Contraception and birth control Archive

Many men consider taking a daily low-dose aspirin to reduce the chance of having a heart attack or stroke. You should do so only if the chance of being helped outweighs the chance of triggering unwanted bleeding, since aspirin interferes with normal clotting. But about one in 10 men who take protective aspirin may not really qualify, according to a national study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Experts recommend that aspirin might be considered in someone whose chance of experiencing a cardiovascular problem is at least 6% in the next 10 years. At that tipping point, the chance of being helped is great enough to justify the risk of unwanted bleeding.

Q. There seems to be agreement that supplements are worthless in supporting good health. I've been taking a multivitamin for older women for many years. I also take a calcium supplement since I am lactose intolerant. Should I discontinue the multivitamin, the calcium, or both?

A. You are definitely right about the recent consensus that most supplements, and certainly multivitamins, provide very little, if any, benefit to our health. So yes, stop taking the multivitamin. A far more important strategy to maintain good health is eating a diet containing lots of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, unsaturated fats, and small amounts of protein. Our bodies were designed to absorb nutrients from food, and that continues to be the best way to get them in our systems.

Changes in the aging eye may alter your night vision, but a few strategies can help you take to the road with confidence.

If you're over 50, you may be wondering if you should restrict your driving to the daylight hours. You may have read that your night vision declines at this age, or you may have noticed a little difficulty seeing in dim light. You may find glare from headlights bothersome.

A woman’s use of a testosterone-based vaginal cream may have contributed to a spike in her husband’s prostate-specific antigen and testosterone levels after he had his prostate removed to fight advanced prostate cancer.

Long trips come with an increased risk of blood clots deep in the leg veins, which can have serious complications.

Few women realize how common pelvic prolapse is—and how easily treated. Here are five things you should know.

Two in three women over age 40 wake up at least once each night because of a full bladder, and nearly half make two or more nighttime trips to the bathroom. But only a quarter of women who get up to urinate during the night say they are bothered by having to do so.

That's the finding from a survey of more than 2,000 northern California women ages 40 and older. Factors that increased the likelihood that a woman woke at night to urinate included older age, past hysterectomy, hot flashes, and use of vaginal estrogen. However, the late-night bathroom breaks weren't caused by an overactive bladder or stress incontinence. The results were published in the January 2015 issue of the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Claiming to feel younger than your age isn't just whistling into the wind. It can also mean you have more years ahead than some of your former classmates. According to a report in the Dec. 15, 2014, issue of JAMA Internal Medicine, older people who felt three or more years younger than their chronological age had a lower death rate compared with those who felt their age or older.

Two researchers at University College London looked at the responses of about 6,500 men and women with an average age of 65 who answered the question, "How old do you feel you are?" About 70% reported that they felt three or more years younger than their years, while 25% felt close to their age, and 5% felt more than one year older than they were.

Keep hydrated, and empty your bladder often to stave off these risky infections.

Q. What are the most effective treatments for premature ejaculation? Do erectile dysfunction drugs like Viagra help with this problem?

A. Premature ejaculation, usually defined as ejaculation within one minute of starting intercourse, is initially treated with behavioral techniques to delay climax. This includes the squeeze technique, which involves applying pressure just behind the head of the penis when ejaculation approaches and maintaining pressure until the
sensation passes. However, in many men, this doesn't prevent ejaculation.