Health news from around the world.

AIDS is short for Acquired Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome. AIDS has become a veritable plague, and is so far incurable.

First of all the body is infected by a “retrovirus” which destroys certain blood cells that normally ensure the body’s immune defences.

The retrovirus can be detected right from the start, by a test developed by the Institut Pasteur in France.

If the test shows you are “seropositive”, there is no need to panic. For the moment, you are only a “healthy carrier”. You will not necessarily develop the disease itself, but you may very well transmit it. You must therefore take very strict precautions: avoid one-night stands and bisexuality. Use a sheath. If you are a drug addict, never share a syringe.

The virus is transmitted through the sperm, or via the blood if there is a skin wound. The fact that AIDS has hit homosexuals hardest is due to the frequent presence of small wounds or irritation in the rectum.

A seropositive mother can transmit the virus to her baby during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding. AIDS is more serious in a small child.

The usual symptoms of AIDS proper are: swollen lymph glands (neck, groin, arms); general tiredness.

Because of the destruction of their immune defences, AIDS sufferers succumb to pneumonia or certain types of skin cancer.

For the record, we will just list here three other sexually transmitted diseases which are barely encountered outside the tropical regions:

Soft chancre. Symptoms are painful lesions in genital area, followed by swelling of the glands in the groin. It is treated with sulfonamides.

Donovanosis. This forms a red area around the genitals or in the anal area, which then starts to bleed. This is easily cured with antibiotics.

Nicolas Fabre disease. At first this involves a small spot on the vulva or penis, which is painless and may go unnoticed. About a month later abscesses appear, together with headaches, aching joints and fever attacks. Antibiotic treatment is only effective if the disease is caught early on. Otherwise a surgical operation is needed.

Finally, there are the non-specific infections. These are benign diseases but are sexually transmitted nonetheless. They react well to antibiotics, but relapses may occur.

In men non-specific urethritis is fairly common. The symptoms are fairly similar to those of gonorrhoea: pain on urinating and abnormal discharges. If left untreated, the infection will spread to the bladder, prostate and testicles.

A more serious form is recognized, known as Reiter’s disease.

In women the vagina and cervix may become inflamed, with accompanying abdominal pain, abnormal vaginal discharges and frequent need to urinate.

Other nonspecific infections affect men and women alike.

Genital herpes is a virus disease, but is not systematically contagious. Typical signs are small, painful vesicles around the penis and vagina, lasting two to three weeks. They often recur later in a less acute form. There is no effective treatment for herpes at the present time. The best one can do is to shorten the time it lasts and soothe the pain by local analgesics and anaesthetics. It is best to wear cotton underpants and to avoid tight trousers. In women, genital herpes may suggest a predisposition to cervical cancer. An annual vaginal smear is recommended. If the sufferer is pregnant, a caesarean birth may protect the baby from contamination.

Genital warts are generally caused by a virus. A tight group of warts appears around the genital organs and anus. They can be treated by electrocoagulation or “cold burning” with liquid nitrogen.

Thrush (Candida) and Monilia cause irritation. In women they are treated with vaginal pessaries, in men with locally applied ointments.

Trichomonas is a microscopic parasite which attaches itself to the urethra, vagina or cervix, causing a frothy, greenish discharge with a fetid odour. In men there is often no visible sign, which increases the risk of unwittingly passing it on. There are oral treatments available.

Pubic lice (crabs). The presence of pubic lice is indicated by itching round the base of the hairs on the pubis and around the anus. They can be eliminated with local applications of insecticidal creams or powders.

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Sacher-Masoch, after whom the term “masochist” was coined, was a squire who lived about the same time as De Sade. He was married a number of times, each time to a woman chosen for her domineering spirit. He even signed contracts with them, under which he undertook to be their obedient slave, ready to satisfy their every whim, and authorizing them to punish him as severely as they liked should he fail in his duties. And his wives were only too happy to do so.

True masochism, then, implies total submission; for the masochist, physical and moral suffering is the essential prerequisite for sexual satisfaction.

It is too simplistic to say that masochism is the reverse of sadism. The only thing they have in common is that they involve pain.

