Mens Health

The area of sport, nutrition and fitness is an area of particular interest at Galway City Medical Centre and more information can be found on this aspect of our practice here.

Specific male issues that relate to the Prostate, Testicles or Erectile dysfunction are issues that are often not easily broached by men and are all too often left unsaid. These can be the cause of needless worry and stress. Prostate issues may be undetected as they can develop without any symptoms or they may cause symptoms such as difficulty with urination; urinating very frequently, needing to get up multiple times during the night to urinate,  poor flow/ stream, dribbling, blood in the urine. Men can often find scrotal/ testicular swellings that are often very worrying for the patient and most often turn out to be pretty harmless hydrocoeles, epidydmal cysts or herniae. Sexual difficulties including the area of erectile dysfunction can cause significant relationship difficulties and in some cases may be a sign of another hormonal or potentially more serious generalised circulation problem. A thorough physical examination to include some simple blood tests and occasionally non invasive ultrasound scans can often elucidate the cause of these symptoms and offer treatment options if needed. Early screening, detection and management of these serious male issues will often result in more successful and often curative outcomes.

Screening and Illness Prevention

In addition to illness detection and treatment, men too, see the value in regular checks for screening and prevention of illness. Heart disease, high cholesterol, elevated blood pressure and the subsequent risk of stroke and heart attacks are more common in men and can be screened, detected and treated before they are allowed to cause problems. The treatments for established cardiovascular disease are evolving all the time and can be life saving as well as providing symptom relief for those suffering with chest pains, poor exercise tolerance or shortness of breath. They may involve the use of medications, angiography,  stenting of coronary arteries or bi-pass grafts. The aim would be, however, to reduce the requirements for these treatments in primary care by making every effort to optimise everyone’s possible modifiable risk factors such as high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar/ cholesterol, weight, fitness, nutrition, mobility and stress. Studies have shown dramatically reduced incidence of coronary heart disease, strokes, heart attacks, peripheral vascular disease and the development of diabetes with better risk factor control. The outcomes after these events have also been shown to be much better for those patients with better risk factor control in advance of a cardiac event. Needless to say, this optimisation of risk factors and improving lifestyle, nutrition, fitness, weight, smoking cessation are not only invaluable in illness prevention but will, in addition, contribute to better health, well being, mobility, function, ability to fight infection and overall quality of life.