Dr Okezie Emenike, an Abuja-based medical doctor, on Monday, said that people with Bulimia Nervosa are at risk of life threatening illnesses.
Emenike disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja.
He defined Bulimia Nervosa as a psychological disorder characterised by overeating spree in a short period of time, followed by purging in an attempt to get rid of the food consumed by vomiting or taking laxatives.
He said the condition was associated with a sense of loss of control and immediately followed by feelings of guilt and shame.
According to him, bulimia affects more women than men and is common in teenage girls and young women.
He noted that the cause of bulimia was unknown but attributed genetics, physiological, family, society and culture as factors that could pose risk of developing the condition.
He added that bulimia could be dangerous as it could lead to serious health problems, stressing that a person with the condition often indulge in self induced vomiting, misuse of laxatives, diuretics, among others.
He said that “due to excessive vomiting, there can be a permanent damage in the stomach, tears in the oesophagus, swelling of the throat and dental cavities.
“It can also lead to lack of fluid in the body, low level of potassium in the blood, hard stools and constipation, damage of the pancreas and haemorrhoid.’’
He further said that the condition could make a patient go into extreme social isolation, forced withdrawal from school, withdrawal from family, loss of job and infertility.
Emenike also said that bulimia could lead to internal bleeding, drug and alcohol addiction, heart attack, inability to sleep, self injury behaviour and even suicide.
Besides, Emenike said, treatment for such eating disorder should start from psychological therapy, interpersonal therapy and administration of medications such as antidepressants.
He urged people with such eating disorder to seek medical help, noting that the condition could result to irreversible complications.
Ejaculation is the release of semen from the penis at orgasm (sexual climax). When a man is sexually stimulated, the brain sends signals to the genital area through nerves in the spinal cord to make the pelvic muscles contract.
At orgasm, waves of muscle contractions transport the sperm, with a small amount of fluid, from the testes through to the vas deferens. The seminal vesicles and prostate contribute extra fluid to protect the sperm.
This mixture of sperm and fluid (semen) travels along the urethra to the tip of the penis where it is ejaculated (released).
A side view showing the main parts of the male reproductive system
What are ejaculation problems?
Men can experience different kinds of ejaculation problems, including:
premature ejaculation
retrograde ejaculation
delayed ejaculation (or no ejaculation)
painful ejaculation.
How common are ejaculation problems?
Premature ejaculation is the most common male sexual problem and affects men of all ages. Premature ejaculation happens when a man is unable to control the timing of ejaculation, and ejaculates before he and/or his partner feels ready for this to happen, and this causes distress.
More details about premature ejaculation can be found in a separate Andrology Australia fact sheet.
The other ejaculation problems are less common than premature ejaculation but can also cause distress for the man and his partner.
What causes ejaculation problems?
Ejaculation problems can have a variety of causes, both physical and psychological. Physical causes include some illnesses such as diabetes, some types of surgery or trauma, some types of inflammation or infection, and certain medicines. Psychological causes include stress, anxiety (such as anxiety about ‘sexual performance’), relationship difficulties and depression.
For each type of ejaculation problem and for each individual man there may be one or more causes of an ejaculation problem.
What should I do if I have an ejaculation problem?
If you have an ejaculation problem that is bothering you, a discussion with your local doctor (GP) is the best place to start to find out the cause of the problem and how it may be treated or managed. The GP may refer you to a specialist if needed.
What about partners?
Talking to your partner can be helpful, particularly if you are feeling anxious about your ejaculation problem. When seeking treatment, involving your partner is also a good idea. In some cases partners have their own sexual problems that may need to be managed.
Where can I find information about other sexual problems?
Andrology Australia has fact sheets on other sexual problems including premature ejaculation, erectile dysfunction and low libido. See the Your Health section of website for the full range of fact sheets.
Reproduction (or making a baby) is a simple and natural experience for most couples. However, for some couples it is very difficult to conceive.
A man’s fertility generally relies on the quantity and quality of his sperm. If the number of sperm a man ejaculates is low or if the sperm are of a poor quality, it will be difficult, and sometimes impossible, for him to cause a pregnancy.
Male infertility is diagnosed when, after testing both partners, reproductive problems have been found in the male.
How common is male infertility?
Infertility is a widespread problem. For about one in five infertile couples the problem lies solely in the male partner.
It is estimated that one in 20 men has some kind of fertility problem with low numbers of sperm in his ejaculate. However, only about one in every 100 men has no sperm in his ejaculate.
What are the symptoms of male infertility?
In most cases, there are no obvious signs of infertility. Intercourse, erections and ejaculation will usually happen without difficulty. The quantity and appearance of the ejaculated semen generally appears normal to the naked eye.
Medical tests are needed to find out if a man is infertile.
What causes male infertility?
