This is an itchy and highly contagious skin rash that is caused by a tiny insect, or mite, called Sarcoptes scabei. It is relatively common.

Cause

Female scabies mites burrow under the surface layer of the skin, forming small tunnels in which they lay their eggs. The mites can only live for 2-3 days outside the human [...]

All women should examine their own breasts every month to check for any changes, such as lumps or tenderness. This is just as important if you are breastfeeding. If you are not sure of the correct technique for breast self-examination, talk to your doctor, who will be able to show you how to do it.

Most [...]

You have learned about a new sexual system. You know that there is no reason to limit yourself to the old views of sex that emphasized penetration, thrusting, orgasm, timing, energy release, and ejaculation. To learn more about this, you may want to try a posture that emphasizes the new sexual system, one that stresses [...]

We just learned to do it that way. He stimulated me through my slacks. Now, it takes rough and long stimulation for me to come. I just got used to it that way.

WIFE

An important part of learning about the sexual problems brought to my clinic was to have the couples describe their typical premarital sexual [...]

It’s something we all do — men and women, rich and poor, the happy and the sad.

Some regard it as a pleasure, others a chore, and a few, perhaps many, do it badly.

We need it as much as we need food and drink, yet sleep is something we know little about.

When we drop off to [...]

I believe that dieting is a state of mind. Unless a person develops the right attitudes about dieting and weight loss, her efforts are doomed to failure.

Crash diets are of little use. Many people do lose weight at the start, but within weeks or months are right back where they started.

A good reducing diet should [...]

When people moved interstate, this often caused confusion if children were in the midst of an immunisation program and some didn’t complete their full course.

Triple antigen vaccine immunises against tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough or pertussis. It is now recommended that the first injection be given at two months of age, which is earlier than [...]

Similar instruments have been developed for looking into some of the body cavities. This is nowhere near as major a procedure as an actual operation. The laparoscope (or peritoneoscope) can be inserted through a small cut in the abdominal wall. Through this the doctor can see the outside of many organs such as the liver, [...]

There are now 10 million women over the age of 50 in the UK - that’s 17 per cent of the population . . . and rising. By the year 2000, that 10 million will have become 14 million. Middle-aged women nowadays are a group with changed expectations. The menopause may have been hidden for [...]

I am thinking about having a hysterectomy but I also need to work. How long will it take me to recover?

Your recovery time is influenced by many factors. The type of hysterectomy you have being the most important In general, women who have a vaginal or laparoscopic hysterectomy can return to work after three to [...]