Erectile dysfunction refers to a person’s inability to get or sustain an erection to have intercourse. At times, it’s known as impotence as well, but this term is rarely used these days. Having ED every now and then is not a problem. Typically, occasional ED is the result of stress. On the other hand, frequent ED is a sign that you should look for treatment. Let’s find out more.
How do you get an erection?
You may experience ED at any step of the erection process. You have a sexual erection when your penis has an increased blood flow. Typically, blood flow increases when you have sexual thoughts or someone touches your penis.
When you are sexually aroused, your penis veins relax, which allows blood to flow through the arteries. This fills up two sections in the penis, which helps you get hard erections. You lose an erection when the additional blood flows back to your body through the veins.
Causes of Erectile dysfunction
ED has a lot of causes, which include both physical and emotional problems. Listed below are some common causes:
- Anxiety
- Cardiovascular disease
- Parkinson’s disease or multiple sclerosis (MS)
- High blood pressure or depression drugs
- Alcohol consumption
- Damaged pelvic area
- Depression
- Diabetes
- Drug abuse
- High cholesterol
- Hypertension or high blood pressure
- Old age
- Kidney disease
- Low testosterone levels
- Obesity
- Peyronie’s disease
- Relationship problems
- Sleep disorders
Stress
Erectile dysfunction may be the result of one or multiple of the factors listed above. Therefore, it’s important that you discuss the matter with your doctor. This will help you find an answer to your problem and treat the underlying condition.
Erectile dysfunction treatment
Treatment for erectile dysfunction is based on the type of underlying cause. In some cases, you may have to go for a combination of treatments, such as talk therapy or medication.
Medications
If you talk to your doctor, they may ask questions and prescribe medication. The role of these drugs is to help you control the symptoms. It’s important to keep in mind that you may have to try different drugs before sticking to one that works for you. Listed below are some of the common drugs that are prescribed for the treatment of ED:
- Levitra
- Cialis
- avanafil
- sildenafil
Another popular drug prescribed for ED is alprostadil. There are two ways to administer this drug. One way is to inject it into the side or base of the penis. The other way is to use it as a penile suppository. Both methods are quite effective.
If you experience low testosterone levels, you may try out testosterone therapy (TRT). However, you may want to run some tests first to find out if you really have low levels of testosterone.
If you already are on drugs to manage other conditions, you may suffer from ED. Therefore, you should talk to your doctor to find out if your drugs are causing the symptoms. In this case, you may take alternate medications. Don’t make the mistake of stopping your medication without talking to your doctor.
In some cases, ED meds may cause some side effects. In this case, make sure you talk to your doctor right away. They may prescribe different medications to help you avoid the side effects.
Talk therapy
Some psychological factors may also contribute to ED. Some of them are listed below:
- Depression
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Anxiety
- Stress
In the case of psychological ED, talk therapy may help you. During talk therapy, your therapist will discuss your subconscious conflicts, feelings about sex, and stress or anxiety.
If your relationship is at stake due to your ED, we suggest that you get help from a counselor. These professionals can help you reestablish a connection between you and your partner. So, it’s important to understand how stress can increase your likelihood of developing ED.
Vacuum pumps
In this treatment, vacuum pumps are used to help you get strong erections. When the device is used, blood is pushed into your penis. As a result, you get a strong erection. This device has a lot of different parts, which are listed below:
- A plastic tube: it’s placed over the penis
- A pump: it helps create a vacuum by pumping air out of the tube
- A ring of plastic: It moves the base of the penis when you take off the plastic tube
The function of the plastic ring is to help you hold your erection as blood won’t flow back to your body. You can keep it in place for half an hour.
Long story short, if you have ED, we suggest that you read this article and take right steps. After all, choosing the right treatment plan is important if you want to get rid of this problem. Hope this helps.
