MEN'S HEALTH ISSUES:

If you are middle aged (40-60 years of age) you should consider having a health check-up to assess your overall health and fitness. We can check your existing health - screening for any treatable conditions, and offer you advice and guidance about reducing your risk to future conditions.

Our tests can include checking your:

• Cholesterol levels
• Blood pressure
• Muscle strength
• Joint flexibility
• Lung functions
• Heart - using an electrocardiogram (ECG)
• Prostate Checkup if over 45

PROSTATE CANCER is common among men older than 45. Most cases are treatable because they are found with screening tests before the cancer has spread to other parts of the body. Most men do not die from it. The most common way to check for prostate cancer is to have a digital rectal exam and a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test. A higher level of PSA may mean prostate cancer, but it could also mean an enlargement or infection of the prostate.

PROSTATITIS - is a term used to describe inflammatory conditions of the prostate gland. It is thought that most cases of prostatitis result from bacterial infection, but evidence of infection is not always found. An infected or inflamed prostate can cause painful urination and ejaculation, urinary frequency and urgency, and if left untreated, chronic, recurrent symptoms.

URINARY TRACT INFECTION is a common infection that usually occurs when bacteria enter the opening of the urethra and multiply in the urinary tract. The urinary tract includes the kidneys, the tubes that carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder (ureters), the bladder, and the tube that carries urine from the bladder (urethra). The special connection of the ureters at the bladder helps prevent urine from backing up into the kidneys, and the flow of urine through the urethra helps to eliminate bacteria. Men, women, and children develop UTIs.

ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION - sometimes called "impotence," is the repeated inability to get or keep an erection firm enough for sexual intercourse. The word "impotence" may also be used to describe other problems that interfere with sexual intercourse and reproduction, such as lack of sexual desire and problems with ejaculation or orgasm. Using the term erectile dysfunction makes it clear that those other problems are not involved.

HAIR LOSS - everyone has some hair loss every day. In fact, it is normal to lose up to 100 hairs a day. However, some people lose a lot of hair early in life because it runs in their family (inherited) or because of disease, medications, stress, injury, or damage to the hair. The most common cause of hair loss is genetics—you inherit the tendency to lose hair from either or both of your parents. This is called male-pattern or female-pattern hair loss.

VASECTOMY - is considered a permanent method of birth control. A vasectomy prevents the release of sperm when a man ejaculates. During a vasectomy, the vas deferens from each testicle is clamped, cut, or otherwise sealed. This prevents sperm from mixing with the semen that is ejaculated from the penis. The testicles continue to produce sperm, but the sperm are reabsorbed by the body. It usually takes several months after a vasectomy for all remaining sperm to be ejaculated or reabsorbed. You must use another method of birth control until you have a semen sample tested and it shows a zero sperm count. Otherwise, you can still get your partner pregnant.