Yesterday I found a very interesting and useful post about our best friend among our legs! For my French friends: unfortunately only in English!
Hier, j'ai trouvé un billet très intéressant et utile sur notre meilleur ami parmi nos jambes! Pour mes amis français: malheureusement seulement en anglais!
1. The penis is actually a pretty good predictor of your overall health.
2. Sperm has a biological clock, too.
3. Premature ejaculation is super common. Really.
4. Your belly size can affect your boners and fertility.
5. Your testicle size is pretty important, too.
6. Penis size varies A LOT, and it has nothing to do with how great you are at sex.
7. Hot tubs are really bad for your balls.
8. Ejaculating often may actually be good for you.
9. Erectile dysfunction can happen at any age. And it's definitely a good enough reason to see your doctor if it happens often.
10. Taking steroids can wreck your testosterone levels and shrink your balls.
11. Not getting enough sleep can mess with your erections.
12. Smoking and drinking are really bad for your penis.
Smoking can damage the lining of your blood vessels (including those that bring blood flow to the penis), impact erections, and even damage sperm, says Paduch. And smoking marijuana isn't much better. Occasionally lighting up probably won't do much damage, but there's a proven association between smoking a lot of marijuana and developing gynecomastia (man boobs), since it's thought that the chemicals in weed can have an estrogen-like effect, says Paduch. That's clearly not great for sperm, so if you're smoking every day, that will take a toll on your fertility.
When it comes to drinking — a glass or two of wine can help you relax and boost blood flow, but much more than that can make it near impossible to get and keep a boner. That's because alcohol acts as a depressant dulling your senses, including the ones in your penis. Here's more on how alcohol affects your sex life.
13. Just because you have a penis, that doesn't mean that you'll always be able to orgasm whenever you want.
Delayed ejaculation is a thing that exists, and you may have already experienced it. It's when you have no problem getting or keeping an erection with a partner, but then you can't orgasm, or it takes you forever, or you have to finish yourself off. In Paduch's research, about 50% of men reported experiencing it at least once in the past year.
It can be caused by lots of things — age, medications, alcohol, anxiety, or other health conditions. It's also possible that your masturbation or porn habits play a role, especially if you're used to getting off one specific way and then don't get that with a partner. Delayed ejaculation can be tricky to treat, but it's definitely worth bringing up to your doctor if it's happening all the time.
14. You should really wash your penis after sex.
This actually helps you avoid infection, since bacteria can grow faster when bodily fluids (from you or your partner) dry out on the skin, as BuzzFeed Life previously reported. Make sure you're cleaning your penis properly here.
15. A little preexisting penis curve is no big deal. But a new one that hurts might be.
It's perfectly normal to have a slight bend, especially if it's always been like that. But if you have a new curve to your penis and it hurts, it could be Peyronie's disease, a significant and painful bend that's caused by scarring in the penis, which usually happens as a result of some sort of trauma (we'll get to that in a second). If this sounds like you, see your doctor ASAP.
16. It is actually possible to fracture your penis, so be careful out there.
17. Know which STIs you need to get tested for — and how often.
There are a lot of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) out there, and most of them can be totally symptomless. What you need to be tested for will depend on how many partners you have, what kind of genitals your partner has, and what you actually do when you have sex. For a detailed explanation of who should be tested for what, check out our guide to getting tested. But for starters, everyone should get an HIV test at least once, and usually more often than that. You should also ask to get tested for STIs any time you have symptoms, any time your partner tests positive for something, and any time you may have been exposed.
18. You should probably get the HPV shot if you haven't already.
19. And if you're at risk of HIV, talk to your doctor about pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).
The once-a-day pill Truvada was approved by the FDA in 2012, and studies show that it reduces the likelihood of contracting HIV by at least 92% when taken every day. It's stronglyrecommended by health officials for anyone at a substantial risk of contracting HIV. But it doesn't protect against other STIs, so it's crucial to continue wearing condoms and getting tested regularly. If you're in a sexual relationship with someone who is HIV positive, if you're a man who has sex with men, or if you have unprotected sex that could put you at risk of HIV, talk to your doctor about it. You can find more information about PrEP here.
20. Make sure you're using condoms correctly every single time.
Some common mistakes include putting it on after you've started, not using lube (or using an oil-based lube that breaks down latex), not leaving some room at the tip, wearing the wrong size, or not taking it off right away. These are all violations of proper condom etiquette, and they can put you at risk for STIs and unplanned pregnancies. Learn the right way to put a condom on here.
21. Maybe don't pierce your penis.
In case you were considering piercing the head of your penis (a Prince Albert piercing), you should probably know that there are a lot of possible complications, like significant bleeding, chronic irritation, or even damage to the urethra — which could leave you peeing out of the new hole.
22. If you might ever want to have kids, you should get your sperm checked out in your thirties.
Infertility isn't just a woman's issue — it's a couples issue. In fact, in 40% of couples struggling with fertility, the male partner is either the sole cause or a contributing cause, according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Paduch suggests getting a sperm analysis in your thirties if haven't had kids yet but might want to in the future. This way you can see if there is already any damage to your sperm and you can talk to your doctor about lifestyle and medical factors that may affect your fertility.
23. Remember to check your genitals for any new lumps, bumps, or changes.
It's not up to your partner or doctor or anyone else really to keep tabs on your penis — that's mostly on you. So regularly check out your penis, testicles, and groin for any unusual spots, lesions, growths, or discolorations, says Paduch. If anything seems off, bring it up with your doctor. It's probably nothing, but it could also be something, so don't be too embarrassed to ask. This is your boner, your balls, and your babymakers we're talking about. Don't leave them hanging.