The masochist is a willing and even eager victim. He needs a willing partner to ill-treat him. The sadist, on the other hand, seeks an non-consenting partner – a large part of his pleasure lies in the very fact that his victim is not a voluntary accomplice.

The second difference is that the sadist is not concerned with giving pleasure as well as pain, whereas the masochist likes to make love with the person who has inflicted the punishment. It is his way of showing thanks.

The third difference is that the masochist does not necessarily need a partner. He can inflict all kinds of punishments on himself. (Members of some religious orders do precisely this).

Finally, at the legal level, the masochist does nothing illegal, whereas the sadist can be accused of illegal restraint, indecent assault or grievous bodily harm.

The term “sado-masochism” can give rise to ambiguity or to mistaken interpretations. It makes one think of violence inflicted by the sadist on a (willing) masochistic partner, or else the co-existence of both tendencies in the same person.

In fact the term is often used to refer to the sexual games freely entered into by many couples, in which they can reverse the roles as the fancy takes them.

It may be useful at this stage to talk about the notion of pain, the common factor between masochism and sadism. While one can admit it may be possible – even if reprehensible – to get pleasure from inflicting pain, it is harder to see how someone can enjoy suffering.

Pain is nothing but a signal sent along a nerve to the brain. Pleasure is a signal of exactly the same kind. And the borderline between the two is not always clear-cut. If you are pinched you feel pain. But if you are pinched by someone you love and who loves you, you may feel pleasure.

A caress gives a pleasant sensation coming from a lover, but it may be extremely disagreeable coming from a stranger in a crowded train.

If someone scratches you with a pin, you may cry out in pain; but when you are a gardener, you may often notice you have been scratched by brambles without noticing anything at the time.

One has to admit, therefore:

that our brains can magnify, minimize or condition sensory perceptions,

that a repetition of the same pain, instead of exacerbating it, sets up a tolerance effect which makes it more easily bearable (within certain limits, of course).

These two facts are essential to sado-masochistic sex games. Those who play such games observe:

that a sexy spanking is agreeable for the spanker and the spanked, provided both are willing;

that the first spanks are not very enjoyable, but that the sensation of pleasure then increases – up to a certain limit, which must be respected. At this level, a woman may be so worked up that a slight stimulation of the clitoris may unleash a violent orgasm.

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This is also called sodomy, after the city of Sodom in the Old Testament, renowned for the depraved ways of its inhabitants.

Anal intercourse is one of the lovemaking methods used by male homosexuals, though contrary to popular belief it represents only a small percentage of male homosexual activity, alongside masturbation, fellatio and interfemural intercourse (introducing the penis between the tops of a partner’s tightly clenched thighs). One reason for this, though not the only one, is that it is can be very painful if haemorrhoids are present. Haemorrhoids are also favorable terrain for the transmission of AIDS.

It is generally thought that sodomy is little practised by heterosexual couples, but statistics show that nearly one couple in two acknowledges having tried out anal intercourse.

A surprising figure, but not as significant as all that; there is a big difference between an isolated experiment and a regular practice.

Both sexes entertain anal intercourse as a sexual fantasy, but there are many obstacles to making it a reality.

There are a number of firmly rooted taboos and moral values which regard it as a particularly shameful and perverse practice.

Sodomy is regarded as a gesture of domination by the man over a woman subjected against her will to his every caprice. The woman’s position on all fours, for better penetration, is itself seen as humiliating. This notion of domination and submission is in fact very superficial and purely psychological. In fact anal intercourse implies the woman’s willingness, or at least her consent. The anal sphincter contracts so strongly that “anal rape” is practically impossible.

Anal penetration is said to be painful, and it is true that the anal region is endowed with a great many sensitive nerve endings. But these do not transmit only painful sensations; they can just as well signal pleasure.

In fact anal penetration is only painful if certain preconditions are not met.

