For some men, stressing about whether their footy team will make a comeback next year is their biggest problem. For many others, challenges such as\u00a0depression\u00a0or infertility can seem insurmountable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But support and treatments are available to men facing health issues, some of which are common. Here\u2019s a round-up of what men (and the people close to them) should be looking out for \u2014 and talking about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Androgens are male sex hormones. Testosterone, the most important male hormone, allows a boy to develop into a man and is responsible for ongoing reproductive and sexual function. Androgen, or testosterone, deficiency occurs when the body is not able to make enough testosterone and although this is not life-threatening, it can affect a man\u2019s quality of life. According to\u00a0Healthy Male, it\u2019s likely that androgen deficiency is under-diagnosed in many men, and so these men are missing out on treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the following symptoms could well be due to other illnesses, you should contact your doctor if you experience low energy levels, mood swings, irritability, poor concentration, reduced muscle strength or a low sex drive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One in 8 men will experience depression and 1 in 5 men will experience\u00a0anxiety\u00a0at some stage in their lives, according to\u00a0beyondblue. In 6 out of every 8\u00a0suicides, it is men that take their own lives. In fact, the number of men who die by suicide in Australia is nearly double the annual national road toll.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But if you or someone close to you is struggling with depression, or is at risk of suicide, there is help available. You can call these helplines 24 hours a day:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prostate cancer\u00a0is diagnosed mainly in men aged over 50 years and occurs when cells in the prostate grow and divide abnormally, creating a tumour. Excluding some forms of skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer diagnosed in Australian men, with more than 19,000 diagnosed each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Testicular cancer\u00a0is less common, with up to 800 Australian men diagnosed per year. That said, it\u2019s the second most common cancer in men aged between 18 and 39. There\u2019s no way to prevent it, but a hard, generally painless lump in the testes is usually the most obvious symptom of testicular cancer. Thankfully, the chances of survival for men with testicular cancer \u2014 when promptly diagnosed and treated \u2014 are very high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, what can you do about it? All young men should regularly check their testicles for any lumps or swelling. You can read\u00a0more about self-examination\u00a0here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being unable to get or maintain an erection\u00a0is very common, affecting at least 1 in 5 men aged over 40 years. Erectile dysfunction is not a disease, but a symptom of other problems, which can be physical or psychological or a combination of both. It can sometimes indicate\u00a0diabetes\u00a0or\u00a0hypertension\u00a0(high blood pressure). So, it\u2019s important to see your doctor if you\u2019re experiencing erectile dysfunction. While treating any potential underlying cause they can also suggest treatments that will allow erections to happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Infertility is far from being \u2018a woman\u2019s problem\u2019. Four in 10 cases of\u00a0infertility\u00a0are attributable to a problem in the man; 4 in 10 cases are attributable to a problem in the woman. Male infertility is usually caused by poor sperm transport or production (low numbers of sperm made in the\u00a0testes, for example). But because ejaculation usually happens normally, the only way to diagnose infertility is through medical tests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Male infertility can also be a sign of another health condition, such as\u00a0testosterone deficiency\u00a0(see \u2018Androgen deficiency\u2019, above) or\u00a0testicular cancer, so it\u2019s important to get checked out by your doctor if you\u2019ve been trying for a pregnancy without success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Healthy Male\u00a0advises all men to remember:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For some men, stressing about whether their footy team will make a comeback next year is their biggest problem. For many others, challenges such as\u00a0depression\u00a0or infertility can seem insurmountable. But support and treatments are available to men facing health issues,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":62,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/answerfaqpro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/answerfaqpro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/answerfaqpro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/answerfaqpro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/answerfaqpro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/answerfaqpro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63,"href":"https:\/\/answerfaqpro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61\/revisions\/63"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/answerfaqpro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/answerfaqpro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/answerfaqpro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/answerfaqpro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}