A doctor has spoken out to warn guys about taking part in the viral No Nut November challenge that is set to take off in just under two weeks' time.
The whole point of No Nut November is simple. Go the entire month without masturbating.
Those taking part in the 30 day challenge do so for a number of reasons. Apart from showing self-restraint, others have claimed it is good for their mental health and can also boost their testosterone levels.
First thought up back in 2011, it's since become a viral challenge as well as a meme in its own right, with social media full of various jokes about shaking hands with the milkman.
Advert
The main problem is, it can cause you problems you might want to avoid. That's according to one doctor from the United States of America.
Why do people do No Nut November?
Dr Rena Malik is a urologist, sexual health expert, and pelvic surgeon from the across the pond.
Given her professional background, she knows her stuff when it comes to the pros and cons to men cuffing the carrot.
"Ancient Taoist literature discussed semen retention as a way of self-control," Dr Malik explains in a YouTube video on the topic.
"They believed that ejaculating was actually losing control of oneself and keeping it in, or semen retention, was actually a way to improve health and control of your body."
On not ejaculating, she adds that this in itself is not a harmful thing.
"If you're getting benefits from participating in No Nut November, you're feeling more clear, you're having deeper relationships, you're feeling like you're more excited about being with your partner, and you're getting more clarity that's great go ahead and do it," she says.
"Not ejaculating doesn't have any harmful consequences that we know of; your body will essentially resorb the semen that you don't ejaculate out and so it's not a problem if you haven't ejected for a certain period of time."
Can No Nut November harm me?
Dr Malik has some concerns and it is to do with the process that surrounds the act of resisting.
She says: "One concern is that when you're going through this process, if you're trying to really focus on having orgasms without ejaculation, you can get very fixated on that prospect. It can be very hard to have a relationship, a very meaningful sexual relationship with a partner because you're very fixated on yourself.
"It can also cause a lot of stress and anxiety to go through No Nut November."
Dr Malik adds that masturbation has a load of positives you can physically benefit from, including better sleep, decreased heart rate, decreased stress and a lot of increase in feel-good hormones.
Then there is something she calls 'blue balls', where you get pain in your pelvic floor or testicles due to not scratching that itch.
"A lot of you guys have heard of 'blue balls'; during arousal, you get increased blood flow to the testicles as well as everything else and usually that's decreased after you ejaculate but if you don't ejaculate, that increased pressure stays around and can be what's perceived as 'blue balls'," she says.
"For some people, that can be quite painful and it can last for quite a period of time."
No Nut November alternative
For Dr Malik, there is another very obvious alternative that people should partake in if they want to do No Nut November or something along those lines.
Avoiding pornography altogether.
Watching content from the adult industry is linked to one major male problem that some men are struggling with earlier on in life.
Topics: Sex and Relationships, Weird
Tom Earnshaw