patients who survived to hospital discharge.

Experts say giving CPR can double the chances of survival of a cardiac arrest (stock image)

Experts say giving CPR can double the chances of survival of a cardiac arrest (stock image)

Doubles chance of survival

The British Heart Foundation says about 10,000 people die in the UK each year because bystanders do not know how to do CPR if they see someone having a cardiac arrest.

CPR involves giving regular chest compressions to make the heart pump blood around the body. It has been found to double the chance of survival.

Dr Chugh and colleagues showed although the overall risk of having a cardiac arrest during sex is low, death rates are high.

Only a small percentage of cases are related to sexual activity, but survival remains low.

The study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology said this was despite a partner being present.

Sex triggers heart attacks 

It results in around 350,000 deaths annually in the US, and about 100,000 in the UK. It is known sex may trigger cardiac arrests.

So the researchers looked at the community-based Oregon Sudden Unexpected Death Study (Oregon SUDS) database from 2002 to 2015 to discover their frequency during or within an hour after sex among over 18s.

All reported cases were based on emergency medical service reports containing detailed information regarding their cause.

In total, the researchers identified 4,557 during the study period, of which 34 (0.7%) were linked to sexual activity.

On average these patients were more likely to be male, middle aged, African-American and have a history of cardiovascular disease, with a majority taking medication for it.

Overall, the researchers said they found a relatively low burden of cardiac arrest in relation to sex.

Most cases were men with a previous history of cardiovascular disease. The researchers also noted some cases after sex may also involve medications, stimulants and alcohol use.

The latest study is the largest of its kind.

Earlier this year a much smaller French survey of just under 250 men found they were four times more likely to die when having a cardiac arrest during sex.

Just one in eight survived, compared to 50 percent for those who fell victim when doing other physical activities, such as sport or exercise.

That team suspected the reason was men are far less likely to call for help when they are naked.

Less than half of them were given CPR, compared to 80 percent of other cardiac arrest victims. They also had longer delays in getting treatment.

Scientists say the key to surviving is calling the emergency services immediately and starting treatment.

For every minute that the heart attacks passes untreated the chances of survival reduce by ten per cent. 

Source: British Heart Foundation 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-5076923/Low-survival-cardiac-arrests-men-having-sex.html#ixzz4yNnvpAHs
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REAL TALK: YOUR LUBE COULD BE HARMING YOUR BODY—HOW TO FIND ONE THAT’S SAFE

blog, Health

REAL TALK: YOUR LUBE COULD BE HARMING YOUR BODY—HOW TO FIND ONE THAT’S SAFE

2017-11-08

Samantha Jones would be so proud of the progress women’s sexual and reproductive health has made in recent years: Non-toxic tampons have gone mainstream, sex toys are getting a fem-positive makeover, and women aren’t just talking about their orgasms, they’re figuring out how to biohack them. But there’s one goodie drawer item that’s still kept pretty hush-hush: lube.

According to Aimee Eyvazzadeh, MD, a board-certified OB-GYN and reproductive endocrinologist, it’s time to pay more attention to the ingredients in your lube, which can impact your endocrine system, your fertility, and even your susceptibility to STDs. Don’t recall learning that in sex ed? Yeah, same.

Packaging matters more than you might think

You may already know to look for BPA-free water bottles and food containers, but have you ever considered how plastic packaging can affect your lube? “When it comes to plastics, there is so much data out there about BPA and those types of toxins, so you should absolutely care about the plastic containers that water- or silicone-based lubes are sitting in,” says Dr. Eyvazzadeh.

The first reason for concern: BPA is one of many potential hormone-disrupting chemicals that can migrate from packaging into the product it carries. And “the vagina is like a sponge,” says Dr. Eyvazzadeh. “Whatever you put in, it can get absorbed.” So do the math: If it’s in the packaging, it’s likely also in the product—and yes, it’s likely in your body, too.

Considering that the way BPA accumulates in the body can impact your reproductive health and your fertility, maybe save toxic plastics for your next screening of Mean Girls—and definitely leave them off your bedside table. Instead, look for products that come in BPA-free plastic (like those by Good Clean Love, which uses plastic made from recycled sugar cane), or opt for lubricants you find in your pantry (more on that later).

Dr. Eyvazzadeh points to parabens and pthalates as preservatives to avoid when scanning your lube’s ingredients label. “They’re cheap and effective preservatives and allow for a longer product shelf life,” she says. “But with paraben exposure, the issue is that these ingredients are hormone disruptors and can mimic natural estrogen, which could potentially promote cancer, and phthalates are similar to parabens in their effects.”

That being said, preservatives are necessary in products like lube because they inhibit the growth of bacteria and fungi. Luckily, better-for-you options do exist! Potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate are two non-sensitizing preservatives that have been deemed food-grade by the FDA and they make the cut on Whole Foods’ strict quality standards. Wendy Strgar, the founder and CEO of non-toxic lubricant company Good Clean Love, relies on both to keep her products, you know, clean.

Certain chemicals can make sex less safe

Two things that Strgar doesn’t allow into her products: fillers like glycols and petrochemicals like petrolatum. In developing her water-based lubes, Strgar discovered that petrochemicals and glycols strip the vagina of good bacteria it needs to fight off infections.

“When you use a lube that combines those ingredients, it’s likely it will slough off the protective top layer of cells in the vaginal cavity because it’s basically drowning the lactobacilli, which is there to defend against bad bacteria,” says Strgar. “What happens next is your vagina’s pH goes up, creating an ideal situation for bad bacteria to grow.”

Bacterial vaginosis is a common condition resulting from an upset in the balance of good and bad bacteria down there. According to Strgar, when your bacterial balance is out of whack, you’re 60 percent more susceptible to STDs because your immune system may already be strained by fighting off BV. (And be aware that oil-based lubricants can degrade condoms.)

Head to your kitchen for DIY alternatives

Raiding the kitchen isn’t just reserved for your post-romp munchies. According to Dr. Eyvazzadeh, you probably have a full stock of the best natural lubes right in your cabinets.

“Natural products really are the best,” she says. “For my fertility patients, I recommend using either egg whites, olive oil, or coconut oil,” she says. “You likely have many of these at home and know they’re not toxic.” And if your cupboards are bare? Opt for your—or your partner’s—saliva, she adds.