Do saunas affect a man’s ability to have children?
Is it true that saunas cause impotence? Do they have any health benefits?
Amooti
Dear Amooti,
A sauna is a heated room in which people relax in dry heat. Many Ugandans flock saunas thinking they will burn fat and reduce weight just like when one has done a strenuous physical exercise, which is untrue. Sweating in saunas happens to cool one down. That said, saunas are said to have heart and blood vessel benefits including preventing stroke, reducing stress, and relieving soreness of muscles and joints including chronic arthritis.
It is advised that if a man has problems of fertility, he should avoid saunas. Also, if a woman is pregnant or anybody who has a cardiovascular problem, they should avoid saunas. Drinking alcohol before and after saunas should also be avoided.
Thirty five per cent of fertility problems that couples experience are caused by a problem with male fertility usually resulting from low sperm motility, low or no sperm count and abnormal sperms.
In normal couples, saunas may cause no fertility problems. Those with fertility problems, high sauna temperatures are likely to increase them. Sauna high temperatures can affect the testes with a likelihood of worsening low sperm count and sperm motility hindering fertility. Impotence, which refers to erection problems, is not usually caused by saunas.
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My anus itches during my period
During the period, my anus itches a lot yet I cannot scratch it in public. What can I do?
Amoit
Dear Amoit,
Itching invariably leads to scratching and one of the causes of an itchy anus is piles which may be related to constipation.
Many women because of changes in hormones that bring on periods may get a bloated stomach and constipation, though commonly the changes may lead to diarrhoea.
Constipation though transient when it keeps recurring may lead to piles and if they already exist with no symptoms may get more symptomatic with an itchy anus being one of the symptoms.
Also, many women may get a reaction to some types of sanitary towels leading to an itchy anus and vagina.
This is not helped by yeast vaginal infections that affect some women around the time of getting their period and these may also spread to the anus, causing itching in both areas.
Autoimmune progesterone dermatitis (APD) is a rare skin condition in women that recurs almost every month related to periods and this may lead to an itchy skin rash in response to the body’s own progesterone hormone that peaks after ovulation.
It is important to see your doctor to rule out other causes of an itchy anus, diagnose you better and give you appropriate treatment.
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Why do I get flu every morning?
I get flu every morning. Is it the cause of my failure to taste anything?
Maria
Dear Maria,
The smell sense may contribute up to 80 per cent of the taste sense (flavour) and as such anything interfering with the smell sense, including allergies in the nose and a common cold may interfere with the sense of taste.
What you call morning flu could be an allergy in the nose called allergic rhinitis (but could be non-allergic rhinitis) which produces too much mucus that swamps the smell sense nerve endings, hence making you fail to smell and therefore fail to taste.
Proper treatment or management of the nasal symptoms will most likely improve both the smell and taste sense.
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Why are mad men healthy?
I have noticed that mentally ill people are strong, and do not fall sick anyhow. Why? Mimo
Dear Mimo,
It is expected that many mentally ill people on the streets live a risky life because of coldness, not eating a balanced diet, eating contaminated food and water apart from accidents and therefore should be getting sick more often than those who are not mentally ill. What surprises many people is that these individuals apart from not looking well kempt, seem healthy.
It is wrongly thought that mentally ill people enjoy a balanced diet in dustbins where various types of foods are thrown. Weight gain is one of the side effects of many drugs for mental illness because they increase appetite. It is also said that germs in the bins create some kind of immunisation process, preventing infections.
Whereas this is theoretically possible, it is true that immunisation should have properly compounded and weakened germs. It is likely that these “uncompounded” germs take their toll, contributing to mentally ill people dying earlier than the general population. (It is difficult to meet an old mentally ill person though their early demise may be as a result of other reasons, save from germs).
It is true the mentally ill people on the streets do not have anybody to tend to them and take them to hospital when they are sick and therefore it may be difficult for anyone to monitor their hospital attendance or know that they have died. Many people you call mentally ill may actually be mere drug addicts.
