Cheeky

By Patrick Fratellone, Jallen Rix, David Rosenberg

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My boyfriend keeps going on and on about wanting to get cheek implants. I don’t think he needs them, and frankly I think he is being unrealistic about the outcome and effects. Isn’t he just going to look like he had two humps dropped onto his face? Can they move?!

“Cheeks” via instinctmagazine.com

Your boyfriend is getting swept up in the trend of facial volume enhancement, and rather than going with fillers like Restylane or Juvéderm, it sounds like he wants the more permanent solution of facial implants. He should not look lumpy if it’s done properly, but more likely he’ll look like he has supermodel cheekbones. They are usually fixed to the facial bones, so they shouldn’t “move,” but they can theoretically become displaced. They could also become infected, like any other permanent, foreign substance placed in the body. I more often recommend facial fillers, since they are not a permanent product and they dissolve over time rather than being a permanent fixture that your face ages around. It’s no good when your cheeks look 20 and the rest of your face looks 65. —DR

 

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Limp Libido

Are there some natural ways to boost my libido a bit? Sometimes I notice a dip in my sex drive (but I love sex), so I could use a little trick or two.

Shane in Tempe, AZ

Depending on whom you ask, the list can be long and thick, so to speak, but no one seems to have an herbal golden ticket. Some people swear by ginko biloba. Some push a lot of zinc in the system. Pure chocolate (70 percent cocoa or higher) as well as walnuts stimulate dopamine in our system, which makes us feel happier, and therefore often hornier. Propensities that we know impair libido? Smoking eventually wears down your erection, sometimes permanently. Too much stress does nothing for sexiness. Having large, starchy, fatty meals before sex can ruin your chances of sex at all. Sexuality is one aspect of a multi- faceted life, so staying healthy in general—exercising, etc.—will always help. But in this vitamin-popping, “you are what you eat” age, most people don’t realize that there are a lot of other obvious ways to stimulate sex drive. To the point, simply experience what arouses you most. If there’s a kind of erotic material that really gets you going, that’s your best answer. Many people use breath work and Tantric practices to raise their sexual energy to a level that they experience a general sexiness all the time. If it’s all a bore to you, then you could be on the cusp of an adventure of discovering what new sexual experience will light your fire. If you have a dramatic drop in desire, have your testosteronechecked. —JR

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Tract Troubles

I wake up multiple times a night to pee. It’s beyond annoying (to me and my boyfriend), but I’m also concerned that it may be a sign of a larger problem. Should I be worried? 

Alan via instinctmagazine.com

Excessive urination can be divided into subcategories: an increase in total volume of urine or dysfunction in voiding, where there are problems with the storage and emptying of urine. Or there may be urinary incontinence, in which there is involuntary loss of urine. There can be a variety of other causes, but without even knowing your age I can rule out one cause: You are not pregnant. Often, frequent urination is not a symptom of a problem but is the problem. Don’t get worried as more stress in your life will cause an overactive bladder. People with overactive bladder syndrome have involuntary bladder contractions, which lead to frequent and often urgent urination (meaning you have to get to a bathroom right now—even if your bladder is not full). It may also lead you to wake up once or more during the night to use the bathroom. I usually use the herbs chamomile and juniper berry tea to help this condition. Stop drinking liquids after 6 p.m., especially caffeine and alcohol. The major cause of frequent urination unique to men is an enlarged prostate, which can press against the urethra (the tube that carries urine out of the body) and block the flow of urine. This irritates the bladder wall. The bladder begins to contract even when it contains small amounts of urine, causing more frequent urination. To diagnose the cause of frequent urination, your doctor will perform a physical examination and take a medical history. If urinary frequency interferes with your lifestyle or is accompanied by other symptoms such as fever, back or side pain, vomiting, chills, increased appetite or thirst, fatigue, bloody or cloudy urine or a discharge from the penis, it is important to see your doctor. —PF