AHEM AHEM! I fear Hedi's thread is headed toward an ED or maybe a DV discussion. With the title of this thread as Medical Info, it reminds me of the Medicare question, "Are you sexually active." Being the smart-mouth comedian I am, I answer by posing a question to the young nurse, "Does pleasuring yourself count?"
Yes, yes it does! It only counts as a health benefit if at least one climax is achieved. My medicare chart reveals I am very healthy in that way. That is one advantage of being a widow of 51 years. More satisfaction, less aggravation, and on demand.
@Shirley Martin yes, deafening silence. Medical facts are sometimes embarrassing to even seniors. It is just physical therapy and shouldn't be embarrassing. Oh dear, I just noticed it is almost 5 PM. My bedtime is 6 PM so time for me to shut down this soiree, do my nightly check, prepare for bed, and do my physical therapy. See y'all in the morning bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
For the longest time, they have said that--for men--having frequent orgasms reduces the risk of prostate cancer. I don't know what special interest group got involved, but they later came out and said that only orgasms arrived at through intercourse would yield that benefit. Yeh. Right. They're "different." So I compromise. I say "Are you through yet?" as I'm pleasuring myself.
That doesn't even make sense; aren't the mechanics exactly the same? And I was pissed to get breast cancer after doing "all the right things," according to the ACS. Normal body weight, breastfed babies, got pregnant before age 22, never smoked, etc. The fact is, it's a crap shoot.
From WebMD: Scientists don’t know if ejaculation during sex vs. masturbation has the same benefits. Some research has found that the makeup of semen is different for each. For example, semen during sex has higher levels of sperm and some chemicals. It’s possible that these could make a difference in a man’s odds of having prostate cancer. That statement is toned-down from what I read when this first came out...things were more absolutist regarding the lack of benefit when flying solo. And the aforementioned activities only have an effect on some prostate cancers...but not the deadliest kinds. But apparently there definitely is correlation. Regarding breast cancer, I guess you can't outrun your genes. And you'll never know the other things you've saved yourself from by doing all the right things. Plus it positioned you for the ultimate battle.
I tested negative for every known gene mutation. (This was good news because I didn't want to pass it on to my kids/grandkids.)