Imagine you’re learning to drive a car for the first time. Someone gives you the vehicle owner’s manual to read, and then hands you the keys.

If drivers were trained that way, no one would be safe on the road.

But it’s a lot like how most guys learn about sex. You’re taught the basic facts of life, then turned loose to puzzle out your partners’ sexuality, and your own, by trial and error.

Experience is useful, but it isn’t everything. Even guys who’ve had a lot of sexual experience with women still make mistakes that could be avoided with better knowledge.

So you don’t have to learn the hard way, WebMD asked three well-known sex educators to tell us what they think are the most common sex mistakes men make with women.

Tristan Taormino is an author, lecturer, and video producer. Her latest book is The Secrets of Great G-Spot Orgasms and Female Ejaculation.

Patti Britton, PhD, MPH, is a clinical sexologist practicing in Los Angeles, past president of the American Association for Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT), and associate professor of sexology with the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality.

Chris Donaghue is a sex therapist and educator in Los Angeles and host of Bad Sex, a reality TV series on Logo.

Sex Drive Killers

Sex Mistake No.1: ‘I Know How to Please a Woman’

Men often assume that the way they’ve learned to please one woman works for all women. Not so.

“With every sexual partner you have, you do gain a growing body of knowledge of female bodies and female pleasure,” Taormino tells WebMD. “But women’s sexuality is complicated, and it’s really individual.”

Every woman’s body responds in different ways to sensation, and every woman’s anatomy is a little different. What feels amazing to one may do nothing — or even cause discomfort — for another.

“That is the detective work you need to do each and every time,” Britton says. “We really each have a sexual fingerprint.”

When it comes to intercourse, one key variable is your thrusting technique: Does she like it fast or slow? Deep or shallow? Or does she like to mix it up — slow and shallow at first, and then fast and deep?

Also, no one sex position is every woman’s favorite. She may prefer a certain sex position for several reasons. Different positions allow various angles of penetration, depending not only on her anatomy, but also the size and shape of your penis. Differences between partners’ body shape and height may make some positions better than others. And for some women, it’s important to have face-to-face intimacy during intercourse.

“I talk to tons of women who say, ‘I know missionary gets a bad rap, but I really like it.’ Others say, ‘It’s got to be from behind,’” Taormino says. “People are really across the board when it comes to positions.”

men.webmd.com

Imagine you’re learning to drive a car for the first time. Someone gives you the vehicle owner’s manual to read, and then hands you the keys.

If drivers were trained that way, no one would be safe on the road.

But it’s a lot like how most guys learn about sex. You’re taught the basic facts of life, then turned loose to puzzle out your partners’ sexuality, and your own, by trial and error.

Experience is useful, but it isn’t everything. Even guys who’ve had a lot of sexual experience with women still make mistakes that could be avoided with better knowledge.

So you don’t have to learn the hard way, WebMD asked three well-known sex educators to tell us what they think are the most common sex mistakes men make with women.

Tristan Taormino is an author, lecturer, and video producer. Her latest book is The Secrets of Great G-Spot Orgasms and Female Ejaculation.

Patti Britton, PhD, MPH, is a clinical sexologist practicing in Los Angeles, past president of the American Association for Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT), and associate professor of sexology with the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality.

Chris Donaghue is a sex therapist and educator in Los Angeles and host of Bad Sex, a reality TV series on Logo.

Sex Drive Killers

Sex Mistake No.1: ‘I Know How to Please a Woman’

Men often assume that the way they’ve learned to please one woman works for all women. Not so.

“With every sexual partner you have, you do gain a growing body of knowledge of female bodies and female pleasure,” Taormino tells WebMD. “But women’s sexuality is complicated, and it’s really individual.”

Every woman’s body responds in different ways to sensation, and every woman’s anatomy is a little different. What feels amazing to one may do nothing — or even cause discomfort — for another.

“That is the detective work you need to do each and every time,” Britton says. “We really each have a sexual fingerprint.”

