pressure

‘Blue balls’: There’s no evidence they’re harmful, and they shouldn’t be used to pressure partners into sex. What are blue balls? Most people — health-care providers included — are familiar with this term referring to scrotal discomfort experienced in response to prolonged sexual arousal without orgasm. Although no one knows how the pain of blue balls develops, most implicate the slowed drainage of blood from the testicles in the absence of orgasm during sexual arousal. One of the key physiological aspects of sexual arousal is increased blood flow to areas of the body, including the genitals. Genital-based signs of sexual arousal include engorgement of the genital structures leading to erection of the penis and external clitoris, and this engorgement usually resolves quickly after orgasm...

The big idea For people living near busy highways, using air filters indoors results in short-term improvements to blood pressure, according to a new study I co-authored. Busy highways are large sources of air pollution. Larry D. Moore via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA Next to busy highways and major roadways, there are high concentrations of air pollution – including exceptionally tiny, invisible and odorless ultrafine particles from burning fuel. My colleagues Neelakshi Hudda, Misha Eliasziw and I tested how using air filters indoors near a highway can reduce exposure to ultrafine and other particulate pollutants – and what effect that has on blood pressure. Our team tested 77 participants over three two-hour sessions in a room next to a busy highway. We manipulated the level of air pollu...

Tag: pressure

‘Blue Balls’ Shouldn’t Be Used To Pressure Partners, There’s No Evidence They’re Harmful

Using Indoor Air Filters Near Busy Highways Can Reduce Blood Pressure