Overcoming ED

A healthy lifestyle is a must for a healthy sexual life. Quit smoking and alcohol and you will feel the difference. Exercise regularly and monitor your eating habits. Never let up on diabetes.


Never put off till tomorrow when it concerns your health. Even a day counts when your health is at stake. Meet your doctor as soon as you notice a problem. An early consultation with doctors can put you in a right frame of mind. There also chances that your ED problem is a symptom of other serious conditions such as diabetes or heart related diseases.


Observation also helps. One disease may lead to another even if you are under medication. If any treatment affects your sexual life then you must relate to the doctor. He might like to put you on a different medication all together.


Remember, ED is not caused by age and it can be tackled effectively. Don't consider age as a cause and consult an experienced doctor. There a wide variety of treatments for ED but only go for the one recommended by your physician.


There are other things that you can do to help yourself. Always talk to someone about your problems, someone you can trust like your best buddy or your girlfriend. If you are married talk to your wife and try to find a solution and work on it.


Never hide your ED problems from your wife as it will come sooner or later and then it can be too late to explain. Do not refuse to have sex due to ED as such act may breed suspicion and anger and may also jeopardise your relationship. So, be open with your partner and seek their support.


Develop other forms of intimacy like kissing, cuddling, licking and massaging which keep you close to your partner. Do not resort to pornography in desperation to treat yourself as this will not help.


Lastly do not blame yourself, it’s just a health problem which can be treated with proper consultation.

Diving deep into erectile dysfunctions

There are chances that a person may suffer erectile dysfunction at least once in his life time. The causes can be attributed to stress, weakness, alcohol, or simply not enjoying sex at all.


Age has a marked relation with the number of people suffering with erectile dysfunctions. As people age, the risk of erectile dysfunctions increases, however age here is not a cause as one might like to think. It was found that almost 20% of 50–60 year olds have trouble with their erections compared with 7% of 18–30 year olds.


The two main causes of ED are: physical and psychological. Most medical practitioners will agree that majority of ED cases can be traced back to physical. On the flip side such people suffering with ED soon begin to show signs of anxieties, stress or depression thus making the condition worse.


Let’s look at the main physical causes:

• It was found that almost 25% of men with diabetic condition between ages 30-35 are affected by ED. Of men aged 60-65 with diabetic condition are affected by ED.

• Another reason could be atherosclerosis or damaged arteries which constrict the blood flow to the penile region. Smoking cigarettes is one of the major cause of damage to the arteries. Another cause can be cycling.

• High consumption of alcohol can also damage the arteries leading to the penis. It reduces the testosterone levels.

• Certain drugs prescribed to treat diseases like high blood pressure, heart disease, depression, ulcers and cancer cause side effects that lead to ED.

• Spinal cord injury is another cause of erectile dysfunctions..


The main psychological causes are:

• Relationship conflicts

• Anxiety

• Depression

• Sexual boredom

If you can get an erection while masturbating but not with your partner or you have erections in the morning or night but not during sex time then your ED has psychological causes.

Erectile Dysfunction / Impotence

Erectile dysfunction is also known as impotence. It is defined as the persistent inability in men to attain a hard and stiff erection. There may be some who can manage a descent erection but cannot maintain it long enough to perform a satisfying sexual intercourse.

Occasional inability to achieve erection may cause unwarranted stress and result in performance worry, which affects future performance and creates a cycle of impotence. Occasional impotence is common; this is usually situational and is not considered dysfunctional.

Causes

Erectile dysfunctions can be attributed to either psychological or physical conditions or both.The causes may include drugs, alcohol, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, HIV, other diseases, cycling and spinal cord lesions. Performance anxiety is often associated with Erectile Dysfunctions. Sometimes the problem may have psychological underpinnings such as stress, depression or sexual boredom.

Treatment

It is important to inform the partners about the risks involved in some treatment approaches. Consequently, treatment depends on the cause of the dysfunction and include:

• Intracavernosal injection
• intraurethral pellets
• oral medications
• hormonal augmentation
• surgical interventions
• psychologicaltherapy

Erectile dysfunctions are sometimes tackled through the use of vacuum that involve placing the penis is a plastic tube with suction, thus drawing venous blood into the penis to create an erection. Once the penis is erect, a rubber constriction ring is placed at the base of the penis to prevent the erection from being lost, thus allowing sexual intercourse.

