Most men experience occasional erectile dysfunction (ED) at some time in their lives as a result of fatigue, stress or excessive alcohol consumption. However, when it occurs consistently or for a long period of time, causing significant distress to the sufferer or to his relationship, then it starts to be considered a serious problem.

Here are some treatment options starting with self help:

Share your concerns - it is particularly important that you communicate with your partner by being open and honest and asking for their support. The lines of communication need to be opened.

Start by placing less emphasis on intercourse and more on developing other forms of sexual intimacy. Spending time cuddling, kissing, licking and massaging can still be pleasurable and will help keep you emotionally close to your partner.

Sex therapy - many men could benefit from a course of counseling or therapy. Sex therapy is particularly necessary if the ED has psychological causes which cannot actually be cured with physical treatments. Sex therapy can help to restore self esteem and sexual confidence. Involve your partner in sex therapy too.

Practice a healthy lifestyle by cutting down on the drinking and quitting the smoking. Take moderate-intensity exercise - brisk walking for example - for half an hour on most days of the week. Eat a balanced diet rich in fruit and vegetables and low in fat. Reduce the stresses in your life.

In recent years, pharmaceutical companies have been developing ED treatments as they have realized the extent of the problem. There are now 3 different brands of tablets known as phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitors. Cialis and Levitra work in a similar way to Viagra (the first drug of this type) but take effect more quickly. A 4th drug Uprima comes as a tablet to be dissolved under the tongue and it brings about an erection in about 20 minutes. Prior to such research, men who sought help and medical advice from their doctor were prescribed such treatments as testosterone or penile injections or even penile implants.

Traditional natural healing products for the treatment of Erectile Dysfunction were not always readily available in the western world. Now you can chose a natural rather than a man-made solution for ED as a safe alternative. With a natural healing product, you retain the power to control your erection as opposed to some oral and man-made drugs which induce an erection for a longer period of time but do not give you the control. A natural healing product will help boost your self esteem and confidence by allowing you to get an erection and to maintain it for as long as desired.

Many men used to feel embarrassed when they sought medical advice for an ED problem but fortunately, the problem has been discussed so openly in the media in recent years, that they are starting to feel more confident about getting help.

Amoils offers all natural treatments for common conditions and ailments using essential oils. Visit our Erectile Dysfunction page for more information.

Source : Medicalnewstoday

Treating Pediatric Bed-Wetting with Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine By Robert Helmer A Book Review Bed-Wetting, or Primary Nocturnal Enuresis (PNE), is a very common pediatric problem, though one that most families do not like to discuss openly. It is estimated that as many as 20% of five year-olds, 10% of six year-olds and even 1% of 15 year-olds experience an inability to control night time urination. While there may be a medical condition that is causing the problem, and every child should be tested to rule out such conditions, only 1-3% of enuresis cases have an organic cause that is identifiable by Western medical tests.

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Treating Pediatric Bed-Wetting with Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine
By Robert Helmer
A Book Review

Bed-Wetting, or Primary Nocturnal Enuresis (PNE), is a very common pediatric problem, though one that most families do not like to discuss openly. It is estimated that as many as 20% of five year-olds, 10% of six year-olds and even 1% of 15 year-olds experience an inability to control night time urination. While there may be a medical condition that is causing the problem, and every child should be tested to rule out such conditions, only 1-3% of enuresis cases have an organic cause that is identifiable by Western medical tests.

Once Western medicine rules out a physical problem, treatment options consist of counseling, motivational therapy, behavioral therapy such as using alarm devices to wake the child, and drug therapy. Several medications are available to attempt to increase bladder capacity or to reduce the amount of urine produced by the body. None of the medications are a cure for enuresis and most of these medications have potential major side effects. Most doctors will not prescribe medications for children until the age of seven. Unfortunately, the social stigma that we associate with bed-wetting may have already had a huge negative impact on the self-esteem of these children.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), views enuresis as a disorder of water metabolism. In TCM, the three organs that control water metabolism are the Lungs, the Spleen and the Kidneys. Enuresis is usually explained in TCM as a deficiency of the energy of one or more of these organs. The Heart and the Liver may also play a part. Mr. Helmer does a good job of explaining pattern differentiation that would be easily understood by trained acupuncturists.

The majority of Mr. Helmer’s book is devoted to documenting scores of research protocols that have been conducted in China. He provides dozens of case histories. He also provides a sample in-take form that would be helpful to conclude the TCM pattern differentiation.

