Kesihatan Prostat

Prostat adalah salah satu organ paling penting untuk tumbesaran normal dalam sistem pembiakan lelaki dan harus dipantau atau dirawat sekiranya wujud simtom yang menunjukkan kesihatan prostat terjejas.

Lelaki memerlukan perhatian khas untuk merangsang paras tenaga dalam zaman kedewasaan bagi memenuhi gaya hidup yang sibuk.

Kesihatan Prostat

Bagi sesetengah lelaki, prostat mula membesar ketika memasuki usia 50an. Pembesaran ini mungkin berterusan sepanjang hayat mereka, yang mana hasilnya akan meletakkan tekanan ke atas urethra – saluran yang membawa air kencing dan air mani keluar daripada tubuh, menyebabkan masalah urinari.

Simtom biasa keadaan prostat membesar atau benign prostatik hiperplasia (BPH) termasuk:

-         Sukar hendak mula kencing

-         Sukar mengetuskan pundi-pundi kencing sepenuhnya, menyebabkan titisan berjejeran selepas selesai membuang air kecil.

-         Aliran kencing lemah yang mungkin bermula kemudian terhenti

-         Kekerapan membuang air kecil meningkat, terutama waktu malam

-         Terasa perlu membuang air kecil lebih kerap

-         Terasa hendak membuang air kecil yang mendadak

Jika dibiar tanpa rawatan, prostat membesar boleh membawa kepada masalah jangka panjang seperti pembedahan prostat. Prostat membesar boleh terus membesar, lama kelamaannya akan memburukkan simtom sedia ada dan meningkatkan masalah, dan yang paling teruk, menyekat terus aliran kencing yang keluar daripada pundi-pundi kencing.

Dalam beberapa kes yang jarang berlaku, prostat membesar yang tidak dirawat boleh menyebabkan inkontinens, batu karang, jangkitan buah pinggang, atau malah kerosakan kekal pada pundi-pundi kencing, buah pinggang atau urethra. 

Oleh itu adalah penting langkah pencegahan dan pemeriksaan yang tetap dibuat bagi mengelakkan masalah kesihatan yang serius.

Sungguhpun prostat membesar juga adalah disebabkan oleh kanser prostat, pembesaran prostat tidak diterjemahkan secara langsung kepada kanser prostat atau membawa kepada kanser. 

Saw Palmetto

Saw Palmetto telah dikaji keberkesanannya dalam merawat simtom prostat membesar dan telah diguna untuk menggalakkan kesihatan prostat selama bertahun-tahun. Satu kajian membuat kesimpulan bahawa ekstrak herba saw palmetto jenama Eropah yang distandardkan ke atas 150 lelaki yang menjalani ujian itu telah dapat mengurangkan saiz prostat, membaiki aliran kencing dan meningkatkan aktiviti seksual. Herba saw palmetto melindungi kelenjar daripada paras testosteron merengsakan dan menggalakkan pengecutan tanpa sebarang kesan sampingan. Herba saw palmetto bukan toksik dan tidak ada interaksi dadah yang diketahui.

Penemuan saintifik telah mendedahkan bahawa saw palmetto sebenarnya merencatkan enzim 5-alpha-reduktase dalam tisu prostat. Ini juga adalah enzim yang mengubah testosteron ke DHT (dihidrotestosteron) – salah satu daripada beberapa proses yang menyebabkan pembesaran prostat. Penyelidikan lanjut menunjukkan saw palmetto melegakan simtom BPH (benign prostatik hiperplasia), termasuk mengurangkan kencing malam dan simtom BPH yang lain sebanyak satu perempat.

Dos standard saw palmetto seperti yang dipreskripsi dalam cubaan klinikal ialah 320 mg setiap hari selama satu bulan hingga satu tahun, dan ekstrak saw palmetto kebanyakannya tersedia dalam bentuk gel lembut.

Siberian Ginseng

Siberian ginseng mendapat reputasi sebagai “tumbuhan berkuasa” Asia. Kajian yang dilakukan di China dan Russia menunjukkan bahawa pengambilan Siberian ginseng meningkatkan imuniti manusia, menambah kekuatan, merangsang fungsi seksual, memperbaiki tidur, membantu tubuh ketika kekurangan oksigen, meningkatkan fungsi kardiovaskular, memperbaiki prestasi olahraga keseluruhan, dan menajamkan mental.

Tumbuhan yang didapati dengan banyak di gunung-gunung China Utara dan  Siberia adalah satu “adaptogen” yang memperbaiki ketahanan umum terhadap kebanyakan pengaruh tidak sihat, terutama stres. Ia juga telah ditunjukkan dapat meningkatkan toleransi manusia terhadap faktor-faktor stres seperti kepanasan dan kebisingan. 

Ginkgo Biloba

Ginkgo biloba telah diguna oleh orang-orang Cina sejak beribu-ribu tahun untuk merawat berbagai penyakit, termasuk asma, kesesakan paru-paru, memperbaiki tenaga seksual, mengawal aliran darah dan menggalakkan lanjut usia. 