Premature Ejaculation

Premature ejaculation affects a man such that he repeatedly ejaculates without much sexual stimulation. He may climax before or shortly after penetration and finds it hard to control it. The man is unable to apply any voluntary control on his ejaculatory response and is unaware of erotic sensations leading to ejaculation. Premature Ejaculation is most common among younger men and men with limited sexual experience. The condition is often associated with performance anxiety.

Causes

Premature Ejaculation can rarely be attributed to physical condition. At times infections in the urethra and prostate, neglected gonorrhea, and overly tight foreskin have been considered as possible physical causes.In Premature Ejaculation, the affected man has not learned to recognize the sensory feedback that indicates ejaculation is imminent.

Treatment

Treatment may include psychological approaches aimed at reducing anxiety, special techniques to improve ejaculation (such as the “pause and squeeze” technique), and drug therapy with the use of formulations that delay ejaculation, thereby improving sexual satisfaction in the patient and his partner.

Anorgasmia

Anorgasmia is another condition typical to women as characterized by a continuous or repeated delay in or lack of orgasm following a normal sexual excitement stage.In this case women may have intense sexual desire or arousal or even enjoy penetration but is unable to climax.Remember a woman is not anorgasmic if she can achieve orgasm through means other than penile-vaginal stimulation.

Causes

Causes of anorgasmia is characterised by rage and hostility toward one's partner, unproductive sexual technique, nervousness, familial or religious teachings that encourage sexual avoidance, and strong fear of loss of control over feelings and behavior. In men the cause is rarely physical and is usually associated with a traumatic sexual experience, hostility, loss of control, or lack of trust.

Anorgasmia is often experienced where communication between partners is lacking and where the sexual or emotional needs of the anorgasmic partner are not fulfilled.

Treatment

Refer the patient to a sex therapist, where possible. The treatment method involves individual where focus is on treating the fear of orgasm or loss of control, resolution of conflicts, and increasing stimulation. Couple work involves sexuality education, addressing sexual myths, and developing a greater understanding of the anorgasmic partner’s needs.

Vaginismus

Vaginismus again affects women and is marked with difficulty or pain during penetration due to involuntary contractions of vaginal muscles. It can get so worse at time that women dread any sexual contact; others may have satisfying sexual experiences through extensive foreplay leading to orgasm without penetration.

Causes

It is seen that Vaginismus is often the result of physical or sexual abuse that induces a phobic reaction at the prospect of genital penetration. Other causes may include a painful first intercourse, relationship problems, fear of pregnancy, rape victim, religious orthodoxy, or the woman’s belief that her vagina is too small.

Treatment

Refer the patient to a doctor with a background in sex therapy or psychology, if possible. The treatment involves “cognitive behavioral” therapy, consisting of a program with specific exercises designed for soothing the muscles around the vagina and systematic desensitization of the vagina. The woman learns to have greater control over her vaginal muscle spasm while gently introducing inserters of gradually increasing size into her vagina. This regime is successful once a women is comfortable with her partners penetration.

Dyspareunia

Dyspareunia affects women and can differentiated by repeated vaginal pain during sexual intercourse. Pain usually occurs with penetration but can occur even without penetration due to vaginal stimulation.

Dyspareunia is marked with pain at the vaginal opening or deep inside. Such repeated pain can lead to avoidance of sexual activity, loss of desire and arousal.

Symptoms

Burning, itching, stinging, and feeling swollen, in any area of the perineum are some of the symptoms of Dyspareunia.

Causes

There are many causes of dyspareunia that can be psychological or physiological.The main causes are vulvovaginitis, herpes, atrophic vulvitis, urethral troubles, episiotomy, radiation vaginitis, sexual trauma, inadequate lubrication and topical irritants such as latex. Sometimes deep pelvic pain is often ascribed to ovary injury during intercourse with the partner hitting an ovary during sexual intercourse, pelvic or abdominal surgery, postoperative adhesions, genital or pelvic tumors, irritable bowel syndrome, urinary tract infection, and ovarian cysts.

Treatment

Physical nature of dyspareunia can be identified and treated accordingly. If the dyspareunia is of a psychological nature, refer the patient to a doctor with a background in sex therapy or psychology, if possible.