CHENNAI: That is the question. And a rather 'hard' one at that, as Chennai's sexologists tell us that us that a good majority of male patients come with the notion that doing so could lead to everything from erectile dysfunction to hair loss.
So it didn't come as a surprise when a recent study showed that 'Sexual Health' topped the list of health issues in the city in 2015. According to online doctor consultation platform, Lybrate, 39 per cent of the city's health problems fall under this category, while Women's Health comes in a close second at 34 per cent.
Dr D Narayana Reddy, a noted sexologist who heads the Dega Institute, A Research Centre for Sexual Medicine says, "The myth of masturbation being bad for you is passed on at a very young age either by ill informed friends or family." And he clarifies, "It is completely untrue. But how do you turn a hundred years of conditioning around in a single consultation?"
To make matters worse, medical experts in the field say the problem is exacerbated by shows by the quacks on television, mostly telecast in the late night hours.
Dr R Jayaganesh, a senior Andrologist who practices at Billroth Hospital goes a step further and says that for some men, even an involuntary 'wet dream' comes attached with the fear of erectile dysfunction. "And this lack of awareness isn't something you see only in the uneducated," he says. "I've seen highly paid IT professionals who are about to get married, come to me a few days before to check if a nocturnal emission or masturbation could affect their sex life."
Masturbation or Must-urbation?
So is there a safe number of times, without exerting too much energy, that a man can masturbate through the day?
"There is no such thing," responds sexologist D Narayana Reddy. "I've heard of some extreme cases where people have done it as many as 15 times and nothing has gone wrong." However medical experts in the field of sexual health reveal that masturbation coupled with conditions like a Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) can be unhealthy. More informally known in medical circles as 'must-urbation,' experts say this can cause as much stress as it expels.
"The primary indicator that should tell a person he is overdoing it is, if he is unable to concentrate on other aspects of his life," says a psychiatrist in the city. To remedy this, he says that mild doses of medication are prescribed to begin with, supported by psychotherapy if required.