Health related information and news from around the world.

As cosmeticians always say, only a foolish man does not take care of his skin. It takes about one week following this three-stage routine for improvements to be markedly noticeable. Blemishes like spots soon clear up and the skin appears healthy and glowing.

Obviously wrinkles and bags remain, but as a result of the grooming care they seem less obvious in their healthy surroundings.

A suntan also helps a face look good but it has been established that there is a link between too much sun and skin cancer. And on a less serious note, too much sun prematurely ages the skin by drying it out. So in strong sunshine always use a protective suntan cream on the face and afterwards cleanse the face properly; then, the face clean, apply either an aftersun cream or a basic moisturizer to restore lubrication and protection to the skin’s surface.

While concentrating on the face any man who wears spectacles should consider whether as part of his new approach to life he should switch to contact lenses. Correctly chosen glasses can enhance a man’s face and give it the extra character it may be lacking but sometimes lenses make for a total transformation for the better. Often a face will look considerably younger.

Bleary, red and bloodshot eyes on the other hand make a man look worse and hung up on drink, drugs and late nights. Should the redness be caused by allergy or infection it must be treated immediately by a doctor as eye problems of this nature can lead to serious complications. Red-eye caused by late nights, drink or smoking can be rectified by pharmacy eyedrops.

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First rule: do not worry about sex. Second rule: loosen up.

And if there is a third rule for the man in a No-Go world it is: keep practising.

No man’s life should come to a complete halt sexually because of the male-menopause but it does happen. And finding sexlife faltering, and fearing that impotence lies in wait just around the corner, makes this crisis reaction probably the most shattering of all within the catalogue of M-M symptoms. But, says one of London’s leading sex therapists, by using mind over matter, the shortage or absence of drive should not be an impossible problem to solve. After all we know that there is no hormonal change taking place so that as soon as the male-menopause is survived, life returns to normal (or maybe to a new level that will become regarded as ‘normal’) and normal service should be resumed sexually. The causes are cerebral not physical. With some planning sexlife could return sooner (than later).

During M-M a lack of drive must be understood to be only temporary, a set-back but nothing more. The failure we know is in the mind and not the penis.

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‘The male-menopause does not exist. Men use it as an excuse when they can no longer get it up.’

Margaret, forty-three, divorcee.

Rumour would have it that if a man in his early forties takes a new lover or enjoys an affair or two (or more) you can blame it on the male-menopause. The marriage may be fine but the implication is what he wants is fun, adventure, excitement and, let’s face it, more sex, sex with someone new.

To an extent this rumour is true. Most men given half a chance would jump at the opportunity of a dalliance and sex, male-menopause or not. It’s history. It is balm for the man’s ego and fun for his body.

In their early forties many married men find the urge initially kindled when they notice the attractions of a daughter’s best friend or a son’s girlfriend and deliberately set out to stimulate their own lives with a companion who is young and lively. In time an affair may start in the office or through a casual encounter in a restaurant, pub or at a party. The new young girl finds the man attentive, sophisticated and attractive; he finds her charming, young and irresistible.

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If he is not bored with everything about him he is tired. And during M-M fatigue and boredom go hand in hand. Fatigue leads to boredom, boredom to fatigue. And increased lethargy. The more he slows down his pace and narrows his interests seeing his life through grey-tinted specs the more bored he becomes. Inertia is inevitable.

Regenerating his interests with new or different activities is a solution where both family and friends can be helpful but trying to stimulate his enthusiasm will be an up-hill struggle. Without great effort on his part these symptoms become chronic — and then the menopausal man has good reason for feeling sorry for himself.

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a. ‘Male-menopause makes a man go bald.’

fact: No. Whether a man loses his hair or not depends entirely on genetic inheritance and nothing more. Men inherit their hair pattern through either the maternal or paternal side of the family so it is a matter of luck whether they have a good head of hair. Both good heads of hair and baldness run through families. Nothing can be done to select which side you inherit from.

b. ‘He will put on weight.’

fact: He may do but it is entirely due to bad eating habits, not M-M. As we get older so, generally, we take less exercise and, as we therefore burn up less fat for energy, so we gain weight. To combat this tendency we should eat correctly — and less.

c. ‘The male-menopause leads to heart problems.’

fact: No. But men in their forties are prone to heart problems; it is the most lethal illness with one man in every four now aged thirty-five likely to be affected by the time he is sixty. With any unusual heart symptoms a doctor must always be consulted. Diet can play a beneficial part in keeping heart problems at bay: cut down consumption of all fatty foods, eat only lean meat and not much of it, use less salt and drink less caffeine (in tea, coffee and cola). Eat more vegetables and fruit.

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