What’s wrong with pleasuring yourself?

Dr. Biodun Ogungbo

Ms. Adanma Odefa and I were on set with Juicy Jane of Cool FM Abuja sometime this week. I had just finished a long operation performing spine surgery before rushing off to the radio station. So, I had been on very high adrenaline level and fully charged for the operation. The pleasant chance to talk about more mundane and less cerebral issues was thus a welcome departure.

The thing is, work is pleasure for me. I enjoy looking after patients with neurological problems and find them interesting and intriguing. I cannot wait to solve their problems, so I go to work in a positive frame of mind daily, waiting to be challenged. Sadly, of course, I am also becoming dumber, being away from the academic environment I was used to. Private practice and poor funding for research do not lend themselves much to cerebral enlightenment. But, that is a topic for another day.

Summer fun fair

We were on the radio to talk about the forthcoming Summer Fun Fair in Abuja next week, August 8, to be precise. This event, being organised by the Nigerian Medical Association, FCT branch, is geared towards stimulating (I hope I don’t regret that word!) preventive health care strategies and increased physical activities among Nigerians, all Nigerians, in fact, including the rich and the poor, young and old, male and female.

The fact is that we need to prevent ill health and so reduce visits to our presently over-burdened hospitals. Doctors and other health care professionals are in short supply and stressed out of their minds with too much work. Worse, there are limited resources and poor government support/ financing for health. Since most of our health care payments are out of pocket (you pay!), it seems a wise counsel to prevent ill health by pretty simple means. All you need is dedication, passion and a strong commitment to help yourself (remember that!).

Stroke

One of the major conditions worth preventing is stroke. Stroke seems to be affecting younger people in Nigeria. We recently had about four patients in their 30’s with stroke. This is important and alarming. Stress, poverty, hypertension, obesity and, perhaps, some genetic problems, may be responsible. Well, if you were born with a genetic anomaly, then it’s understandable. However, stress, obesity, smoking, alcoholism and hypertension are preventable issues.

Stroke Action, Nigeria will be launching itself on the World Stroke Day, October 29, 2015 and should be discussing this issue in more detail. Suffice to say that preventing stroke is vital and requires a personal commitment to physical fitness, avoidance of smoking and general improved quality of life. Preventing stroke also prevents heart attacks and sudden death. Regular medical check-up is vital; while a simple check of the blood pressure and blood sugar will go a long way in the fight against stroke.

Medical check-up

Some people go to diagnostic centres and waste money on ‘medical check-up.’ I do not like these blanket tests carried out willy-nilly by hospitals and diagnostic centres. The tests should be prescribed and focused to check for a specific problem or answer a specific question. That way, the result is meaningful and can be interpreted. Just checking everything leaves too much room for errors in the interpretation and is often a complete waste of money. You would do better to donate the money helping some sick child in Garki Hospital. Get your own doctor to help. General practitioners are your own personal physician who knows your health and can help you prevent ill health. Regular evaluation and prescription of medical checks by your own doctor is a far better idea.

The tests arranged by a doctor can be specific to gender, age, family and your own medical history. For example, older women require breast examinations, mammogram and cervical pap smears. Older men need prostate examination and Prostate Specific Antigen levels measured regularly.

Adanma, Oh!

Then Adanma got us into troubled waters by saying (truthfully) that young people should simply focus on checking for HIV and hepatitis. Then they should please focus on staying in a clean relationship with a single partner. Multiple partners and sexual promiscuity lead to many problems such as HIV and cervical cancer. In-between, of course, are such ‘fun’ diseases such as gonorrhoea, syphilis, genital warts and their friends.

Self-help project

The discussion degenerated quite quickly from talk about the summer fun fair and the NMA to sex and, specifically, masturbation. I don’t even know how we got there, but you know Nigerians! Nothing excites the men more than sex and they burnt the airwaves. The women were, as usual, silent, pretending to be mystified about the issue. Not a single peep from them. Like they never heard the word before!

Anyway, masturbation is useful for stress management, especially when your partner is using sex as punishment or a bargaining tool. Further, it allows you to discover your erogenous zones and train men in lasting longer. You can also use it to delay ejaculation; therefore, it can be of benefit in managing premature ejaculation. It is also safe and prevents infection that could arise from casual or paid sex.

Now, ask me the question!