MEN IN THE BEDROOM: REMAIN INTACT
Avoiding sex hazards
Sex doesn’t have to be kinky to be hazardous. These days, with modern medications and gadgets, even homegrown domestic intercourse has risks. Just as science is prolonging life, so it is prolonging sex life, and many who might otherwise have hung up their spurs are still riding high.
Just consider Viagra. It doesn’t go well when taken with common medications used to relieve chest pain. It can also bring on headaches, nasal congestion, feelings of indigestion and facial flushing. However, if both partners were to take it, they probably wouldn’t notice the flushing because the drug could also cause blurred or bluish vision.
If the couple choose to sustain their sex life with penile injections, they face different potential difficulties. The side effects of these include infection, scarring and the development of little nodules inside the shaft of the penis that may, over time, cause it to curve.
In addition, injections carry the risk of priapism, an erection that ceases to be pleasurable, won’t subside for hours and may need to be taken down in hospital.
Prostheses are not infallible, and when they malfunction, surgery is usually the only relief for what has become an embarrassing situation. Infection aside, mechanical failure can cause leaks. A prosthesis that is too big may extrude through the head of the penis.
Not even plain old condoms suit everyone. There are people who are allergic to latex: contact with a condom gives them a rash.
Occasionally, however, condoms are essential because the woman is allergic to sperm. Some women cannot touch sperm without reacting. If their allergy is slight, they may experience swelling and itching. If it is severe, they may break out in hives or have an asthma attack.
At least older monogamous couples can rule out the major sexually transmitted diseases. But while long-standing fidelity does away with the risk of HIV, gonorrhoea, syphilis, chlamydia, genital herpes and warts, it leaves room for friction injuries. Minor abrasions can cause discomfort in men, but in women they can lead to cystitis, a highly uncomfortable infection of the bladder.
More worrying for a man is tearing the frenulum. The frenulum is the narrow ridge of skin on the underside of the penis that is attached to both the head and the shaft. Such a tear is more common in uncircumcised men and can bleed copiously during intercourse.
One male condition that can cause extreme pain and swelling following intercourse is phimosis, popularly known as Spanish collar. This occurs when the foreskin will not return to its original position and forms a tight band, reducing circulation to the head of the penis.
The biggest nightmare for a man is to hear a snapping or popping sound during intercourse. While it is rare, it is accompanied by breathtaking pain and indicates that there has been a penile blow-out. The penis has hit a hard surface such as a woman’s pubic bone with considerable force and has fractured. It is an emergency and help must be sought immediately.
Without the participants realising it, sex can also be a real pain in the neck. During arousal, people’s pain threshold increases and they may not be fully aware that they are doing themselves damage. When they wake with a sore neck, they may be able to trace its origins back to an awkward position they adopted the night before. Some people even need physiotherapy as a result.
Leg cramps can bring intercourse to an abrupt halt. On the approach to orgasm, a high level of tension builds up in the muscles and can cause cramping. Leg stretches before sex may prevent this.
While there are always stories about sex causing blood vessels in the brain to burst, there is little hard evidence that this actually happens. There is, however, a slightly increased risk of heart attack in older men during exciting sex in an extramarital context.
For a handful of less fortunate men, sex brings unwelcome pain. They suffer from the rare and distressing disorder called post-ejaculatory pain syndrome and complain of a sharp stabbing or burning sensation in their genitals during ejaculation or immediately afterwards.
Sudden thunder-clap headaches are another potential sex-stopper. These ‘benign coital headaches’ occur almost at the peak of passion and can linger for hours.
It is true that love can be blinding. Sex-induced blindness is a documented phenomenon. Fortunately it only occurs in one eye and is temporary.
Now doctors tell us sex can make us forget. They talk about ‘recurrent coital amnesia’, which is characterised by sudden and dramatic memory loss after intercourse. The forgetfulness may last up to an hour, during which time sufferers are likely to ask questions such as, ‘What are we doing?’ Afterwards, some don’t even remember what it was that caused the amnesia in the first place. How is that for memorable sex!
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