The good news is that the majority of these protocols have very high success rates in curing or improving enuresis. Many TCM treatment modalities have proven to be effective. Body acupuncture, auricular acupuncture or acupressure, moxibustion, tuina (TCM massage), internally administered herbal medicine or externally applied herbal medicine, magnetotherapy and cupping have all proven to be effective either alone or in combination.

The study that most impressed me, consisted of applying an herbal paste of scallions and sulfur to the navel area at night-time. All 132 patients in the study were completely cured in 2-4 days and there was no reoccurrence of enuresis two years later. Simple, non-invasive, and effective. How wonderful for these children!

Like most TCM research, treatment was given more frequently than is practical or affordable in this country. Usually treatment was given daily, or every other day, for a week. If necessary, the patient was given a day off, and then the course was repeated. But many of the techniques could easily be taught to parents by compassionate practitioners of TCM. Auricular acupressure, moxibustion and tuina could easily be administered by trained parents and could be the answer for many of these children.

Hats off to Mr. Helmer for providing a host of TCM options to treat enuresis!

About the Author:
Joyce Marley is a licensed acupuncturist that provides acupuncture therapy in New Hartford, NY. She writes alternative health articles about acupuncture and Oriental medicine.

During my training in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), we were taught that acupuncture and Chinese herbal formulas were often used in China to treat herpes zoster – more commonly known as shingles. But as luck would have it, I never encountered a case in the student clinic. Two weeks ago my 78 year-old diabetic mother complained of back pain that was excruciating during the night and subsided during the day. She did not remember straining her back. Then on the third day, she noticed a cluster of blisters on her right side. She called her doctor and was told that she had shingles and that there was very little that they could do for her other than prescribe a pain medication (which has been quite ineffective to treat her pain). I immediately dragged out all of my notes from school and rummaged through all of my reference materials. I learned that my mother is in the age group with the highest incidence of shingles and with the greatest risk of developing postherpatic...

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During my training in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), we were taught that acupuncture and Chinese herbal formulas were often used in China to treat herpes zoster – more commonly known as shingles. But as luck would have it, I never encountered a case in the student clinic. Two weeks ago my 78 year-old diabetic mother complained of back pain that was excruciating during the night and subsided during the day. She did not remember straining her back. Then on the third day, she noticed a cluster of blisters on her right side. She called her doctor and was told that she had shingles and that there was very little that they could do for her other than prescribe a pain medication (which has been quite ineffective to treat her pain).

I immediately dragged out all of my notes from school and rummaged through all of my reference materials. I learned that my mother is in the age group with the highest incidence of shingles and with the greatest risk of developing postherpatic neuralgia – pain that may last years after the blisters have healed! Luckily, I found many protocols in TCM that can be very effective in reducing the severity and duration of the pain.

I found an article in the 1996 September issue of the Journal of Chinese Medicine entitled “The Clinical Effectiveness of Bloodletting Therapy in the Treatment of Herpes Zoster”. The article discussed a study involving 38 patients suffering an acute case of shingles. Each patient had a few drops of blood taken out of the tip of the ear on the affected side of the body. If the herpes was above the waist, a few drops of blood were taken out of the acupuncture point LU-11 near the thumb fingernail. If the herpes was below the waist, a few drops were taken out of SP-1 near the toenail of the big toe. Additionally, the top of the leading herpes blister and the red streaks around it were pricked and cups were placed over the area to encourage bleeding from the local area. All 38 cases in this study were cured (the lesions faded and there was no pain) after one to three daily treatments.

In the May 1994 issue of the Journal of Chinese Medicine, another article entitled “Treatment by Acupuncture – Herpes Zoster”, the author talks about some empirical points that can be alternatively bled to treat shingles. One of the points is called Longyan (Dragon’s Eyes) and is located on the ulnar side of the little finger. Another set of points is called Sheyan (Snake’s Eyes) and they are located on the thumb. In ancient China this disease was likened to a creeping snake because the eruption of blisters creeped along the body in a line. The first patches of lesions to appear were called the head of the snake and the last were called the tail of the snake. So it is logical that the points to treat this disease would be named after a snake!

Bleeding one or two of these points can be combined with each acupuncture treatment in the acute phase of the disease. Of course, bleeding therapy would be contraindicated for any patient taking a blood thinning medication such as Coumadin. And bleeding should be done sparingly, if at all, on people with extremely weak constitutions.

About the Author:
Joyce Marley is a licensed acupuncturist with a practice in New Hartford, NY. She writes alternative health articles about acupuncture and Chinese medicine.