Men’s preventive health knowledge

The core logic of men's preventive health care has never been to take expensive supplements or suddenly lift irons to brush body fat. Instead, it is to first do the high-frequency small things that you do every day, such as eating, drinking, having a bowel movement, and exercising, and adjust the focus according to needs for different age groups. There is no need to stick to a unified "health template", which can avoid more than 90% of the risks of common diseases.

To be honest, I have been in the Department of Urology for almost ten years, and I have met too many male patients who come up and ask, "Does the doctor recommend any good supplements?" They range from their twenties to their fifties and sixties. They always think that health care requires spending a lot of money. In fact, this is not the case. Let’s talk about the most familiar misunderstanding of “tonifying the kidneys”. There used to be a 32-year-old programmer who stayed up late every day to work on projects. When his backache became sore, he stocked up Liuwei Dihuang Pills and ate them. After taking it for half a month, he had diarrhea and lacked energy all day long. When he came to check, he found out that he had a constitution of yang deficiency, and taking yin-nourishing medicine was completely inappropriate. It is also necessary to clarify the consensus in different fields here: kidney tonifying in traditional Chinese medicine is never a comprehensive tonifying method. It is necessary to first distinguish the deficiency and excess of yin and yang before correcting the symptoms. ； There is no concept of "tonifying the kidneys" in the traditional sense in the Western medicine system. It corresponds to two completely different assessment directions of kidney function and reproductive health. Don't confuse them with taking medicine randomly, which will put a burden on the liver and kidneys.

Not long ago, I met a Didi brother who drives long distances. In order to avoid having to go to the toilet, he couldn't drink a glass of water for half a day in the summer when the temperature was over 30 degrees. He also held back his urine. Eventually, he got a urinary tract infection. He was sweating in pain. He thought he had prostate cancer and was scared to death. When it comes to drinking water, not everyone should adhere to the "8 glasses of water a day" standard. People with renal insufficiency and underlying heart failure should follow the doctor's advice to control the amount of water they drink. Drinking too much will only increase the burden on the body. Many people always think that holding in urine is a trivial matter, just holding it in for more than ten minutes. Little do they know that holding in urine for a long time will not only damage the bladder sphincter, but the reflux of urine may also damage the kidneys. It is really not alarmist.

Speaking of exercise, it’s also interesting. Now there are two voices on the Internet arguing fiercely. Fitness enthusiasts say that strength training is the best maintenance for men, and chronic disease doctors say that sedentary people should not rush into exercise. I previously treated a 28-year-old salesperson who worked overtime for a week. He went to the gym to deadlift 180 pounds on weekends and had to lie down with a lumbar protrusion for half a month. Now he still has back pain from time to time on rainy days. There was also a young man who believed in the saying that "squats are natural Viagra" and practiced two hundred squats every day. However, his incorrect posture pressed on the pelvic floor nerves, causing him to urinate frequently for less than half a month. In fact, both statements are correct. People who usually exercise regularly do strength training. Of course, there is no problem. If you sit for 10 hours a day and have not run for a year, it is better to start by walking 2,000 more steps every day, standing up every 40 minutes to get a glass of water, and stretching for two minutes. On the contrary, it is much safer than sudden exercise, and it is easier to stick to it.

What is more likely to be ignored than exercise is physical examination. Many men always say, "I can eat and sleep with nothing wrong. Physical examination is a waste of money." There used to be a 42-year-old brother whose PSA (prostate specific antigen) was a little high during the physical examination at work. He didn’t think he was uncomfortable so he didn’t take it seriously. He delayed the examination for a year and it was already early stage of prostate cancer. Fortunately, it was not too late. There are actually no unified standards for physical examination items: some medical examination institutions recommend annual prostate ultrasound examinations for those over 25 years old, but the consensus among urology departments is that for people over 40 years old and without family history, annual PSA examinations are enough. There is no need to overdo ultrasounds. On the contrary, it is easy to worry about a small nodule for several months.

As for the sexual function-related issues that everyone is most concerned about privately, I don’t have to be embarrassed to say that I have met too many people who secretly buy online aphrodisiacs when they feel they are not in good shape. In fact, 90% of temporary declines in status are caused by staying up late, being too stressed, and drinking too much alcohol. If you adjust your work and rest for two weeks, smoke less and drink less, most people can recover. Of course, different treatment ideas are also reasonable: doctors in the Department of Sexual Medicine will recommend occasionally using small doses of PED5 inhibitors (also commonly known as Viagra, regular prescription drugs, not the three-no aphrodisiacs on the Internet) to help improve confidence. Traditional Chinese medicine also recommends soothing the liver and regulating qi to adjust your work and rest. There is no need to rush to take medication, just choose the method that suits you.

When I chat with patients, I always say that men’s health care is never for others to see. You don’t need to post fitness check-ins on your WeChat friends, or buy thousands of dollars a pound of cordyceps as gifts that you can’t bear to eat. You have to hold back your pee less often, smoke less cigarettes, and don’t insist on not going to the hospital when you feel a little uncomfortable. It’s more effective than any other tonic. After all, your body is yours, and only you know whether it's comfortable or not.