Ia bertindak dengan menambah aliran darah ke otak dan seluruh jaringan saluran darah. Oleh itu, ia dikenali kerana kesan-kesan positif ke atas fungsian otak – meningkatkan memori, ketajaman mental dan mengurangkan kelesuan mental serta kekurangan tenaga. 

Perubahan Gaya Hidup untuk Hidup Sihat

Walaupun mengambil suplemen memang mudah dan boleh menyumbang kepada penggalakan kesihatan umum, kita tidak boleh bergantung padanya semata-mata.

Rahsia untuk hidup sihat sejahtera secara keseluruhan ketika menjelang usia emas ialah dengan mengubah apa sahaja tabiat kurang sihat dan perubahan itu diteruskan di sepanjang hayat.

Children, Beware of Paedophiles!

 Lost in “love”

Boys and girls have become ripe pickings for predatory older men who managed to convince them to run away from home with them – all in the name of “love”.

According to the Police, statistics compiled from 2006 which show 2,175 minors went missing from home. They did so out of desire to run off with their lovers. From the total, 1,076 of the lovelorn runaways were teens aged between 14 and 17. More than 90 percent are girls. Shockingly, 55 of these children were aged between 10 and 13. A nine-year-old girl had fled with her lover in 2006 while a nine-year-old boy did the same in 2009.

Due to pressures at home, children would seek solace in friends of the “wrong kind”. Because of their young age, they are not good judges of character and would easily fall victim. They would believe whatever older people would tell them, making them prime targets. Most of the perpetrators and victims were locals.

.

The trend of children running away to be with their lovers has prompted police to urge parents to be vigilant of their kids’ activities. Parents must also know where their children hang out most, which Internet cafes, malls or mamak stalls.

Meanwhile, crime analyst Kamal Affendi Hashim said the main factor behind teenagers and children flying the coop was the parents themselves. Some parents are just not ready to raise a family. Many lack parenting skills but refuse to seek help. When a teen goes missing or a child is lured by adults for whatever reason, the fault always lies with the parents.

These youngsters may not have much say at home and, therefore, feel invisible. Most runaway cases happen when a child is not the parents’ favourite, so they seek attention elsewhere.

Parents should seek guidance from their religious leaders if they were unable to seek professional family counselling.

They could also refer to the Welfare Deparrtment for further assistance. Parents and children alike could call Talian Nur (15999) to seek advice if they had family issues.

Know you kid’s friends

MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head, Datuk Michael Chong is all too familiar with cases of missing persons, human trafficking and immigration issues after being the voice of the downtrodden for about 24 years.

He believes the underaged are mostly lured by paedophiles through the Internet. Because of the age gap it is unlikely for these adults to meet children in the open with people around. They would befriend these youngsters on social networking sites such as Facebook.

The adults would send their potential victims gifts to entice them. Knowing that they are having problems at home, it would be easier for the paedophiles to make them victims.

Chong advised parents to know who their children’s friends are and to know those friends personally.

Through the Internet, these children would not know who they are making friends with. The parents should be by their side to monitor them. The children should be allowed to use the Internet but under supervision.     

Paedophilia

Paedophilia  is a psychiatric disorder in adults or late adolescents, usually aged 16 and above, characterised by a primary or exclusive sexual int3erest in prepubescent children aged 13 years and younger.

This disorder brings them to criminal acts such as child sexual abuse, statutory rape and offences involving child pornography, child grooming, stalking and indecent exposure.

Studies by the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) show the most popular tactic used by paedophiles to reach their victims is by “child grooming”.

The groomers usually take an undue interest in someone’s child by being the child’s “special friend” to gain their and their parents’ trust to access them easily.

Besides giving the children gifts and money for no apparent reason, a paedophile would normally show porn videos and pictures too normalize their behaviour, hoping to make it easy for the child to accept such acts. They also talk much about sex.

The groomer might talk about problems usually discussed between adults such as emotional marital problems to establish hugging, kissing or other physical contact with the child.  

Paedophiles also look for opportunities to have time alone with the child by offering to babysit and usually invite the child for sleepovers for a chance to sleep in the same bed. After this normalization process, they will move on to molesting their victim.

After all the grooming, most children would not realize the improper conduct until a third party suspects something amiss.

Unicef studies also confirmed that paedophilia is caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors with paedophiles commonly being victims of violence and sex abuse as children, in a victim-to-perpetrator cycle. If victims are neglected and lack supervision, they become sexual aggressors as adults to accomplish this emotional shift. This shift is then re-targeted back to children simply because they are weaker and pliable.

Although there is no solid cure for apedophilia, treatments are available with the collaboration between law enforcement and health care prosfessionals such as psychiatrists and doctors.

Last year, a local daily reported that a Malaysian was jailed in Singapore for sexual grooming. Poong Foo Yun, 26, had posed as a schoolgirl on a social networking site and cajoled an 11-year-old girl to do indecent acts in front of her 

[Source: The Star}