Tuesday, December 24, 2013

The Oops Child: Birth Control, Pregnancy, and Antibiotics

Birth control has side effects but other medications can effect that. Antibiotics can render birth control's function as nonexistent. I'm actually surprised how many pharmacists don't mention this when people pick up their antibiotics--even when asked if the medication could have effect other medication. Really, I am speaking from personal experience. I once asked my pharmacist directly after my consult whether it could interact with my other medications.

He said, "No."

I said, "Um . . . what about my birth control?"

"Oh, well, yeah."

Considering I had just been at an alternative school and taught a class of teenage mothers and heard them discuss how many were pregnant because they didn't realize antibiotics negated birth control, it came as no surprise the local pharmacist was negligent. Though, I have sense learned no pharmacist ever mentions the causation between birth control, antibiotics and pregnancy.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

How scent attracts the opposite sex



Have you ever noticed how certain smells effect your mood? For example, the smell of Oregon rain might make one feel refreshed. The smell of baked goods makes one feel cozy and at home. That’s not all smells can do; they can also stimulate the libido!

Recently, studies have shown how spicy smells affect the libido. Dr. Alan Hirsch, author of What Flavor is Your Personality, researcher and founder of the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, has studied the effects of various smells which arouse men and women. Among men, the spicy smell of cinnamon rolls and pumpkin pie ranked as the number one olfactory sexual trigger, increasing sexual stimulation by 40%, measured by penile blood flow.

It would seem that men want women to be made out of sugar and spice and everything nice.

Other scents stimulated men on lower levels, but there weren’t any food scents that sexually repulsed men. Women on the other hand, were aroused by scents like licorice, baby powder, citrus and cucumber, which increased their libido by up to 14%, but smells like charcoal barbeque smoke and cherry scent decreased their arousal by 18 %!

And bad news for men--the smell of cologne also decreased women’s arousal.

The moral of this story is that the best colognes for men and women are baked goods with lots of cinnamon and spices. And in order for you or your house to smell like baked goods, it helps to know how to make them. That in itself can be pretty sexy for attracting women.