When it comes to intercourse, one key variable is your thrusting technique: Does she like it fast or slow? Deep or shallow? Or does she like to mix it up — slow and shallow at first, and then fast and deep?

Also, no one sex position is every woman’s favorite. She may prefer a certain sex position for several reasons. Different positions allow various angles of penetration, depending not only on her anatomy, but also the size and shape of your penis. Differences between partners’ body shape and height may make some positions better than others. And for some women, it’s important to have face-to-face intimacy during intercourse.

“I talk to tons of women who say, ‘I know missionary gets a bad rap, but I really like it.’ Others say, ‘It’s got to be from behind,’” Taormino says. “People are really across the board when it comes to positions.”

men.webmd.com

Feb. 3, 2012 — When are “senior moments” just a normal part of healthy aging, and when are they a sign of something more serious such as Alzheimer’s disease?

This is the million dollar question, and the Alzheimer’s Questionnaire, a set of 21 yes or no questions that can be answered by a loved one or caregiver, may help answer it.

The 21 questions fall into five categories including memory, orientation, ability to function, visuospatial ability, and language. A score of 15 or higher suggests Alzheimer’s disease, while a score between five and 14 suggests mild cognitive impairment (MCI) — a form of early memory loss that may progress to Alzheimer’s. Scores of four or lower suggest the memory is working just fine.

More work is needed to confirm just how useful this screening tool may be, but the new study shows that it can help identify people with MCI rather adeptly. The findings appear in BMC Geriatrics.

Yeses to certain questions count more than others, as they are known to be more strongly predictive of Alzheimer’s disease. These include trouble with date and time, difficulty managing money, and a decreased sense of direction.

When a Loved One Has Alzheimer’s

Key Questions

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia. Symptoms include serious memory loss, confusion, and mood changes that develop gradually and worsen with time. People with MCI are at greater risk for developing Alzheimer’s, but not all people with MCI do.

Sample questions include:

Does the patient repeat questions, statements, or stories in the same day?Does the patient suspect others of moving, hiding, or stealing items when he or she can’t find them?Is the patient having trouble using appliances?Does the patient become disoriented in unfamiliar places?Does the patient have difficulty recognizing people who are familiar to him or her?

Researchers from the Banner Sun Health Research Institute in Sun City, Ariz., tested the new questionnaire on 47 people with MCI who were being treated by a neurologist, and on 51 people who had no known memory problems. People with MCI tended to repeat questions and statements, had trouble knowing the date or time, difficulties managing their finances, and a decreased sense of direction more often than those without  memory problems, the study shows.

Questionaire Needs Further Testing, Says Doctor

The new tool is “a quick and simple-to-use indicator that may help physicians determine which individuals should be referred for more extensive testing,” says researcher Michael Malek-Ahmadi, MSPH, in a news release.

“We are all looking for more tools that anyone can use to tell us is this age-related changes and not a big deal or is this person at risk for Alzheimer’s disease,” says Richard S. Isaacson, MD. He is a neurologist at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.  “This is not a major blood test or spinal tap, but it is something that anyone can do.”

webmd.com

Feb. 3, 2012 — When are “senior moments” just a normal part of healthy aging, and when are they a sign of something more serious such as Alzheimer’s disease?

This is the million dollar question, and the Alzheimer’s Questionnaire, a set of 21 yes or no questions that can be answered by a loved one or caregiver, may help answer it.

The 21 questions fall into five categories including memory, orientation, ability to function, visuospatial ability, and language. A score of 15 or higher suggests Alzheimer’s disease, while a score between five and 14 suggests mild cognitive impairment (MCI) — a form of early memory loss that may progress to Alzheimer’s. Scores of four or lower suggest the memory is working just fine.

More work is needed to confirm just how useful this screening tool may be, but the new study shows that it can help identify people with MCI rather adeptly. The findings appear in BMC Geriatrics.

