DR Jeff Foster is The Sun on Sunday’s resident doctor and is here to help YOU.
Dr Jeff, 43, splits his time between working as a GP in Leamington Spa, Warks, and running his clinic, H3 Health, which is the first of its kind in the UK to look at hormonal issues for both men and women.
See h3health.co.uk and email at drjeff@the-sun.co.uk.
Q) I’M a 32-year-old man and have been on antidepressants for four months. While they do their intended job very well, I haven’t been able to get an erection since being on them.
Is this just me now? Do I need to change medication? Or do I need something like Viagra? I had no issues before the antidepressants.
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Jeremy Larch, Brighton
A) Antidepressants, in particular selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), can result in sexual dysfunction.
We even use a short-acting version of this type of antidepressant to treat premature ejaculation because of its adverse effects on sexual stimulation.
As the sexual side effects of SSRIs are so common, it may seem like something that all doctors should avoid giving patients, but they are very effective in treating depression and anxiety, and many men find that when they are struggling with their mental health, they don’t want to have sex anyway.
In general, if you do have a good libido, I would speak to your doctor to consider a change in antidepressant.
While none of them are perfect, some are less damaging to libido and sexual function than others.
If this isn’t an option, you could take Viagra, but ideally, you should never have to take a pill to counter the effects of another pill.
Antidepressants, in particular selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), can result in sexual dysfunction
Dr Jeff
Q) I’M a 36-year-old woman and my scalp is constantly itchy and pink. I’ve tried shampoos for sensitive, itchy, flaky scalps and just washing my hair once a week to let the natural oils work but nothing stops the itching.
Do you have any suggestions please?
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Gemma McCartney Aberdeen
A) Scalps are different from our normal epidermal skin because of our hair, hair follicles, natural sebum and other oils, and most importantly, the things we put on it.
Dandruff is just an excess of skin flakes that accumulate in the hair and is often the cause of an itchy scalp, but not in all cases.
Whenever we see patients with an itchy scalp, the first step is to look at lifestyle causes such as shampoos, conditioners and treatments.
Try a month using a gentle, non-perfumed or coloured hair wash. If this doesn’t help, and you have not had any treatments on your hair, visit a pharmacist to see if there are any skin reactions, dermatitis or fungal skin infections that could be the cause.
If that fails, see a GP, as rarer conditions such as scalp psoriasis, medications as triggers and nutritional deficiencies can also cause itching.
If you can find the cause, you can nearly always treat it.
