Can ginseng improve Erectile Dysfunction?

For the millions of men around the world who suffer with erectile dysfunction (ED), medications such as Viagra, Cialis and Levitra provide effective treatment and enable them to live happy and fulfilled sex lives.

However, a herbal option could also benefit those who are battling male impotence according to the findings of a South Korean study.

The plant ginseng, which mainly grows in Eastern Asia (Panax ginseng), has been utilised for thousands of years in China as a booster for overall general health – increasing wellbeing and stamina, has been shown to help control blood pressure, in addition to lowering stress levels in both men and women. An American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) also exists, however some argue it is less stimulating than the Asian ginseng. It is the plant’s root that provides the medicinal benefits, comprising of numerous active substances – either ginsenosides or panaxosides.

Ginseng has long been used as an aphrodisiac in China even though very little scientific evidence exists that supports its claims to boost sexual performance as previous tests were conducted on mice only.
However, the results of the Korean study would suggest that tablets manufactured from the plant’s root are actually able to assist in helping men with erectile dysfunction; a condition that effects about one in every ten men at some stage during their life.

As a man gets older, the chances of suffering with ED become greater and it is believed that around 50% of men over the age of 40 suffer from it, increasing to an incredible 70% in those over the age of 70.

For the study, Scientists from the Yonsei University College of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea, enlisted 119 men who had all suffered with ED for at least three months, ranging from mild to moderate in severity.

Half of the group were given four tablets every day for eight weeks that contained 350mg of Korean ginseng berry extracts. The other men were administered identical ‘dummy’ placebo pills for the same time period.

Using the widely accepted measuring scale known as the International Index of Erectile Dysfunction (IIEF)-15), scientists noted that in the men who were taking the ginseng tablets, there was a ‘small but significant’ improvement in their sexual function in comparison to the men in the control group taking the dummy pills. The IIEF-15 comes in the form of 15 questions regarding erectile function and sexual satisfaction.

When publishing the results in the International Journal of Impotence Research, researchers commented: “Korean ginseng berry extract improved all domains of sexual function. It can be used as an alternative to medicine to improve sexual life in men.”

It could be too early to tell if Korean ginseng is definitely an answer for the millions of men around the world who are suffering with erectile dysfunction. The herb is unlikely to affect the massive demand for medically proven and recognised impotence treatments – Viagra, Cialis and Levitra. In addition, NHS Choices have published a thoroughly detailed article, questioning the claims of the study and suggesting that the authors were being overly generous when stating that ginseng can be used to improve sexual function, putting a positive spin on the results.

If you are a male and do have problems achieving and maintain an erection, relying on ginseng may not be the best option available. Instead, the aforementioned male impotence treatments (Viagra, Cialis and Levitra) have a much higher chance of helping with this problem.

All three are available from Medical Specialists Pharmacy with or without a prescription. If you do not have a prescription, you can undergo a private and confidential online consultation with one of our Doctors and if suitable, they will write you a prescription. This is passed to our in-house Pharmacists, and dispensed and dispatched to you at your home, your place of work, or where ever you choose, discreetly within 24 hours.

Dirty bed sheets can cause asthma and other health problems

A survey has discovered that potentially almost a fifth of Brits are not changing their bed sheets at least once every month, possibly leading to a wide range of bothersome health conditions such as asthma, rhinitis and worsening the symptoms for those who suffer with the skin condition eczema.

Research was commissioned for the home retailer Dunelm Mill, which involved surveying over 2,000 people across the UK on their sleeping habits. TV’s cleaning gurus Kim and Aggie recommend that people should change their bed sheets at least once a week, and it would appear that only about two in five are adhering to their advice.

Approximately half of those surveyed admitted they slept in dirty sheets and it seems women are the more guilty when it comes to not washing the sheets. Over half of the women quizzed admitted that they fail to clean their sheets on a weekly basis, with 12% only bothering to change their sheets just once every month and 1% said they simply never changed them whatsoever.

Perhaps surprisingly, men fared a little better than the women, going some way to showing that men are not domestically lazy as many presume! In fact, 40% of the men who participated in the survey claimed that they did a weekly change of the bed sheets and an additional 8% said that they changed the sheets even more often than this. Overall, 36% of those surveyed do it every two weeks, 17% change just once a month, and 3% are so infrequent in their bed sheet-changing habits that they couldn’t even remember how many times they perform this task.

