How many sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are there right now in the U.S.? Believe it or not, 110,000,000! That’s double the number of folks that get the flu each year. Talk about an epidemic! Not only that, but 20,000,000 new STIs are diagnosed each year. Fully half of these infections occur in 15- to 24-year-olds. Unfortunately, […]
Author: Paul Turek, MD
What You Didn’t Learn in Sex Ed
Is it my imagination or does every new electronic device, be it an alarm clock, cooking widget or cell phone, come with a 100-page owner’s manual? No more learning by simple intuition or reason nowadays. According to Malcolm Bradbury, the digital age is different: “We don’t have reason; we have computation. We don’t have a […]
Sperm Counts: How Low Is Too Low if You Want To Be a Dad?
We humans like to count and label things. We order the stars above us into constellations. We organize time into hours, minutes and seconds. We name the colors of the rainbow. We track how many steps we take with widgets on our wrists. Maybe it gives us a sense of control over our big, wide […]
Having Intimacy Issues?
Sex Therapy Sex therapy was born in the 1960s, with the work of pioneering researchers Dr. William Masters and Virginia Johnson. They showed us that many intimacy problems could be cured with a combination of education, whole-body massage and applying specific techniques. They understood that some issues with sex are relationship independent, while others involve both […]
Can Stem Cells be Used to Create People?
We’ve known about stem cells for half a century. They are cells that not only make copies of themselves but can also become other types of cells and tissues. This kind of biological feat is unique in science and has the potential to cure disease. So why haven’t we seen more scientific success and stem […]
Sex After Cancer
There is nothing, absolutely nothing, redeeming about cancer. And in many cases, treating it wreaks even more havoc on your body, mind…and sex life. But alas, broken crayons can still color, and much of what cancer does to unravel sex can be repaired. A Sex Trio In order to understand how cancer can affect a […]
Choosing An Open Or Closed Vasectomy in Beverly Hills
“Why aren’t open vasectomies more popular?” It was a good question and reflected the research he had done on the matter. Sometimes, it’s the simplest, most basic questions that get you thinking the hardest. What’s the Difference: Open & Closed Vasectomy What most of us do are called “closed” vasectomies: Each of the two sperm […]
Obesity, Exercise and the Testosterone Sweet Spot
He looked absolutely shredded. An all-natural body builder with more ripples than a lake on a windy day, he worked out 3 hours daily and it showed. But his testosterone levels were in the tank, far lower than normal and similar to someone who is overweight and doesn’t exercise at all. How is this possible? […]
Too Much Too Long: Steroids, Testosterone and Male Fertility
The “point-of-no-return” concept is everywhere in our lives. Innocence, virginity and aging are all great examples of the irreversibility of life. In the past it never occurred to me that steroid-induced male infertility followed the same laws of nature. But it does. Steroid Freefall I have taken care of men from around the globe who want […]
The Data Is In: Little Care for Infertile Men
I was hoping my hunch wasn’t true…but it was. A decade ago, while debating with colleagues in Barcelona, I noted a trend in the medical care of infertile American men. Basically, they weren’t getting care. Yes, some were having semen analyses, but that’s about it — and that’s not “care.” Care includes documenting a patient’s […]