First of all the woman must sincerely want to be sodomized, at least by way of experiment. Secondly she or her partner must accustom her anus to the caresses of a finger or tongue, until she starts to feel agreeable sensations. One must next get the anus used to penetration by a foreign body – a finger or a small anal dildo etc. – since the anal sphincter automatically reacts to the presence of a foreign body by contracting tightly. The woman must learn to relax and loosen the sphincter muscles before penetration (by pushing as if to empty her bowel).

If all the conditions are met, the first experience of anal intercourse should not hurt much, and from then on she should find it more and more agreeable. The pleasurable sensations in fact stem from the nearness of the anus to the vaginal region rather than from the anus itself.

Many couples like to try anal intercourse after the woman has had a vaginal orgasm, as she finds it easier to accept at that stage. The ideal is for the man to hold back from ejaculating during the woman’s orgasm, to withdraw at the moment of ejaculation and smear his sperm between her buttocks and around the anal area to lubricate and facilitate penetration.

During anal intercourse, the woman often likes to stimulate her clitoris or have her partner do so.

Anal intercourse is really only possible in two positions: with the woman on all fours (also sometimes called the “Moslem prayer position”), or the seated position, the woman lowering her anus onto the penis of the man, who is seated or lying on his back.

The first times you try anal intercourse it is important to remember that you must not penetrate as deeply as you can in the vagina. Otherwise you can cause pain or even damage the peritoneum. One must also avoid coming back to the vagina after anal intercourse, as the vaginal flora and the anal flora do not make a good mix.

Cleanliness is important in all sexual intercourse, and doubly so, of course, in anal sex. Some couples give the anal area a little wash beforehand, and some find this gives an erotic thrill in itself.

If anal stimulation of the penis always gives the man an orgasm, a woman very rarely gets an orgasm from anal intercourse, and then only with accompanying stimulation of the clitoris. This is why you should practise anal intercourse only after the woman has had a successful vaginal orgasm.

It should be added that one should not make too much of a habit of anal intercourse, if only because in the long run the anal sphincter may lose muscle tone, with all the disagreeable consequences that entails.

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This is a question that poisons many couples’ lives, especially for the men, in whom the ideas of sexual prowess and performance are very firmly rooted.

A young man in good health can make love every day, several times a day. As he grows older, it will not come so easily. Other considerations affect the frequency of lovemaking: the behaviour of the partner or partners, the degree of eroticism in the couple’s love play, nervous tension or physical fatigue resulting from a hard day’s work, and so on.

The important thing is not to break records or to see how soon after an orgasm it is humanly possible to get an erection, or to compare one’s performance with any other man’s. The important thing is to make love whenever one feels like it, and only when one feels like it. According to the statistics, the average thirty-year-old couple make love two to three times a week.

It is worth adding that it takes a man some time to recuperate, and it takes longer each time the sex act is repeated in one day. Women on the contrary are multi-orgasmic by nature. Sometimes they can reach a second orgasm just a few minutes after the first. But because their desire for orgasm is not as strong as a man’s, the notion of sexual performance is entirely foreign to women’s mentality – nymphomaniacs apart.

And in fact a nymphomaniac does not seek performance for its own sake. Nor is she chronically unsatisfied in the usual sense of the word. She is a woman for whom orgasm does not bring peaceful relief as it does for most women, but who always wants to start again. She exhausts her partner and often wants another to take over from the first.

*16\77\2*

Sex education, and certainly school sex education, generally gives no more than a description of the genital organs of both sexes and an account of how sperm meets egg, how the embryo is formed and develops, and how it is born nine months later. A few words on contraception, with a description of the various methods, are generally added, and a warning about venereal disease and the precautions that can be taken.

No doubt all this is useful information. But sex education should also, and above all, be about love, pleasure and eroticism: questions that should preoccupy every man and woman on this earth. This is what we shall try to do in this book, giving enough precision to make things clear in every reader’s mind, while taking care to shock nobody.

“Everyone knows how to make love. Who needs instructions?” You must certainly have heard this kind of remark. People who talk like this are more to be pitied than blamed. If they were just to think for a moment they would realize that when they make love they settle for an instinctive act no different from any animal’s act of copulation: the male inserts his penis into the female’s vagina, thrusts in and out a few times until he ejaculates, and falls asleep – satisfied until the next time he gets aroused!

