Name some issues brand new to this world in the last 100 years. How about nuclear war, environmental pollution and climate change? Medically, we can blame carpal tunnel syndrome on the typewriter or computer keyboard, and “automobile knee” on that awful car commute. Hard to know whether these marks on modern society are preferable to...Continue reading
Category: Growing Up
Engaging Men in Health: A Holiday Season Challenge
By Broderick Johnson, White House, and Armin Brott, Men’s Health Network As men, we don’t always prioritize our health the way we should. So many other responsibilities seem to come first, such as work, family, or making sure our friends and co-workers can count on us. Those things are immensely important, no question. But too often, we...Continue reading
The Boy with the Varicocele
The case of the month is an actual patient of The Turek Clinic His head was topped with bobbing red hair and his face full of freckles. Thin as a beanpole, he spoke softly as if trying to control his cracking pubertal voice. All in, he appeared to be the stuff that teenage boys are...Continue reading
Could Masculinity Be Killing You?
From the time we’re little, we’re taught that big boys don’t cry and told that when times get tough, we just need to “man up.” The message is so strong that even a baby could figure it out (and plenty do): boys shouldn’t cry. Put a different way, boys–and later, men–need to be tough. “Real”...Continue reading
7 Tips for New (and Not-So-New) Dads About Kids’ Health
Just a few months ago, my brother welcomed his newborn son to the world. Imagine the differences between his experience and the experience my own father had when we were born. Case in point: When my mom was delivering me in the hospital, my dad had no idea how to help during labor. Flustered and...Continue reading
Am I Enough?
The case of the month is an actual patient of The Turek Clinic. He hailed from the Middle East. He cut a striking figure, in a Laurence Olivier kind of way. As a young doctor in his final years of training as a heart surgeon, he had issues with his “stuff.” Quite a few. Six...Continue reading
Late Life Sex
He was an elegant man in his late-80s and he came to see me for help. Widowed for 20 years, he recently met a younger woman; she was in her 70’s. He hadn’t had a sex life for many years and also noted “erection issues” for during that time. Still Dreaming “I would really like...Continue reading
Are New Fathers Fatter?
“It’s not about me anymore, is it Doc?” I hear this all the time from men I helped to become new Dads. New responsibility, new priorities, new love. Maybe that’s why having children has been called one of few “vertical moves” in life. While fatherhood changes many a life, it’s also no bed of roses....Continue reading
Size Really Does Matter… A Lot!
Ask a woman how many irregular periods she’ll have before she gets concerned or gets medical help. The answer is two, or maybe three at most. That fast. Do men have a similar barometer of health? Honestly, what besides pain or a threat-to-life brings young men to medical care? Answer: Not much. A Hard Example Nothing...Continue reading
Manorexia: The Masculine Side of Body Image Distortion
In the U.S., at least a third of the 30 million people suffering from eating disorders are boys or men, according to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA). That’s 10 million people, most of whom won’t ever get the help they desperately need because they have a Y chromosome. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is...Continue reading