The research could also possibly suggest which areas around Britain are the most hygiene-conscious. It was found that the Scottish and those in the North West came up tops in regards to sheet-changing habits, with 50% and 51% respectively alternating their sheets once a week, or sometimes even more. On the other end of the scale, only 41% of people in the South East in the survey had similar claims.

There could be many reasons for the relaxed attitude to such a chore. For example, a survey conducted in 2011 by Sheila’s Wheels indicated that many people feel they do not have the time or motivation following a hard day’s work, coming home to prepare tea and then any other jobs that need doing such as food shopping, etc.

The second most common reason stated in the 2011 survey was energy saving. As we are still in the midst of a recession, many households are now struggling to pay bills more than ever, and it can prove a costly exercise for larger families having to wash and dry sheets for everybody. With four beds in a particular household, washing and drying sheets can add at least £1.50 to the cost.

However, cutting back on washing the sheets as regularly as required can end up costly to your health. Dr Adam Fox, a paediatric allergist at a leading London teaching hospital, warned: “Having good bedroom hygiene when it comes to changing your sheets is about more far than just freshening up your linen. We spend about a third of our lives asleep and this is reflected in the debris that we leave between the sheets. Our bodies shed millions of skin cells each day, many of which rub off in our sleep and are deposited in our beds. In addition to skin cells, our bodies also secrete fluids, sweat and oils during a long nights sleep. Whilst unsavoury in themselves, these deposits mostly pose a problem as they are all deliciously appealing for dust mites. Dust mites in themselves are quite harmless; however the droppings of these microscopic creatures are laden with allergens which can cause health complications. When inhaled, these allergens can provoke asthma and rhinitis and may also worsen eczema. In order to reduce the possible problems caused by dust mites the professional recommendation is that people with dust mite allergies should be taking a number of measures to reduce allergen exposure. Those who suffer particularly badly should consider investing in dust mite proof bedding and we should all be making it a priority to wash our sheets on a one to two weekly basis at 60 degrees. It may seem like a bit of a chore but taking these precautions helps to protect against the health complications which may be caused or worsened by the unwanted dust mites which share our sheets.”

Millions of fake condoms in circulation across the UK

The government’s health regulator has warned that an ever-increasing number of counterfeit condoms are managing to be smuggled into the United Kingdom.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulation Agency (MHRA) say that in fact millions of bogus, dangerous fake condoms have been illegally imported into Britain in the previous 18 months.

Family planning experts stress than the fake condoms increase the risk of transmission of Sexually Transmitted Infections such as chlamydia, genital herpes, gonorrhoea, as well as failing to properly protect against any unwanted pregnancies. Tests have been conducted on the fakes and an alarmingly high burst rate has been discovered in them.

Danny Lee-Frost, senior investigator at the MHRA, said: “These products are made in the Far East for pennies and then sold over here for pounds. They will cut corners. They will cut costs. They will use cheaper ingredients and materials.”

Mr Lee-Frost advises men to be vigilant and says that the counterfeit condoms are primarily being sold in corner shops, newsagents and market stalls. He continued: “It’s vital that people buy condoms from well-known reputable retailers and pharmacies.”

Only last year, authorities seized roughly £1.5 million worth of counterfeit condoms at Heathrow Airport and that haul was just the latest in many that are happening across the country according to Trading Standards.

Incredibly, in the battle against the millions of fake condoms in circulation, trained sniffer dogs have even been drafted in to detect bogus condoms. Authorities have resorted to such drastic measures after growing concern that the counterfeits are becoming increasingly difficult to spot against the genuine articles.

Paul Maddox is currently training the dogs to sniff out and fake condoms and comments: “I was really surprised when I found out about the problem. I’ve heard about counterfeit medicines but I never thought condoms would ever be an issue. When we’ve trained the dogs up we managed to find a chink in the counterfeiters’ armour and we’ve exploited that. That’s why the dogs have been successful.”

One reporter actually put the fakes to the test and approached two males on the street, 25 year old Jay Dhadwa, and 24 year-old Ricky Dixon, asking them if they could distinguish the genuine condoms from the fakes.

Mr Dhadwa said: “I can’t believe they aren’t the real deal. They look and feel exactly like real ones. They’ve got the expiry date on the back too and the kite mark. It’s impossible to tell.”
Danny Lee-Frost commented: “They certainly look the part. Many people would think it’s the proper article .If you’re not buying it from a reputable source, it’s odds on that it is counterfeit and you shouldn’t go anywhere near it.”