And for very many men and women – more than you would think – sex is no more than that. This ought not to be called love: it is mere copulation.

But what differentiates human beings from animals is their intelligence: the capacity to think, understand, imagine, create, perfect. And we can put this capacity to work in our lovemaking, so as to go beyond mere copulation and enjoy all the wide range of pleasures our sex organs can give us. Not only our sex organs, indeed, but many other parts of our bodies too.

Orgasm is of course the final goal in lovemaking. But many young people, and even adults if they are too shy, uninformed or lacking in imagination, or if they are consciously or unconsciously influenced by moral or religious precepts acquired in early childhood, ask no more than that. There is also a distinction to be made here between men and women, since men invariably reach climax while many women only rarely do so.

Boys and girls alike become aware of the pleasure their genitals can give them around the age of ten to fourteen. Boys feel a more imperative urge to use their penis, partly because – it being the same organ they use to urinate – they have it in their hand several times a day in any case. Moreover it is an external, visible organ, and they can see and feel the changes it goes through. For them this is the age of spontaneous, uncontrolled erections and wet dreams.

Young boys are quick to learn the connection between erection and ejaculation. They begin to masturbate, and they realize ejaculation is pleasurable. It is not a very intense pleasure, but the sense of relief that follows as their penis shrinks again makes them see masturbation as the satisfaction of a natural need. There is nothing sensual about it, nothing erotic. The boy feels the need to “empty” his penis the same way he empties his bladder, not so much for pleasure as for relief. So much so that once the boy begins to take an interest in girls, he can be perfectly happy to just kiss and pet with his girlfriend while he carries on masturbating in private.

As he grows up he will want to go further. His girlfriend will say no at first; she is probably ill-informed about contraception and afraid of getting pregnant; she thinks it important to keep her virginity; or saying no is seen as a part of the game.

At first, then, she will be content to masturbate her partner and let him stroke her clitoris (often very clumsily); sometimes she will stop him before she reaches the climax she feels rising in her, for fear of losing control and being led beyond the limits she has set herself for the time being.

Adolescent behaviour, governed by apprehension, fear and unsatisfied or poorly satisfied desires, is neither abnormal nor regrettable; on the contrary, this intermediate stage between childhood and adulthood is of crucial importance for a young person’s later sexual development.

This is the time when the meaning of love, tenderness, pleasure and eroticism should be made clear in a young person’s mind.

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Polio, short for poliomyelitis, is an infection of the central nervous system that attacks the cells of nerves that control the muscles. It may destroy or weaken them, causing paralysis. Most commonly, it affects the arms and legs. Less frequently, it paralyses the muscles of breathing or swallowing. Actually, it can affect any muscle.

With the introduction of compulsory anti-poliomyelitis vaccinations by the Australian and New Zealand governments in the early 1960s, the incidence of this disease has fallen dramatically to a few cases per year.

Symptoms

The early symptoms of polio include fever, headache, vomiting, fretfulness, drowsiness, sore throat, change in bowel habits, and stiffness and pain in the back and neck. These do not necessarily mean polio, but do not ignore them. Many diseases of childhood start in this way, but they, too, can be serious, and it is best not to dismiss such symptoms as just a cold or upset stomach. Call your doctor promptly, for early good treatment can prevent not only death but the disabling effects of this disease.

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When does middle age begin, and when does it end? These questions are difficult ones, because life changes so subtly and constantly. In our society, the changes that characterize the middle years occur roughly from the mid-thirties to the mid-sixties. In this chapter I shall explore some of the changes that take place during these years.

The beginning of the middle years is usually a period of settling down. In most cases, men have attained a certain level of achievement in their work and are beginning to have an idea of what work goals they can look forward to.

For most women, it means that the dependency of young and growing children has been or will soon be supplanted by the special problems of the relatively independent adult. As middle age progresses, attention begins to turn towards retirement with its implications of greater freedom, the possibility of financial problems, and an assessment of life’s accomplishments.

