Health News and Information

Dressing Successfully: The Ten Commandments 2: Choose classic clothes

When in doubt play safe but not dull.

If you want to look good nothing beats clothes that are styled along traditional lines in a classic mould. For example the best raincoats that rarely go out of fashion are trenchcoats, the sort that Humphrey Bogart wore to perfection in movies, the sort that Aquascutum and Burberry have made world famous. These are classic raincoats.

And equally classic are Shetland wool sweaters with crew necks, Oxford cloth shirts, plaid shirts, cords, flannels and brogues. The changes in style that affect them are only minimal. Because their design has a timeless quality, classic clothes are good investment.

*167/153/1*

This is an acute infection of the genito-urinary tract that is contracted only through sexual or anal intercourse. It is nonsense that it can be caught from a lavatory seat or an infected towel or sheet as the gonorrhea organisms die if they are not nurtured within a warm body.

Infection is usually obvious three to five days after intercourse. The first sign is soreness when passing water and later this turns to a burning sensation and a thick discharge begins to drip from the penis. Without prompt attention the infection can spread so that the bladder becomes painful and inflamed. Acute infection may spread to the testicles and in time cause sterility.

Treatment is by antibiotic injection, two usually, probably penicillin, accompanied by a short course of tablets to ensure the organism is effectively killed off. During treatment you must not drink alcohol or have intercourse. Genitals must be washed twice daily with soap and water and a towel must be put aside for the affected person to dry themselves, a towel that will be used by no one else.

Checks are usually made one week after diagnosis and a final checkup is usually made three months later for a clean bill of health.

*132/153/1*

If you are susceptible there is nothing you can do about avoiding the symptoms of the male-menopause. Those that are going to affect you, will. But you can recognize them for what they are, that is, simply, symptoms, and bad though the reaction may be at least you know you are in good company with countless others and not on the verge of collapse or madness and that physically you do not have a terminal illness. If your sexlife does not improve overnight at least you know normal service will soon be resumed.

Jungian analysts subscribe to the old adage that life is one long day with the age of forty as its midday, a high-noon peak before the long afternoon and dusk with its setting sun. (Both Jung and Freud suffered mid-life crises.) And during the M-M years the past looks far richer than the future. But although the past may have been great why shouldn’t the future be as good — if different? Survival lies in the ability to spot what is going wrong and make the correct decisions recognizing the changes you need in yourself and your lifestyle and adapting to them so that the future works to your advantage.

*95/153/1*

After thirty-five the body is not quite what it was. It may look passable in the mirror but compare it with another ten to fifteen years younger and the differences show.

In your twenties you look young and full of go. In your thirties you reach a peak with a kind of free sophistication and confidence. But in your forties?

The answer is that in your forties you have reached both a plateau and a turning point but if you have taken care of yourself and the way you look, you can still look your best with a distinguishing touch of maturity. It is by no accident that famous movie stars reach their forties looking good; they have taken intensive care.

But, and this is an emphatic but, at forty there is also a realization or revelation that maturity might not be all it is cracked up to be and that

not only do you look mature with your thickening waistline and fuller face but that you also begin to feel mature. Both mentally and physically. People around seem to be just that touch younger than you. And meanwhile your values are changing, at work, home, leisure and generally. Time you realize is flying and the moment has come to lay foundation for future contentment; positive changes before it is too late.

*59/153/1*

The crisis builds up with a series of emotional upsets based on irrational doubts that, depending on each man’s own reading of his life, spill out and apply equally to his home as well as work life. Serious or insubstantial, together they can rock a man’s foundation. They can puncture his ego and undermine self-confidence. Self-esteem can be shot and sometimes there is a profound sense of failure which more often than not is unfounded and not evident to the eyes of others. For many the over-riding symptom is a feeling that they are missing out on their fair share of the joys of life (seen chiefly as sex). Other symptoms may be present too, nagging. Gradually the pressures intensify with tension, ragged nerves, a temper at the end of a short fuse the probable result.

And while some have only a small random selection to conquer, others have what appears to them to be more than their fair share for an inordinately long period. How badly it strikes depends entirely on personal make-up and environment. It may only be short-lived but therapists believe, at its worst, the male-menopause can last five years.

*23/153/1*