Pharmacy knowledge base
Health guides & medicine information
Plain-English explainers from our editorial team — what the medicines do, how the strengths differ, and how to use them safely.
Showing 193–204 of 287 guides
Page 17 of 24
Shift Work Sleep Disorder: Coping With an Irregular Schedule
Summary: Shift work sleep disorder happens when night shifts, early starts or rotating rotas clash with your body clock. It causes poor sleep and heavy tiredness at work. It is not a matter of willpower. A dark, quiet, cool bedroom, a consistent sleep routine, planned naps and smart use of light help; see a doctor if it persists.
Sleep and Immune Health: Why Rest Helps You Fight Infection
Summary: During sleep your immune system produces proteins that coordinate its response to infection. Regular poor or short sleep is linked to weaker defences, a weaker vaccine response and slower recovery. Feeling extra tired when ill is a normal signal to rest. Good sleep supports immunity but doesn't replace vaccination or medical treatment.
BPH and Erectile Dysfunction: Understanding the Link
Summary: Benign prostatic hyperplasia, a non-cancerous enlarged prostate, and erectile dysfunction often occur together. Both become more common with age and share vascular and nitric oxide pathways. Some BPH medicines can affect erections or ejaculation. The EMA product information for Cialis includes BPH symptoms as an indication for daily tadalafil, so one medicine can treat both.
Peyronie's Disease: A Clear Overview
Summary: Peyronie's disease is benign scar tissue (plaque) inside the penis that can make it bend during an erection. It may cause pain, shortening or erection problems. It is thought to follow minor injury that heals abnormally. It usually has a painful acute phase followed by a stable phase, and treatment ranges from monitoring to medicines and surgery.
Low Libido in Men: Causes and What Can Help
Summary: Low libido means reduced interest in sex, which is different from erectile dysfunction, though the two can overlap. ED is the physical ability to get or keep an erection. Common causes are low testosterone or thyroid problems, stress, depression, relationship difficulties, poor sleep, alcohol, illness and some medicines. A doctor can look for the cause before treatment.
Testosterone and Ageing: What Men Should Know
Summary: Testosterone usually declines gradually from around age 30, and for many men this causes no problems. In some, low testosterone brings reduced sex drive, erection difficulties, fatigue, low mood and muscle loss, but these symptoms overlap with many other conditions. Diagnosis needs both symptoms and repeated morning blood tests before any treatment.
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Men's Health Check-ups: A Simple Guide
Summary: Regular check-ups matter because high blood pressure, raised cholesterol and early diabetes often cause no symptoms at first. A routine review usually covers blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, weight and lifestyle, and sometimes prostate health. Raise any erection problems too: erectile dysfunction can be an early warning sign of heart disease.
Cholesterol and Erectile Dysfunction: The Connection
Summary: Raised cholesterol can cause fatty build-up that narrows and stiffens arteries, often affecting the penis's small arteries first. So erectile dysfunction can appear before heart symptoms. New ED is a good prompt to check cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar. Diet, exercise, not smoking and prescribed treatment protect both.
Sleep Quality and Libido: Why Rest Matters
Summary: Poor sleep lowers sex drive and can affect erections, partly because much of your testosterone is made during sleep. Short or broken sleep is linked to lower levels, and tiredness worsens mood and stress. Obstructive sleep apnoea is also linked to erectile problems. Regular sleep habits and treating sleep disorders can improve both rest and libido.
Stress and Sexual Health: Breaking the Cycle
Summary: Stress lowers desire and makes erections harder, because its 'fight or flight' response works against the relaxed state an erection needs. Stress hormones add to the effect. After one difficult experience, worry can create a cycle of performance anxiety. Exercise, sleep, relaxation techniques, open communication and talking therapy help break it.
Ageing and Sexual Health: Staying Active and Well
Summary: With age, erections may take longer, need more stimulation and be slightly less firm, and recovery between them lengthens; these changes are normal. A complete or persistent inability to get an erection is not, and is often linked to treatable conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease. A satisfying sex life can continue into later years.
Erectile Dysfunction and Blood Flow: How Erections Work
Summary: An erection is a blood-flow event: arousal releases nitric oxide, which relaxes the penis's smooth muscle. Blood then fills its spongy chambers and is trapped there. Anything that narrows or stiffens arteries, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes or smoking, can cause erectile dysfunction, which can therefore be an early sign of heart disease.