Male infertility is usually caused by problems that affect either sperm production or sperm transport. Through medical testing, the doctor may be able to find the cause of the problem.
About two-thirds of infertile men have a problem with making sperm in the testes. Either low numbers of sperm are made and/or the sperm that are made do not work properly.
Sperm transport problems are found in about one in every five infertile men, including men who have had a vasectomy but now wish to have more children. Blockages (often referred to as obstructions) in the tubes leading sperm away from the testes to the penis can cause a complete lack of sperm in the ejaculated semen.
Other less common causes of infertility include: sexual problems that affect whether semen is able to enter the woman’s vagina for fertilisation to take place (one in 100 infertile couples); low levels of hormones made in the pituitary gland that act on the testes (one in 100 infertile men); and sperm antibodies (found in one in 16 infertile men). In most men sperm antibodies will not affect the chance of a pregnancy but in some men sperm antibodies reduce fertility.
Known causes of male infertility
Sperm production problems
• Chromosomal or genetic causes
• Undescended testes (failure of
the testes to descend at birth)
• Infections
• Torsion (twisting of the testis in scrotum)
• Varicocele (varicose veins of the testes)
• Medicines and chemicals
• Radiation damage
• Unknown cause
Blockage of sperm transport
• Infections
• Prostate-related problems
• Absence of vas deferens
• Vasectomy
Sexual problems
(erection and ejaculation problems)
• Retrograde and premature ejaculation
• Failure of ejaculation
• Erectile dysfunction
• Infrequent intercourse
• Spinal cord injury
• Prostate surgery
• Damage to nerves
• Some medicines
Hormonal problems
• Pituitary tumours
• Congenital lack of LH/FSH (pituitary problem from birth)
• Anabolic (androgenic) steroid abuse
Sperm antibodies
• Vasectomy
• Injury or infection in the epididymis
• Unknown cause
The male reproductive system
The male reproductive system is made up of the testes, a system of ducts (tubes) and other glands that open into the ducts. The brain plays an important part in the control of the male reproductive system.
A side view showing the main parts of the male reproductive system
The pituitary gland and the hypothalamus, located at the base of the brain, control the production of male hormones and sperm. Luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) are the two important messenger hormones made by the pituitary gland that act on the testes.
Two messenger hormones act on the testes
The testes (testis: singular) are a pair of egg-shaped glands that sit in the scrotum next to the base of the penis on the outside of the body. The testes make sperm and the male sex hormone testosterone. It takes about 70 days for sperm to become mature and able to fertilise an egg.
When released from the testes, the sperm spend two to 10 days passing through the epididymis where they gain the vital ability to swim strongly (become ‘motile’), and to attach to and penetrate (get into) the egg.
At orgasm, waves of muscle contractions transport the sperm, with a small amount of fluid, from the testes through to the vas deferens. The seminal vesicles and prostate contribute extra fluid to protect the sperm. This mixture of sperm and fluid (the semen) travels along the urethra to the tip of the penis where it is ejaculated (released).
Ordinary life may constantly present to us many hardships, challenges, problems, and undesirable issues (as well as joys and positive experiences). The comforts of good food, a good home, and a good family life are the ordinary means of retirement from each day’s work and social experiences.
If you could invent or find a moodometer to measure your mood, you may find a depression in mood when hungry and tired and an elevation in mood after eating a meal that is good, nice, and delicious.
The human mind of a person in a civil society requires an ability to keep its balance or to keep balancing itself throughout a life of mental bombardments. Many factors make up a fit mind and the chief amongst these factors may be good nutrition of the brain, regular use of the brain in thinking, and regular use of the mind in prayer. Nutrition of the brain may be ultimate as the living brain is what makes thinking and prayer possible.However, a biologically alive brain does not always make a good mind without regular and effective exercise of thought and prayer.
Food that yields good nutrition is important. What a person eats or doesn’t eat can help him or her remain mentally balanced or can make him mentally unbalanced.“A hungry man is an angry man” says an English proverb. Can food and eating habits run us psychotic, depressive, or manic? Bloody uprisings and revolutions arise from hungry people exploding against real or perceived oppressors. Women know that one of the easiest ways to a man’s heart or wallet is his stomach. A man will think positively towards you if you feed him well.
The Mental Health Foundation (http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/help-information/mental-health-a-z/d/diet/) indicates that someresearch show that: “Nearly two thirds of those who do not report daily mental health problems eat fresh fruit or fruit juice every day, compared with less than half of those who do report daily mental health problems. This pattern is similar for fresh vegetables and salad. Those who report some level of mental health problem also eat fewer healthy foods (fresh fruit and vegetables, organic foods and meals made from scratch) and more unhealthy foods (chips and crisps, chocolate, ready meals and takeaways).” Now all these foods are good to some extent but the proportion or frequency in which they are consumed is what matters for good brain function.