Yeses to certain questions count more than others, as they are known to be more strongly predictive of Alzheimer’s disease. These include trouble with date and time, difficulty managing money, and a decreased sense of direction.

When a Loved One Has Alzheimer’s

Key Questions

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia. Symptoms include serious memory loss, confusion, and mood changes that develop gradually and worsen with time. People with MCI are at greater risk for developing Alzheimer’s, but not all people with MCI do.

Sample questions include:

Does the patient repeat questions, statements, or stories in the same day?Does the patient suspect others of moving, hiding, or stealing items when he or she can’t find them?Is the patient having trouble using appliances?Does the patient become disoriented in unfamiliar places?Does the patient have difficulty recognizing people who are familiar to him or her?

Researchers from the Banner Sun Health Research Institute in Sun City, Ariz., tested the new questionnaire on 47 people with MCI who were being treated by a neurologist, and on 51 people who had no known memory problems. People with MCI tended to repeat questions and statements, had trouble knowing the date or time, difficulties managing their finances, and a decreased sense of direction more often than those without  memory problems, the study shows.

Questionaire Needs Further Testing, Says Doctor

The new tool is “a quick and simple-to-use indicator that may help physicians determine which individuals should be referred for more extensive testing,” says researcher Michael Malek-Ahmadi, MSPH, in a news release.

“We are all looking for more tools that anyone can use to tell us is this age-related changes and not a big deal or is this person at risk for Alzheimer’s disease,” says Richard S. Isaacson, MD. He is a neurologist at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.  “This is not a major blood test or spinal tap, but it is something that anyone can do.”

webmd.com

You’re trying your best to enjoy an evening cookout, but a constant swarm of mosquitoes follows you from grill to poolside. The threat? A pierce to your skin, leaving behind an itchy red welt and possibly even a serious illness. As you swat madly at the pests, you notice that others seem completely unfazed. Could it be that mosquitoes prefer to bite some people over others?

The short answer is yes. Mosquitoes do exhibit blood-sucking preferences, say the experts. “One in 10 people are highly attractive to mosquitoes,” reports Jerry Butler, PhD, professor emeritus at the University of Florida. But it’s not dinner they’re sucking out of you. Female mosquitoes — males do not bite people — need human blood to develop fertile eggs. And apparently, not just anyone’s will do.

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Read the Relief for Allergies at Home article > >

Who Mosquitoes Like Best

Although researchers have yet to pinpoint what mosquitoes consider an ideal hunk of human flesh, the hunt is on. “There’s a tremendous amount of research being conducted on what compounds and odors people exude that might be attractive to mosquitoes,” says Joe Conlon, PhD, technical advisor to the American Mosquito Control Association. With 400 different compounds to examine, it’s an extremely laborious process. “Researchers are just beginning to scratch the surface,” he says.

Scientists do know that genetics account for a whopping 85% of our susceptibility to mosquito bites. They’ve also identified certain elements of our body chemistry that, when found in excess on the skin’s surface, make mosquitoes swarm closer.

“People with high concentrations of steroids or cholesterol on their skin surface attract mosquitoes,” Butler tells WebMD. That doesn’t necessarily mean that mosquitoes prey on people with higher overall levels of cholesterol, Butler explains. These people simply may be more efficient at processing cholesterol, the byproducts of which remain on the skin’s surface.

Mosquitoes also target people who produce excess amounts of certain acids, such as uric acid, explains entomologist John Edman, PhD, spokesman for the Entomological Society of America. These substances can trigger mosquitoes’ sense of smell, luring them to land on unsuspecting victims.

But the process of attraction begins long before the landing. Mosquitoes can smell their dinner from an impressive distance of up to 50 meters, explains Edman. This doesn’t bode well for people who emit large quantities of carbon dioxide.

“Any type of carbon dioxide is attractive, even over a long distance,” Conlon says. Larger people tend to give off more carbon dioxide, which is why mosquitoes typically prefer munching on adults to small children. Pregnant women are also at increased risk, as they produce a greater-than-normal amount of exhaled carbon dioxide. Movement and heat also attract mosquitoes.