As Mr Lee-Frost states, contraception for both men and women should only be purchased from a highly reputable source such as Medical Specialists Pharmacy. Every medication or product dispatched to our patients is 100% genuine and their health is at the core of our business practice. We have a wide range of both Durex and Skins condoms at great prices from our chemist shop. However, if you suspect you may have used a low-quality fake condom, we offer a Clamelle chlamydia test kit for just £24.85 which can be used in the privacy of your own home to prevent an embarrassing visit to your GP. Or, if you have been confirmed as having this or gonorrhoea, the antibiotic Azithromycin can prevent the spread of the bacteria so that your body’s natural defences can fight back and remove the infection from your system. We also have the medication Valtrex working out as costing just £3.50 per tablet, which works by slowing the spread of the herpes virus.

Genetic testing could lead to tailored asthma treatment

Scientists from Dundee University claim that a relatively simple and inexpensive ‘spit test’ could pave the way for creating bespoke asthma treatment for children suffering with the lung condition if a specific genetic mutation is detected and thus practically rendering their current treatment almost useless.

The Dundee University scientists collaborated with colleagues at Brighton University to analyse a total of 62 children who all had poorly controlled asthma and in many cases it was determined that their prescribed medication could be the source of the problem.

In particularly, a common culprit could be the inhaled ‘salmeterol’, found in both seretide and servent inhalers. Salmeterol is used by children with severe asthma that cannot be controlled with just their inhaled steroid medication such as the blue inhaler Ventolin – a popular inhaler prescribed to all children after they are formally diagnosed as having asthma.

The scientists believe that genetic code is the reason why some children fail to respond to the salmeterol. The drug is known as a ‘bronchodilator’ beta-2 agonist meaning it acts at stimulating beta-2 receptors on the muscle cells that line the airways. This results in these muscle cells being able to relax and open the airways.

Unfortunately however, an estimated one in seven people have a genetic mutation – the arginine-16 genotype of the beta-2 receptor- that causes their receptors to have a slightly altered shape than normal and the salmeterol does not acknowledge this difference.

All 62 children involved in the study had this genetic mutation and all had required periods of time off school, had hospital treatment or had visited a GP out of hours due to their asthma flaring up. During the study, the authors allowed the children to use their basic inhaler to control symptoms. In addition though, half were chosen at random to receive salmeterol and the other half were administered the anti-inflammatory medicine montelukast, used to prevent children from experiencing an asthma attack.

Within just three months it was discovered that those taking montelukast had significantly less coughing and wheezing, less likely to experience any deterioration of their asthma symptoms, as well as more likely to use their reliever inhaler less frequently than before.

At the beginning of the study, researchers calculated that 36% of the children had to use their reliever inhaler on a daily basis. After the year-long study had come to a conclusion, the total number of children using this inhaler every day had been slashed by half in the montelukast group. Interestingly, this trend was not seen within the salmeterol group.

Professor Somnath Mukhopadhyay said: “For almost every clinical outcome we were looking at we found that salmeterol either wasn’t working or was working very poorly. Montelukast was very much better. We’ve shown for the first time that personalised medicine can work in the field of childhood asthma.”

Prof Mukhopadhyay says the simple test would cost around £15 if it were to ever be introduced into GP surgeries, adding that it is unacceptable to prescribe drugs to children that are ineffective. He continued: “It’s a common disease affecting a million children in this country.  A common medicine is probably not working in a significant proportion of the population. I think we need to get some guidance from lead charities and from the Department of Health.”

Professor Stephen Holgate, MRC clinical professor of immunopharmacology at Southampton University, commented on the results of the study and said: “While genetic changes that determine bronchodilator responses in asthma have been known for some time, this is a wonderful example of stratified or personalised medicine working its way into practice. While still a small trial, the results in the asthmatic children’s response to the two treatments across a number of asthma outcomes are impressive.”

Cialis: No longer just Viagra’s little brother

If you are one of the many millions of men around the world suffering from male impotence, known as ‘erectile dysfunction’, your first ‘port of call’ for an effective treatment option may possibly be Pfizer’s Viagra. With its moniker of ‘the little blue pill’, Viagra (Sildenafil) was discovered to have erection boosting qualities purely by chance following clinical trials on patients with high blood pressure.  On March 27, 1998, Viagra became the first oral treatment approved to treat erectile dysfunction (ED) in the United States and since then it has gone on to become a massive global success. This is because of its potency and fantastic ability to actually be effective at the condition it claims to help.  It is almost automatically affiliated with male impotence these days by some men who are suffering with sexual dysfunction.

