56.GAY MEN`S HEALTH - Part 1
GAY MEN'S HEALTH - Part 1(Introduction, The COCK & BALLS)
Body Stuff - Introduction
When it comes to sex, many of us are aware of our basic anatomy but we often over-simplify what goes on beneath the surface of our bodies. Some of us still talk about things 'down below' and while there's a certain quaintness about using such terms they are inaccurate and misleading. An informed working knowledge of the parts of the body used for sex can give greater control over what we do sexually and help put sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and other problems in context. For example, did you know that pain while getting fucked is often due to the cock 'prodding' nerve endings at the base of your spine or sensitive arse muscles inside your body? The pain will often go if you change the position or relax the muscles. This article will take us back to school to look at the areas most associated with sex:
The cock and balls
The mouth and throat
The digestive system (arse and rectum)
Body Stuff - The cock
The cock is made up of three inflatable cylinders of a honey-combed spongy tissue, two on upper side (as you look down at it) and one on the underneath. When your cock is soft the cylinders are like long flat balloons. The vein that you can see running down the top of your cock pumps blood into these balloons when you get an erection. Down the centre of the cock is the urethra, the tube through which we piss; more of this later.
The foreskin
The end of the cock is covered by a sleeve of stretchy skin called the foreskin. It protects the cock while soft keeping it moist and sensitive. When we are born, the foreskin is usually stuck to it until we are about 3-4 years old when it starts to peel back by itself. By the time we are in our teens it can be pulled back and forwards without any problems.
Smelly white stuff smegma
Stale piss, bacteria, yeasts and discarded skin cells accumulate under the foreskin to form a white, smelly, cheese-like substance. This is called smegma. If it's allowed to build up, it can cause irritation and soreness which is why you should clean beneath the foreskin (gently but thoroughly) at least once a day. As a child, you may remember bath times where we were taught to clean beneath the foreskin as part of our personal hygiene regime (together with potty training). Having said that, Mummy didn't tell us that some guys are turned on by smegma and will leave it to ferment for days, even weeks before finding a willing partner to lick it out.
Tight foreskin phimosis
Some guys are unable to pull the foreskin back over the head of the cock without discomfort of pain. This is caused by a condition called phimosis and is usually accompanied by balantitis, a swelling and tenderness of the head of the cock. Treatment for balantitis usually involves antibiotics but in some cases circumcision is required. A related condition, paraphimosis is when the foreskin gets stuck in the pulled-back position causing pain and swelling. Again, circumcision is often required.
Some larger foreskins catch piss as it comes out of the urethra where it can then remain trapped and lead to dribbling when you think you've finished. Getting into the habit if pulling the foreskin right back every time you piss followed by a thorough shake and squeeze is the obvious solution but occasionally circumcision is required.
Circumcision
When men are circumcised (usually as new born babies) the foreskin is surgically removed. While the principle reasons for this are religious grounds and to improve personal hygiene, as was mentioned earlier, men with excessively large or tight foreskins are often treated by circumcision. Although the vast majority of American men are circumcised, more recently, circumcision has decreased in popularity and, in the UK, circumcised men are in the minority. After circumcision, the head of the cock loses its soft moist texture and becomes darker, tougher and dry becoming more like normal skin. Understandably, men can lose some sensitivity and it can take a long time to cum (not that it's necessarily a problem). If required, techniques can re-develop a circumcised foreskin particularly if the foreskin has been mutilated by poor circumcision. A specially shaped plaster will encourage the skin to re-grow (over several years) and skin grafts can also restore the foreskin.
Cock size
Well let's be honest, we're obsessed with cock size. Cocks come in all shapes and sizes, although they vary less in size than we would like to believe. When measured from the base to the tip (along the top or upper side) the average erect cock is 16cm (6.3 in). But, contrary to popular belief, the high majority of men fall between 14.5cm (5.6 in) and 17.5cm (7 in). Given that only the first two to three inches of the arsehole are touch-sensitive, a shorter or thicker cock can be just as good at stimulating those nerve endings as anything larger.
While big long cocks can have your arse poked skywards in seconds, they can knock into the rectum wall and sphincter muscles causing discomfort and pain. So the moral of this tale is quite simple: don't ignore smaller cocks and beware of bigger ones in the hands of dickheads who think they know what they're doing. Later on in the book describes how you can reduce the risk of pain and potential damage - and how to order him a taxi!
Body Stuff - Erections
An erection (hard-on, stiffy, boner) is not under our voluntary control in the same way as we can pick something up or wiggle our toes. It is caused by emotional, physical and hormonal signals in the form of electrical impulses which pass near the spinal cord and trigger an erection. As we grow more sexually aware and experienced we accumulate a library of triggers or reminders which turn us on sexually: a look, body odour, being stroked, or the sight of a shaved head, for example. What turns us on is very personal to each of us, and during our sexual lives most of us will have at one time or another been surprised by something which, unexpectedly, has given us a raging hard-on.
When you get an erection, the cylinders in your cock fill with blood making it hard. Minute valves regulate blood into the cock when you get an erection, locking the blood inside while it's stiff, and releasing the blood back into the body when it goes soft again. There is also a misconception that as you get older you lose the ability to get or maintain an erection. It's true that it can take longer to get turned on, and that physical reasons why you might not get one are more likely the older you get. But many men don't see this as a problem and recognise that as we go through life our body and its needs change.
