Article 37: Causes and Self-Examination Methods for Decreased Libido
◇A Guide to Caring for Your Husband's Health as a Good Wife◇
Next chapter: CHANG JIAN BING DE ZHI LIAO YU TIAO YANG
Treatment and recuperation of common diseases
Medicinal diet for treating hypersexuality
1. 120g celery (including roots), appropriate amounts of japonica rice, salt, and MSG. Wash the celery, cut it into 2cm long sections, and put it in a pot. Wash the japonica rice and put it in the pot as well. Add an appropriate amount of water, bring it to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low heat and simmer until the rice becomes porridge. Add MSG and salt to taste. Eat until you are full.
2. One turtle, 10g of Anemarrhena asphodeloides, 10g of Phellodendron chinense, 10g of Asparagus cochinchinensis, 10g of Ligustrum lucidum, 15g of Tremella fuciformis, and appropriate amounts of ginger, scallions, and MSG. Scald the turtle with boiling water to kill it, remove the shell, internal organs, head, and claws. Put the turtle meat into a pot with water, ginger slices, and scallion segments. Bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat until the meat is almost cooked. Add the soaked Tremella fuciformis and the herb bag (containing Anemarrhena asphodeloides, Phellodendron chinense, Asparagus cochinchinensis, and Ligustrum lucidum). When the turtle meat is tender, remove from heat, add MSG, and eat the meat and drink the soup.
3. One turtle and one soft-shelled turtle (approximately 500 grams each), 10 grams each of Anemarrhena asphodeloides, Phellodendron chinense, Ophiopogon japonicus, and Scrophularia ningpoensis, 3 grams of cinnamon, 2 slices of ginger, and appropriate amounts of scallion roots, salt, MSG, sugar, and sesame oil. Slaughter the turtle and soft-shelled turtle, remove their internal organs, and wash them thoroughly. Wrap the Phellodendron chinense, Anemarrhena asphodeloides, Ophiopogon japonicus, and Scrophularia ningpoensis in a cloth bag. Place the turtle, soft-shelled turtle, the cloth bag, scallions, and ginger in a clay pot, add water, and simmer over low heat for 1 hour. Grind the cinnamon into powder and add it to the soup. Add salt, sugar, and MSG, and drizzle with sesame oil. Consume twice daily, eating the meat and drinking the soup. One course of treatment is 4 days.
4. Cook 120 grams of black beans, 2 heads of purple-skinned garlic, and 200 grams of japonica rice together into porridge and eat it in several portions.
5. Prepare a decoction of the following herbs: 30g Prunella vulgaris, 10g Gentiana scabra, 30g Rehmannia glutinosa, 10g Chrysanthemum morifolium, 20g Paeonia lactiflora, and appropriate amount of white sugar. Mix the decoction with white sugar and take twice daily, morning and evening, for 7 consecutive days as one course of treatment.
6. Chop 1000-1500 grams of radish, cook until tender, and extract the juice to drink as tea.
How to perform massage therapy
1. Massage the Yanglingquan and Taichong acupoints until you feel soreness, numbness, distension and pain. Do this for 10 minutes each time, twice a day.
2. Massage the Xinshu, Ganshu, and Shenshu acupoints until you feel soreness and distension. Do this for 15 minutes each time, twice a day.
3. The patient lies supine. The practitioner places four fingers together on the inner thigh of the patient and quickly rubs back and forth 100 times. After finishing one side, move to the other side. A muscle-relaxing and blood-circulating liniment can be applied to the massaged area.
4. The practitioner spreads their five fingers and places their entire palm firmly against the skin of the lower abdomen. After feeling the Qi, they rub the abdomen clockwise 30 times. At this time, the patient should feel the internal organs moving with the palm. Then, the patient should hold their breath, tighten the muscles of the lower abdomen, and then rub the abdomen 30 times with more force.
During manual therapy, acupressure is applied using acupoints: the fingers are used as needles to press and rub the Huiyin, Xuehai, Changqiang, Zhongji, and Chengshan acupoints, with the Huiyin acupoint being the primary focus and the pressing and rubbing time being slightly longer.
What should we pay attention to in daily life?
1. Strengthen physical exercise and actively participate in various sports and recreational activities to distract yourself.
2. Maintain a regular daily routine, avoid drinking strong tea or coffee before bed, and do not wear tight underwear.
3. Do not read books, watch videos, or view pornography.
4. If there is an underlying disease, treat the underlying disease first. If there is no underlying disease, psychological counseling should be conducted while taking medication to relieve mental and psychological stress.
Decreased libido
Decreased libido refers to a lack of subjective desire and awareness to engage in sexual intercourse under sexual stimulation, resulting in a significant reduction in the frequency of sexual intercourse. The vast majority of cases of decreased libido are caused by psychological factors.
Causes of disease
1. Psychological and psychological factors: The psychological factors contributing to decreased libido can be summarized as follows:
(1) Misconceptions about sex: Influenced by traditional ideas, people view sex as obscene and unclean behavior and put it under moral shackles. As a result, they feel disgust, fear or shame about sex, which reduces their libido.
