A man came to see me one day asking for Viagra. He wanted it for his ailing erectile strength. He travels a lot, both overseas and interstate. He has different girlfriends in several different cities.
As he was 55 years old, overweight, and on medication for high cholesterol, I decided to investigate his cardiovascular system to ensure that he would not be at risk when taking Viagra. While I was examining him, he began to tell me about his many different relationships that he has going through out the world. This was not the first time that I had heard such happenings, so I was not impressed, but I pretended to listen with awe.
I ventured to ask him why he travels so much. He became quite evasive. 'I am involved with the community/ he told me.
'What do you do with the community?' I inquired further. 'Doc, you're going to think badly of me,' he said. 'I'm a Catholic priest.'
I was truly surprised.
Talking about sex and sexual problems is not usually a topic that is discussed in public. This may be due to religious upbringing, cultural factors, or it may just have been a result of conservative attitudes. Sexual issues are also not openly discussed in many marriages.
Many men who consult health experts about this problem have been dying to talk to someone about it for years, but they have 'just never gotten around to it.' These men live with deep-seated concerns about their supposed sexual inadequacies. Such feelings could be dissipated if they had the confidence to talk to a professional about their concerns. In contrast, many women are encouraged to talk about their personal problems freely. They even have their own specialist, the gynaecologist, who deals specifically with women's medical issues. These doctors are exclusively concerned with the medical well being of women and, until recently, men did not have an equivalent medical professional to consult.
Only in the last few years have men's medical issues been the exclusive concerns of specialists. In general, if a man has a personal or sexual problem, he will keep it to himself. He won't go to his mates at the pub and ask for advice, nor will he approach a complete stranger and pour his heart out. In some situations, he might talk about his problem in a religious confession. If he is of a more open nature, he might consult his general practitioner. However, he is likely to be concerned that a general practitioner who sees other members of his family might accidentally reveal his problem to others. There's never been a 'men's health physician', the kind of person with whom you can have a 'bloke-to-bloke' talk.
The last ten years have seen a rapid development in available 'men's health treatments'. This has been long overdue. The relief that many men experience who come to a 'men's health clinic' is enormous. 'Why weren't you here 10 years ago?', is what I hear regularly. 'Erectile Dysfunction Week' is now even celebrated in Australia. What next?!
It is clear that men's health clinics are a welcome addition to the medical scene. Practitioners now realise how important it is to advertise their services. Men are conditioned to keep their problems quiet and not look for assistance. In fact, many men believe that if they ignore the symptoms and for-
get that the problem exists, then perhaps it will go away. They are completely unaware that a solution in many cases actually exists.
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