So if you want to avoid an onslaught of mosquito bites at your next outdoor gathering, stake out a chaise lounge rather than a spot on the volleyball team. Here’s why. As you run around the volleyball court, the mosquitoes sense your movement and head toward you. When you pant from exertion, the smell of carbon dioxide from your heavy breathing draws them closer. So does the lactic acid from your sweat glands. And then — gotcha.

With a long track record — mosquitoes have been around for 170 million years — and more than 175 known species in the U.S., these shrewd summertime pests clearly aren’t going to disappear any time soon. But you can minimize their impact.

webmd.com

Someone in the prime of their life — a professional sports star, teen athlete, marathon runner, or other seemingly healthy person — isn’t supposed to collapse and die from heart disease. But it occasionally happens, making sudden cardiac arrest front-page news.

The rare nature of sudden cardiac arrest among the young is precisely what makes it so attention-grabbing. According to the Cleveland Clinic, sudden cardiac death kills 1 in 100,000 to 1 in 300,000 athletes under age 35, more often males.

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Read the Endocarditis,Infective article > >

Among the most publicized cases: U.S. Olympic volleyball player Flo Hyman in 1986; college basketball player Hank Gathers in 1990; and professional basketball players Pete Maravich in 1988 and Reggie Lewis in 1993.

People wonder if anything could have been done to prevent such an event. They wonder who’s at risk, and whether anyone can survive sudden cardiac arrest.

Fortunately, the answer is yes, says Christine E. Lawless, MD, MBA, a cardiologist and sports medicine doctor in Chicago. She is the co-chair of the American College of Cardiology’s sports and exercise council, and a consulting cardiologist for Major League Soccer.

“We’re trying to get folks to recognize that the person can come back from [cardiac] arrest if you get there within a minute,” Lawless says. With immediate use of an automated external defibrillator, people have a chance to live.

What Is Sudden Cardiac Arrest?

When you hear about a young person dropping dead, you may think “heart attack.” But sudden cardiac arrest (also referred to as sudden cardiac death) is different.

A heart attack stems from a circulation, or “plumbing,” problem of the heart, according to the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association. It happens when a sudden blockage in a coronary artery severely reduces or cuts off blood flow to the heart, damaging heart muscle.

In contrast, a sudden cardiac arrest is due to an “electrical” problem in the heart. It happens when electrical signals that control the heart’s pumping ability essentially short-circuit. Suddenly, the heart may beat dangerously fast, causing the heart’s ventricles to quiver or flutter instead of pumping blood in a coordinated fashion. This rhythm disturbance, called ventricular fibrillation, “occurs in response to an underlying heart condition that may or may not have been detected,” Lawless says.

Ventricular fibrillation disrupts the heart’s pumping action, stopping blood flow to the rest of the body. A person in sudden cardiac arrest will collapse suddenly and lose consciousness, with no pulse or breathing.

Without immediate CPR or a shock from an automated defibrillator, the person usually dies within minutes — that’s why it’s called “sudden cardiac death.”

There is a connection between heart attack and sudden cardiac death, however. A heart attack can trigger an electrical malfunction that can lead to sudden cardiac arrest.

webmd.com

Feb. 2, 2012 — A disturbing 47% of people who have had a stroke have poorly controlled high blood pressure, researchers say.

“High blood pressure is the strongest risk factor for stroke, so you would think patients and their doctors would be vigilant about making sure blood pressure is under control,” says researcher Amy Towfighi, MD, assistant professor of neurology at the University of Southern California.

According to the American Heart Association, people with high blood pressure have twice the risk of stroke compared to people with normal blood pressure, and treating high blood pressure with medication and lifestyle changes such as exercise substantially reduces stroke risk.