Curved erections Peyronie's disease
Some guys get an erection that curves. This is caused by excess fibrous tissue on one side of the cock preventing it from becoming fully erect. The expansion of the cock on the other side then forces the erection to bend one way. In cases the curvature is minimal and doesn't cause any discomfort or problems - it just looks as if it's got a mind of its own. Cast your eye back over a few dicks and you'll probably remember a few bananas requiring some oral massage! However, the curve can be so severe that it causes pain and fucking is not possible. The angle of curve can decrease without treatment but medication and/or surgery may be required.
Persistent erections priapism
A persistent erection - not connected with sex - is called priapism. The condition can be extremely painful and usually occurs when blood fails to drain out of the spongy tissue inside the cock. In some cases the cock will start to go blue! Urgent medical treatment at an accident and emergency department is usually required immediately. (An overly tight cock ring - which you can't remove - while you have an erection can cause similar symptoms. If it's made of rubber you can cut it off - carefully. Metal cock rings, however, are more problematic and the fire service has been known to have been called out. (Trying to remove it with a blow torch is not advised!)
Body Stuff - Impotence
Not being able to get an erection is usually referred to as erectile dysfunction or impotence and, particularly since the launch of Viagra, men are finally beginning to talk about the condition. The truth is, however, that most men will experience impotence at some time or another. It's a fact of life, it's not uncommon and it's often temporary. However, it's important to separate physical and psychological impotence.
Physical impotence
This is usually the result of exhaustion, recreational drugs or too much alcohol but other reasons include:
Certain prescription medications, eg sedatives and anti-depressants.
High blood pressure and/or high cholesterol and heart disease.
Other illnesses, eg diabetes, Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis.
Faulty plumbing in your cock and/or traumatic injury and surgery.
Smoking and /or being overweight.
Psychological impotence
If you can get an erection but not necessarily when you want to, the problem is likely to be a psychological one. Reasons are likely to include lack of sexual stimulation, fear of performance, low self-esteem, stress and depression.
It may sound obvious but if you're not turned on you're not likely to get an erection. For example, you may not find someone as attractive as you used to, or something which once aroused you sexually may have lost its allure which is one of the reasons why we experiment sexually. The significance we place on sex, performance and physical perfection creates high expectations - of ourselves and our partners - which can be impossible to meet. Consequently, a fear that we cannot perform adequately can affect our ability to get a hard-on, although it doesn't mean you don't feel horny. This can make the situation doublyfrustrating. Physically, if we're uncomfortable with our bodies or the way we look, or if we don't feel good or relaxed about ourselves, getting an erection can be a major problem. Ironically, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and what turns you off about yourself can easily turn someone else on.
Steps to solving impotence
Acknowledging that there is a problem is the first step. In the first instance, it can be helpful talking it through with a friend or your partner, difficult though this may be. Then, you should see your sexual health clinic, GP or one of the contact organisations in the back of this book. Embarrassment prevents many men from seeking help, making them miserable and putting strain on their personal and social life. Determining the source of impotence will determine the treatments, which and include changes to existing medication, prescription drugs eg Viagra and/or counselling/therapy.
Body Stuff - The balls
Your balls hang together, at slightly different heights, in a small stretchy sac. Their purpose is to produce and store sperm and testosterone. They are positioned away from the body, allowing air to circulate around the sac keeping the sperm-making facilities at their best, 5°C lower than the rest of you. Your balls are so clued up and manoeuvrable that they have the good sense to pull themselves into your body when it's cold, stretch themselves away when you're hot and have time to enjoy themselves being sensitive to licking, sucking and smacking.
Inside each ball are 500 metres of coiled up spaghetti-like tubing in which sperm are produced at a daily rate of 400 to 500 million. When they are ready, they are moved and stored for action in the epididymis situated behind each ball. The balls also produce testosterone, a natural anabolic steroid hormone, which increases at puberty and causes the characteristic changes, eg stubble, breaking of the voice, etc.
Cum spunk or semen
Cum or spunk is made up of sperm (made by the balls), the fluid in which they swim (made by the prostate gland) and a milky-creamy thickening agent (made by the seminal vesicles and bulbourethral glands). The fluid contains nutrients to keep the sperm alive and kicking as they battle their way towards the female egg - they're on a lost cause there then! These include zinc, potassium, glucose, and vitamin C which give cum its sweet, salty and very individual taste. As you're preparing to shoot your load, muscle contractions pump the cum from the epididymis, along the vas deferens, into the uretha which runs along the inside of your cock. Each time we cum, we release about 2-5ml (half a dessert spoon) which contain between 50-150 million sperm. When we cum repeatedly, we produce more fluid, less sperm - which is why it tends to be clearer and more liquid.
The prostate gland
Situated next to the wall of the rectum, the prostate gland is about the size of a chestnut, and is connected to the bladder by one tube and to the urethra by another. While its purpose is not fully understood, amongst other things it produces the milky fluid in which sperm swim and live (making up about 30-40% of semen volume). It also produces substances which give semen its characteristic smell and help pump the cum towards the end of the cock. It's packed full of sensitive nerve endings which is why getting fucked or fisted can be a big turn-on.
Piss urine
Our body continually produces waste some of which is filtered out in liquid form as urine. Each of us produce about 1.5 litres (2.6 pints) a day which is sent from our kidneys to the bladder, a globe shaped organ, which holds about 400-800ml of urine. Sensitive receptors send signals to our brain as it fills up which we translate as 'I need to piss soon/now'. When we're ready, it's channelled through the prostate, along the urethra, and out of the end of the cock through a series of muscles which control the flow.
