Men’s preventive health knowledge

Regarding men's preventive health care, the core conclusion has never been to take various kidney-tonifying folk remedies or buy sky-high-priced men's health care products, but to "avoid daily bad habits that frequently damage health + do low-threshold long-term maintenance + regular screening based on your own situation." Nine out of 10 products that advertise that they can "replenish qi and blood in 7 days, and regain strength in 30 days" are IQ taxes.

Don't believe it. Last week, I just received a 32-year-old technical director from an Internet company in the outpatient clinic. He saved up half a year's salary to buy a kidney-tonifying oral liquid from a certain Internet celebrity brand. He drank two pills a day for three months. He originally wanted to tone up his waist that had been damaged by sitting for a long time. As for the problem of acidity and fatigue, last week I came to check because my feet hurt so much that I couldn’t walk. I found out that the uric acid had soared to 620 μmol/L, and I was already suffering from gout. When I asked, I found out that the oral solution contained a large amount of animal organ extracts, and the purine level was ridiculously high.

When many people mention men's health care, their first reaction is to equate it with "strengthening" and "tonifying the kidneys." In fact, there are similarities and differences between Chinese medicine and Western medicine on this matter: "kidney deficiency" in Chinese medicine is a broad concept, covering the decline in reproductive, urinary, endocrine and even skeletal system functions. Conditioning also pays attention to the overall balance, not just focusing on sexual function supplementation.； Western medicine’s men’s health care focuses more on early prevention of chronic diseases and reproductive health maintenance. Both of them essentially keep your body in a comfortable state, and they do not have to reach the so-called “standard state” uploaded on the Internet.

I have seen too many men who feel that health care is troublesome. They have to eat this and practice that. In fact, it really doesn’t have to be that complicated. Let’s talk about the most common problem of holding back urine while sitting for a long time. Many drivers and office workers sit for four or five hours without getting up, and hold back their urine until they finish what they are doing. I am an old patient who drives a taxi. He got chronic prostatitis at the age of 35. When the weather gets cold, he has frequent and urgent urination. It took him almost a year to go to the clinic to stabilize his condition. He himself lamented that if he had known to stand up for 3 minutes every hour and go to urinate when he had urine, he would not have suffered this problem. There is also cold beer with grilled skewers in the summer, which is not to say that it is completely forbidden to eat. Don’t eat it five or six times a week. Last month, a 28-year-old boy drank cold beer and ate crayfish as a late-night snack for a month. He was hospitalized with acute pancreatitis. The inflammation also induced epididymitis, which made him cry in pain. Why bother?

Oh, by the way, there is also reproductive health, which everyone is ashamed to talk about. In fact, there really are not so many rigid standards. For example, there is no unified conclusion in the academic field on how often to ejaculate. Some studies say that regular ejaculation can reduce the risk of prostate disease. It is recommended to ejaculate once or twice a week. Others believe that as long as there is no backache, fatigue, or mental fatigue the next day, the frequency can be determined according to your own situation. There is no need to stick to a hard number to create anxiety for yourself. Also, clean your private parts. Don’t believe those men’s care lotions that advertise “sterilization and anti-inflammatory”. Just rinse off the smegma with warm water every day when you take a shower. Indiscriminate use of lotion will destroy the local flora and lead to inflammation.

Another point that is most easily overlooked is the physical examination. Many men always feel that they are young and strong, and they can get away with headaches and fever, and even their blood pressure has not been measured in several years. Last year I met a 34-year-old salesperson who often suffered from headaches and drowsiness. He thought he was tired from staying up late to accompany customers. Only when his work unit organized a physical examination did he discover that he had grade 2 hypertension and his blood lipids were twice as high as normal. If it takes two more years, he will develop arteriosclerosis. Regarding the timing of screening, the current consensus in the industry is that those over the age of 50 should undergo prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening every year to eliminate the risk of prostate cancer. Many scholars also suggest that people with a family history of prostate cancer can start screening at the age of 45. You can choose according to your own situation.

I have been working in the urology department for almost 10 years, and I have seen too many men who drag small problems into big problems. In the end, they are bound by the stereotype that "men have to bear it". They are too embarrassed to go to the men's department and too lazy to pay attention to their daily habits. In fact, health care is really not that mysterious. Stay up less late at night, don’t hold your urine all the time, drink less alcohol, and take half a day every year to have a basic physical examination. It is much more useful than the health care products you spend thousands of dollars on. If you really feel uncomfortable, don't look up symptoms on Baidu to scare yourself, and don't buy folk remedies blindly. Go to a regular hospital to get a checkup. It doesn't cost much and is not embarrassing.

To put it bluntly, the essence of men's health care is to treat your body well. Don't always use "busy" or "can handle" as excuses. If you are lazy about your body, you will pay it back sooner or later.