One study showed that bringing high blood pressure under control would prevent half of strokes, Towfighi tells WebMD. In people with high blood pressure, treatment with medication is recommended to bring levels to less than 140/90.

Towfighi presented the findings at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2012.

A Visual Guide to Understanding Stroke

More Aggressive Treatment Needed

The study involved almost 500 adult stroke survivors who participated in a national survey from 1999 to 2004. A total of 72% reported they’d been diagnosed with high blood pressure at some point in their lives.

“We wanted to find out if their blood pressure was being treated and had been brought under control since the stroke,” Towfighi says. So her team brought them in for blood pressure measurements. 

“We were surprised that nearly half had poorly controlled hypertension — readings over 140/90,” she says.

Another 8% who didn’t report a history of high blood pressure also had readings over 140/90.

The study also showed that stroke survivors who had diabetes or who were older, female, or Hispanic were more likely to have poorly controlled blood pressure.

On the flip side, people who had a previous heart attack, drank alcohol, or were overweight were more likely to have had their blood pressure brought under control.

Both doctors and stroke survivors need to be more aggressive about treatment, says American Stroke Association spokesman Daniel Lackland, DrPH, professor of epidemiology and neuroscience at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.

There are several different classes of medication that work to lower blood pressure in different ways, and often a patient needs more than one type, he tells WebMD.

So once a patient is started on one class of drug, it shouldn’t be assumed that it will bring blood pressure under control, Lackland says.

Patients may be reluctant to add another drug due to cost or potential side effects, but it could be lifesaving, he says.

These findings were presented at a medical conference. They should be considered preliminary as they have not yet undergone the “peer review” process, in which outside experts scrutinize the data prior to publication in a medical journal.

webmd.com

Feb. 2, 2012 — A disturbing 47% of people who have had a stroke have poorly controlled high blood pressure, researchers say.

“High blood pressure is the strongest risk factor for stroke, so you would think patients and their doctors would be vigilant about making sure blood pressure is under control,” says researcher Amy Towfighi, MD, assistant professor of neurology at the University of Southern California.

According to the American Heart Association, people with high blood pressure have twice the risk of stroke compared to people with normal blood pressure, and treating high blood pressure with medication and lifestyle changes such as exercise substantially reduces stroke risk.

One study showed that bringing high blood pressure under control would prevent half of strokes, Towfighi tells WebMD. In people with high blood pressure, treatment with medication is recommended to bring levels to less than 140/90.

Towfighi presented the findings at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2012.

A Visual Guide to Understanding Stroke

More Aggressive Treatment Needed

The study involved almost 500 adult stroke survivors who participated in a national survey from 1999 to 2004. A total of 72% reported they’d been diagnosed with high blood pressure at some point in their lives.

“We wanted to find out if their blood pressure was being treated and had been brought under control since the stroke,” Towfighi says. So her team brought them in for blood pressure measurements. 

“We were surprised that nearly half had poorly controlled hypertension — readings over 140/90,” she says.

Another 8% who didn’t report a history of high blood pressure also had readings over 140/90.

The study also showed that stroke survivors who had diabetes or who were older, female, or Hispanic were more likely to have poorly controlled blood pressure.

On the flip side, people who had a previous heart attack, drank alcohol, or were overweight were more likely to have had their blood pressure brought under control.

Both doctors and stroke survivors need to be more aggressive about treatment, says American Stroke Association spokesman Daniel Lackland, DrPH, professor of epidemiology and neuroscience at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.

There are several different classes of medication that work to lower blood pressure in different ways, and often a patient needs more than one type, he tells WebMD.

So once a patient is started on one class of drug, it shouldn’t be assumed that it will bring blood pressure under control, Lackland says.

Patients may be reluctant to add another drug due to cost or potential side effects, but it could be lifesaving, he says.

These findings were presented at a medical conference. They should be considered preliminary as they have not yet undergone the “peer review” process, in which outside experts scrutinize the data prior to publication in a medical journal.

webmd.com

Nov. 21, 2011 — World AIDS deaths and new HIV infections have each dropped 21% since the peak of the AIDS pandemic, according to the latest United Nations report.