Changes begin to occur in the hotly in middle age. Loss of a youthful figure and the appearance of wrinkles are external signs. New ailments may develop that are likely to remain with you for a long time, such as arthritis, glaucoma, and heart disease. The ailments that once could be coped with easily may become more of a problem.

Because our culture tends to place so much emphasis on youth, we forget that middle age, like any other period of life, is dynamic and offers new opportunities and challenges. It is important, therefore, to do everything possible to remain fit.

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The womb, or uterus, which holds the baby, is like a large rubber bottle with a very small neck, almost closed. The neck is about a half inch long. In order for birth to take place, the mouth of the ‘bottle’ must be stretched to a diameter of about four inches to make room for the passage of the baby. The walls of the womb are little more than a powerful set of muscles. At a certain time, for reasons we do not know, the muscles begin to contract and force the baby downwards. Gradually the mouth of the womb—the cervix—is stretched until there is room for the baby to pass through. While this is happening, the mother experiences labour contractions.

At first, they are fairly far apart and last for a very short time. As labour progresses, they occur more often, are more intense, and last longer. Being sufficiently relaxed to take advantage of the intervals between pains makes a tremendous difference to the woman in labour.

Another reason why it is so important to be relaxed is that this encourages the cervix to dilate more rapidly. If a woman is restless during this stage of labour, it may help her to walk around a little. Sometimes breathing through the mouth, panting like a puppy, helps to relieve the tension during a contraction, and thus lessens its intensity. Experience has shown that if women will give some thought, and concentration, during their first, mild contractions, to discovering what makes them feel best, they will be well rewarded. At any rate, do not fight against the pains. There is nothing a woman needs to do to help during this period, so try and relax as much as possible.

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Although everyone has fears, worries, and emotional discomfort, those of the neurotic person have special characteristics:

The fears, worries, and tensions are usually exaggerated, continual, or of long duration; or they are not based on reality.

These fears, worries, and tensions prevent the neurotic individual from acting in his own best interests. They interfere with his ability to work and to get along with people.

3 Neurotic people experience feelings of fear, anxiety, and depression without knowing why. This sometimes makes them fear they are becoming insane. Right here I want to state emphatically that it does not mean anything of the kind. Quite the contrary. There appears to be some truth to the saying, ‘The best way to keep from going mad is to be neurotic!’ Of course, it is not really the best way, any more than the best way to avoid breaking your arm is to keep it in a sling constantly.

As a group, neurotics are able to recognize reality. They may see it through dark or distorting glasses, but they do see it. They do not have hallucinations, as do some of the psychotic people I discuss later in this chapter. Only part of their personality is disturbed. They are all able to function, more or less, in society. Almost all know, although they will not always admit it, that there is something wrong with them. Neurotic individuals show a great range of behaviour.

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The skin is the largest organ of the body. I should not be surprised if it seems strange to you to think of it ;n this way, because it did to me when I was a medical student.

Function and structure of the skin

The skin has many functions, the first and most obvious of which is to serve as a protective envelope against germs and cold and against the drying out of the body’s vital fluids. The skin is resilient and tough enough to protect the soft underlying tissues from bruises and other mechanical injuries. In addition, it helps to regulate the body’s temperature by the evaporation of perspiration and by contracting or relaxing the superficial blood vessels. It acts as an organs of sense because of the many nerve endings it contains. It can adsorb certain substances, and it plays a part in the process of elimination. The skin is able to renew itself quite well when a portion of it [s destroyed.

The skin reflects a great deal about the state of the body, as you have undoubtedly noticed in some sick people; and also the state of the mind, as you can plainly see when someone is blushing from embarrassment or pale with fear.

Care of the skin

Normal skin needs chiefly to be kept clean with soap and water. Always use a clean washcloth or complex[on brush. Do not massage the soap into your skin. Always rinse thoroughly. Since normal skin tends to become dry with middle age, a plain Cold cream or oily lotion is helpful. In the winter, use less soap than you do in warm weather and always dry your skin thoroughly. Germicidal soaps and antiseptics are not necessary for either men or women. They can be irritating, and healthy skin is not bothered by the germs that land on it. Of course, you should take care of cuts and abrasions

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