Health chat

Kiran Bhagat | Monday March 28, 2011 00:00

It must be said that most men experience erection problems at some point or other.  The commonest causes are stress, alcohol and fatigue.  These often improve with time if the precipitating agent is identified early.  As one gets older underlying physical causes may be found (particularly after the age of 40).  The commonest causes are smoking, diabetes, excessive alcohol consumption and a high cholesterol leading to narrowing of the arteries. 

Other rare conditions include problems with your lower spine and back injuries and long term medical conditions.

Compounding this may be depression or anxiety that sometimes is present or may be precipitated by erectile dysfunction. Certain medication (some anti-hypertensive agents, anti-depressants and of cause alcohol may be the culprits).

To reduce your chance of having erectile dysfunction it is important that you do not smoke or indeed take alcohol in excess.  Exercise regularly and eat well with plenty of fruits and vegetables.  If you know you are stressed or overworked, try to manage these conditions or seek advice from your medical practitioner on ways to assist.  Clearly many chronic conditions are silent and it is important after the age of 40 to have regular checkups to screen your blood pressure, rule out diabetes and high cholesterol.

What is colour blindness?This is a reduction in the ability to tell one colour from another.  It is more common in men and usually inherited. 

The most common inability is to tell the difference between the colours red and green.  The retina of the eye has colour detecting vision cells called cones.  There are different types of cones to detect from colours.  If one of these cells is faulty then colour blindness occurs.  Occasionally a condition called macular degeneration (often occurring in older age) can result in colour blindness.

Is it true that drying your hair leaving it wet increases the chances of catching a cold?

No.  The amount of heat that is lost through your head is no different to other parts of the body.  This has been investigated on several heat detecting cameras.  It is important to remember that being cold or wet does not cause colds.  You cannot catch a called from going outside without a jersey or jumper.  Equally you will not catch a cold from having a wet head of hair.  Colds are caused by viruses.  Therefore exposure to a virus will give you a cold.

Did you know...There are over 500 different functions for the liver.  It is known to be one of the most industrious and largest organs in the body.