It’s the most optimistic report since the beginning of the epidemic. For the first time, the U.N. Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) is able to point to trends going in the right direction.

One major factor is that life-saving HIV treatments got to 1.35 million more people in 2010 than in 2009. In low- and middle-income nations, these treatments have saved 2.5 million lives since 1995.

“We have seen a massive scale-up in access to HIV treatment, which has had a dramatic effect on the lives of people everywhere,” Michel Sidibe, executive director of the U.N. AIDS program, says in a news release.

Even so, 53% of people who need HIV/AIDS treatments — 7.6 million people — can’t get them. That’s one reason why there were 1.8 million AIDS deaths in 2010.

Another reason is that there are now 34 million people living with HIV. And just in the last year there were 2.7 million new infections.

Still, the decrease in deaths and new infections means the AIDS pandemic is at a tipping point. Wise investment now can save millions of future deaths, the UNAIDS report argues.

“The world faces a clear choice: Maintain current efforts and make incremental progress, or invest smartly and achieve rapid success in the AIDS response,” the report suggests.

There are six parts to the UNAIDS plan:

A focus on key populations at risk in each nation, particularly on sex workers and their clients, men who have sex with men, and people who inject drugs.Eliminate HIV infections among children by treating pregnant women with HIV.Behavior change programs.Condom promotion and distribution.Treatment, care, and support for people with HIV infection.Voluntary medical male circumcision in nations with high HIV prevalence.

“Just a few years ago, talking about ending the AIDS epidemic in the near term seemed impossible, but science, political support, and community responses are starting to deliver clear and tangible results,” Sidibe says in a foreword to the new report. “To reach these targets and bring the end of AIDS in sight we must step on the accelerator.”

AIDS Retrospective: A Pictorial Timeline of the HIV/AIDS Pandemic

webmd.com

Nov. 21, 2011 — World AIDS deaths and new HIV infections have each dropped 21% since the peak of the AIDS pandemic, according to the latest United Nations report.

It’s the most optimistic report since the beginning of the epidemic. For the first time, the U.N. Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) is able to point to trends going in the right direction.

One major factor is that life-saving HIV treatments got to 1.35 million more people in 2010 than in 2009. In low- and middle-income nations, these treatments have saved 2.5 million lives since 1995.

“We have seen a massive scale-up in access to HIV treatment, which has had a dramatic effect on the lives of people everywhere,” Michel Sidibe, executive director of the U.N. AIDS program, says in a news release.

Even so, 53% of people who need HIV/AIDS treatments — 7.6 million people — can’t get them. That’s one reason why there were 1.8 million AIDS deaths in 2010.

Another reason is that there are now 34 million people living with HIV. And just in the last year there were 2.7 million new infections.

Still, the decrease in deaths and new infections means the AIDS pandemic is at a tipping point. Wise investment now can save millions of future deaths, the UNAIDS report argues.

“The world faces a clear choice: Maintain current efforts and make incremental progress, or invest smartly and achieve rapid success in the AIDS response,” the report suggests.

There are six parts to the UNAIDS plan:

A focus on key populations at risk in each nation, particularly on sex workers and their clients, men who have sex with men, and people who inject drugs.Eliminate HIV infections among children by treating pregnant women with HIV.Behavior change programs.Condom promotion and distribution.Treatment, care, and support for people with HIV infection.Voluntary medical male circumcision in nations with high HIV prevalence.

“Just a few years ago, talking about ending the AIDS epidemic in the near term seemed impossible, but science, political support, and community responses are starting to deliver clear and tangible results,” Sidibe says in a foreword to the new report. “To reach these targets and bring the end of AIDS in sight we must step on the accelerator.”

AIDS Retrospective: A Pictorial Timeline of the HIV/AIDS Pandemic

webmd.com