(2) Fear of pregnancy: Because there is no reliable contraception, he is afraid that his wife will get pregnant. Therefore, he restrains and suppresses his sexual life, especially when his wife is pregnant. He is afraid that sexual intercourse will harm the fetus, so he prohibits sexual intercourse and his sexual desire is suppressed for a long time.
(3) Environmental factors: an unsuitable sexual environment, fear of being discovered, and insecurity; lack of proper caressing and communication between the couple before intercourse, which makes the man lack enthusiasm and lose interest and passion for sex.
(4) Failed intercourse: Due to failure of intercourse on the first time or on the wedding night, or the belief that a drop of semen is equal to ten drops of blood, and the regret of thinking that semen is precious, the patient may develop anejaculation, and gradually reduce or completely lack sexual desire. Some cases are caused by disharmony in the relationship between the couple or a consistently uncooperative sexual relationship. Some are afraid of the woman getting pregnant or giving birth. Some have an incorrect view of sex, considering it to be lewd and vulgar. Conversely, some may have made mistakes in their sexual life, feel guilty, or have suffered psychological trauma, which inhibits the excitation of the sexual desire center in the cerebral cortex.
3. Disease factors: The causes of decreased libido in men are complex. All serious systemic diseases, chronic diseases, and excessive fatigue can reduce sexual arousal and lead to decreased libido. However, in reality, decreased libido in these patients is only an early manifestation of the underlying disease, and most of them will also experience other sexual dysfunctions.
Many endocrine disorders, such as Addison's disease, Cushing's syndrome, hyperprolactinemia, hypopituitarism, and hypothyroidism, can cause decreased libido in men. Hereditary diseases, such as Klinefelter syndrome; liver diseases, such as chronic active hepatitis and cirrhosis; nutritional and metabolic diseases, such as hypoglycemia, hypokalemia, diabetes, and malnutrition; and many other conditions such as chronic renal failure, congestive heart failure, brain tumors, cerebrovascular diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, collagen diseases, parasitic infections, prostatitis, and malignant tumors can also cause decreased libido in men.
4. Medication Factors: Drug-induced decreased libido is most pronounced with antihypertensive drugs, such as long-term use of spironolactone, alpha-methyldopa, guanethidine, hydralazine, reserpine, and clonidine, all of which can decrease libido and in some cases lead to erectile dysfunction. Other factors include: antipsychotics, such as phenothiazines, triple antidepressants (imipramine, amitriptyline, etc.), and monoclonal antibody oxidase inhibitors; and oral anti-androgens, such as tazoline, estrogens, and dexamethasone.
5. Bad habits: Chronic alcohol poisoning caused by long-term alcoholism, chronic nicotine poisoning caused by long-term heavy smoking, and drug use (marijuana, opium, heroin, etc.) can also cause decreased libido.
Self-examination methods for decreased libido
1. Marital Affection: A good marital affection can generate sexual desire and promote harmonious sexual life; conversely, a close and coordinated sexual life can, in turn, enhance the marital affection. Therefore, couples should never engage in sex solely for the sake of intimacy, but should understand the principle that affection breeds sex and sex promotes affection.
2. Emotions: A person with a good mental state often experiences sexual desire; conversely, a negative emotional state can easily diminish libido. Especially when experiencing extreme sadness, fear, depression, despondency, or despair, libido is virtually impossible to arouse. Therefore, when a spouse is in a bad mood, it's crucial to address their negative emotions first and avoid forcing intercourse; otherwise, it can lead to decreased libido and negatively impact the marital relationship.
3. Influence of the biological clock: The reason why a person feels sleepy at night and awake in the morning is entirely due to their internal biological clock. When a person is at the peak of their biological clock, their libido is stronger; when they are at the low point of their biological clock, their libido decreases.
4. Living conditions: Difficult living conditions can affect the generation and satisfaction of sexual desire, and may also lead to sexual disharmony such as impotence, premature ejaculation, and apathy.
5. Smoking and drinking habits: Long-term smoking and drinking habits not only affect sexual function and reduce libido, but the harmful substances in tobacco and alcohol can also affect the next generation through three pathways: First, harmful substances directly affect the quality and quantity of sperm and egg cells; second, harmful substances dissolve in semen and damage fertilized eggs and early embryos; third, harmful substances directly affect androgen secretion, reducing libido and thus affecting the quality of fertilized eggs.
6. Drug effects: Long-term or excessive use of certain drugs can affect sexual function and reduce libido.
7. Sensory stimulation: Continuous stimulation of sensory organs such as sight, smell, hearing, and touch can enhance libido.
8. Seasonal factors: Generally speaking, spring is the season for courtship; in winter, warm bedding makes it easy for couples to lie close together, which can easily arouse sexual desire; in autumn, the temperature is moderate, and the desire for courtship is also stronger; only in the height of summer, the heat is unbearable, and people are sweating profusely, which often weakens sexual desire.
9. Age: Men's libido peaks after puberty, begins to decline between 30 and 40 years old, and weakens significantly from age 50 onwards. However, sexual function can be maintained until 70 to 80 years old; it's just a decline in libido, not its disappearance. Women's libido reaches its peak between 30 and 40 years old, gradually declines after menopause, and weakens significantly after age 60.
10. Health condition: A healthy body and abundant energy are essential for a strong sex drive; poor health makes it difficult to arouse sexual desire, and many diseases can affect libido.