However, should this be the case? It may come as a surprise but there are in fact there are other options available to men, such as the Eli Lilly’s Cialis (Tadalafil), which is rapidly making a name for itself as ‘The Weekend Pill’. This is because the people behind Cialis claim that it is superior to Viagra as its erection-boosting qualities can last much longer – up to 36 hours in some cases, in comparison to Viagra’s usual effectiveness of four to five hours. If this wasn’t enough, Cialis usually gets to work faster than Viagra and some men have reported effects beginning from as little as just 15 minutes!

Like Pfizer’s Viagra, and Bayer’s Levitra (another popular impotence medication), Cialis belongs to a class of drugs known as a ‘Phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5) inhibitor’. All three PDE-5 inhibitors work in a similar way in that there has to be some sexual stimulation for the medication to be effective. This obviously means that Cialis will not give you an erection as soon as you take the yellow tear drop shaped pill, but instead will work wonders at relaxing the penile arteries during foreplay, allowing blood to flow to the penis and help to achieve an erection.

For several years, Viagra was the one and only option for men with erectile dysfunction. This was until 2003 when Bayer and Eli Lilly received Food and Drug Administration approval for Vardenafil (as Levitra) and Tadalafil (as Cialis) respectively, to treat ED. There are probably many men though who associate Viagra as the only choice for them and this may be due to the fact it was the first treatment to become popular, many years prior to Cialis. It is worth bearing in mind though that Cialis does have some advantageous factors to certain patients. In addition, in recent years sales of Cialis have rapidly soared as more and more men are becoming aware of its prowess in the battle against impotence and it has moved out of Viagra’s shadow to become massive in its own right. So big in fact that Cialis has sponsored numerous golf events, including the America’s Cup and the PGA Tour, and was once able to boast being the title sponsor of the PGA Tour Western Open tournament.

Both the 10mg and 20mg Cialis are believed to be effective for 36 hours, hence the ‘weekender’ nickname it has earned over the years. Because of this time-frame it can work during, theoretically men can go for two days without being required to take another pill – specifically benefiting those who do not wish to directly associate taking a pill with having sex.

This is also where ‘Cialis Daily’ comes into the equation. The slightly lower dose 2.5mg and 5mg versions of Cialis are in fact the only European Commission-approved ED treatments designed as a single daily therapy – taken approximately the same time each day for consistency. The lower strength versions of Cialis are particularly ideally for men in sexually active long-term relationships. Beneficial in that the mild dose will be in your body each day, it means you do not have to take a tablet each time you have sex. Your body should begin to adjust to the medication’s ingredients and resulting in very little side effects, if any.

Medical Specialists Pharmacy understands the decision about which ED medication is right for you can sometimes be a little difficult. This is why we have previously created a side-by-side comparison of Cialis, Cialis Daily, Viagra, Levitra and Levitra ODT, which we hope will provide more insight  regarding the similarities and differences between them.

All are available today from Medical Specialists at low prices – obtainable with or without a prescription. If you do not have a prescription, you can undergo a private and confidential online consultation with one of our GMC-registered Doctors and if suitable, they will write you a prescription. This is passed to our in-house RPSGB-registered Pharmacists, dispensed and then dispatched to you. This can be at your home, your place of work, or where ever you choose, discreetly within 24 hours.

Norovirus cases reach 1.1 million with millions still at risk

The total of people affected by norovirus (aka ‘the winter vomiting bug’) has now reached a staggering 1.12 million according to the latest Health Protection Agency (HPA) projected figures for England and Wales.

Laboratory-confirmed cases of norovirus now stand at 3,877 across England and Wales compared to 2,255 in 2011. However, the HPA claim that for every reported case, there are an additional 288 cases that have yet to be flagged up. This means there could be 1.12 million struck down with the illness.
The HPA estimates that approximately 100,000 people were suffering from the winter vomiting bug over the Christmas period – an incredible 72% increase on the year before at the same time. Although the total number of reported cases had dropped over the festive break, it is believed that millions in the UK are still at high risk of catching the contagious bug in the forthcoming weeks.

John Harris, an expert in norovirus from the HPA, said: “As we have seen in previous years there has been a dip in the number of confirmed laboratory reports owing to the Christmas and New Year period. However, in line with other norovirus seasons we will expect to see an increase in the number of laboratory reports in the next few weeks. Norovirus is very contagious, and anyone who has had it knows it is very unpleasant. If you think you may have the illness then it is important to maintain good hand hygiene to help prevent it spreading. We also advise that people stay away from hospitals, schools and care homes as these environments are particularly prone to outbreaks.”

