Erectile Dysfunction (ED)
What is erectile dysfunction?
If you're a man who can't get an erection
hard enough to have sex or if you cannot keep an erection for the
duration of sex, then you're said to have erectile
dysfunction or impotence to use an old fashioned name. Erectile
dysfunction can happen to men of any age but is more common in older
men. Some estimates suggest one man in twelve has erectile dysfunction
at any one time.Is erectile dysfunction
just something to do with growing older?
Not necessarily. There are many causes
of erectile dysfunction, both emotional (mental / psychological) and
physical. The latter include:
Excessive alcohol and smoking
Exhaustion
Damage to the brain or
spinal-cord
Low testosterone levels
Liver or kidney failure
Multiple sclerosis and other
diseases of the nervous system like Parkinson's disease
Radiation therapy to the testicles
or prostate for cancer
Having had a stroke
Prostate or bladder surgery
Erectile dysfunction
isn't something you should expect to happen as you get older.
Certainly older men need more physical stimulation during sex,
but that does not mean you have erectile dysfunction. The
crucial determinant for a diagnosis of erectile dysfunction is
that you can't get hard at all or that you get hard and then
lose your erection.
What causes erectile dysfunction?
There are some well known
illnesses which cause erectile dysfunction. These include
Diabetes
Hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol
levels)
High blood pressure
Hypogonadism (a disorder of the
testicular endocrine system)
Atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) Certainly
some of these effects can be remedied by taking medication to keep
the condition under control. There
are many medication on the market which cause erectile dysfunction
as a side-effect. These should be discussed with your doctor in
case there is an alternative available.
Emotional problems as a cause of
erectile dysfunction
Many cases of erectile dysfunction are
caused by problems in the relationship. Sexual problems can grow
to the point where they cause a man to suffer from loss of his
erection. Sexual therapy is most effective when both sexual
partners go to therapy. Some of the emotional causes of erectile
dysfunction include:
Feeling stressed from work
situations, family circumstances or other life events Being nervous about sex,
anxiety caused by a bad experience such as shame or humiliation, or a
previous case of impotence
Relationship problems
Depression
Feeling depressed
Being self-conscious about sex
or fearing your partner's reaction to you or your sexual
abilities
How can erectile dysfunction be
cured?
This depends on what is causing
your erectile dysfunction. There are medications like Viagra,
vacuum pumps, sex therapy and other methods such as hypnosis.
These are all discussed on this website.
But before we go on to look at the
various treatment methods which are available, it's worth
looking some more at the background to the condition.
Background information on erectile dysfunction
ED checklist
Partner's role in curing erectile dysfunction
Talking about erectile dysfunction
Beliefs which cause erectile dysfunction
The effects of erectile dysfunction on men
Personality and erectile dysfunction
How to discuss erectile dysfunction
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