Mr Harris’ comments come in the wake of reports that show in the closing two weeks of 2012 there were 29 hospital outbreaks. This however is some way off the 70 that had been reported in the previous fortnight and the total for the season has now reached 590.

A Department of Health spokesman commented on how the NHS is coping with the contagious condition, saying: “The NHS is well prepared for the winter. No ­­­ A&Es have had to close so far this winter and we are providing additional funding to the NHS to help it cope with the added pressure that the winter brings. Flu and norovirus are typical at this time of year – that’s why we are running the ‘Catch It. Bin It. Kill It’ campaign. The number of beds closed due to norovirus symptoms is around 2.4 per cent. This compares to 2.9 per cent during the peak last winter.”

The winter vomiting bug can be transferred via contact with an infected person or contaminated surfaces and objects i.e. through touching the same doors or stair rails as somebody who has the virus. Symptoms typically last for a few days and include a sudden onset of vomiting – which may be projectile and/ or diarrhoea that is usually quite watery in nature, as well as a raised temperature, headache and stomach cramps. Although people can suffer from norovirus at any time, prominence of the illness and outbreaks normally occur during the winter season.

Unfortunately there is no cure for norovirus. However, if you do contract norovirus, Medical Specialists Pharmacy advise to drink plenty of fluids to remain hydrated, take paracetamol for aches and pains, stick to eating foods that are easily digestible and stay at home until your symptoms subside due to the virus being highly contagious.

Dieters often disregard the calories contained in alcohol

It may come too late for the millions of people around the world who have over-indulged during Christmas and New Year celebrations, however those watching their weight may be grossly underestimating the impact that alcohol can have on their waistlines and dieters are best to banish the booze if they want to shed the pounds.

The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) claim that one of the biggest mistakes when dieting is forgetting the hundreds of ‘hidden’ calories within alcoholic drinks and that alcohol is only second to fat in regards to calorie content. Fat contains 9kcal/g, whilst alcohol has 7kcal/g. Even protein and carbohydrates only contain 4kcal/g, whilst fibre contains 2kcal/g.

Due to the fact so many of us are not paying attention to our alcohol calorie intake, the WCRF have now made an online calorie-counter available that lists the calorie content in various commonly consumed alcoholic drinks. Therefore, people are able see how many calories they are taking in and also roughly how much exercise would be required to burn off these ‘empty’ calories that offer no nutritional value.

For instance, just drinking one large glass of wine means you are taking in a whopping 178 calories and this is the equivalent of eating two chocolate digestive biscuits. However, it gets worse – it would take half an hour of brisk walking to burn-off that one glass of wine. Another popular tipple, especially in men, is a pint of lager. This drink though contains an incredible 250 calories. This is roughly the same as three chocolate digestive biscuits and would need 53 minutes of brisk walking to burn this off!

Being overweight or obese is the biggest risk of cancer after smoking, and in reducing alcoholic drinks, people will be more able to lose weight and thus reduce their cancer risk. In fact, it is estimated that even drinking just one pint of beer daily increases a person’s risk of bowel and liver cancer by approximately a fifth. In the UK alone, over 20,000 cases of cancer each year are attributed to alcohol.

Kate Mendoza, head of health information at WCRF, commented: “The calories in alcoholic drinks account for a significant proportion of a drinker’s calorie consumption while providing little, if any, nutritional benefit. Cutting down on drinking can have a big effect on weight loss or maintaining a healthy weight. Recent reports have shown that people are unaware of calories in drinks and don’t include them when calculating their daily consumption. This is important from a cancer perspective because, after smoking, being overweight or obese is the biggest risk factor. There is also strong scientific evidence that alcohol itself is a cancer risk factor, possibly through damaging our DNA, in cancers of the breast, bowel, mouth, oesophagus and liver.”

As we begin 2013, many of the UK will beginning their New Year’s Resolutions, which usually include stopping smoking as we discussed just a few days ago. Another popular resolution is to lose weight. Cancer Research-led research however found that nearly four out of 10 people ditch their New Year’s resolutions within a fortnight and only one in 11 manages to keep their resolution to half a year.

If you want to lose weight it would be recommended to drastically limit your alcoholic drinks in addition to eating healthy.  This healthier lifestyle will be highly effective in conjunction with a medically proven weight loss aid such as XLS-Medical, Alli, or the prescription medication Xenical.  All three weight loss aids are available today from Medical Specialists at incredibly low prices.