Erectile Dysfunction - Symptoms, Causes And Treatments Available

Satisfied sex life is the most important part of almost every human being in the world, be it male or female. Every person on earth is gifted with varying degree of sexual orientation, some people are just average, some are very strong in it who can satisfy their partners almost 100% every time they have intercourse and some people face problem in their sexual life because they cannot keep the erection for longer time and their tool fall flaccid even before their partner is satisfied completely.

Today, 1 out of 10 men on the back of world is suffering from erectile dysfunction. Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a condition in which man cannot hold his erection for long enough and firm enough to satisfy his partner. This condition occurs repeatedly every time people suffering from ED get engaged in a sexual encounter, along with holding their erection they also feel a sudden downfall in their mood towards sex.

What Is Erectile Dysfunction?
As mentioned above, erectile dysfunction is a condition in which a man cannot hold his erection for long enough and looses his erection against pre-mature ejaculation or lack of desire for sexual intercourse.

In men, erection is characterized by strong blood flow in their penis. Men get aroused through sensory or mental simulation towards the sexual invitation, which results in signals from the brain to the fibrous tissues in the penis causing these tissues to relax and allow a strong current/flow of blood inwards. This can be termed as erection. This erection is preserved by allowing the tissues in the outer line of the penis to contract and trap the blood which has flown in. This entire phenomenon of attaining erection and preserving it occurs as a result of chain of various processes, which are strictly sequenced.

Erectile dysfunction occurs when any of the processes in the chain fails or results in loss of control and the penis cannot hold blood in the fibrous tissues. This situation leads to loosening of the penile erection well before the climax is called erectile dysfunction.

What Causes Erectile Dysfunction?
A person can experience erectile dysfunction due to number of reasons some are physical and others are mental/psychological in nature. Some people cannot induce desire for sex in them which leads to the flaccid erection, some people simply cannot hold it long enough due to the inability of their penis to hold enough blood and be firm for a normal time period. Main physical causes behind erectile dysfunction are side effects of drugs abuse, injury to genitals that lead to disturbance in the natural process of attaining erection, sudden fall in the desire for sex and ability to hold erection due to diseases such as chronic diseases like diabetes, diseases related to nerve systems, vascular and heart problems, various sclerosis conditions, kidney diseases and weight increase etc., and certain bad habits such as overdoing masturbation, alcohol or tobacco consumption, drugs consumption such as cocaine, heroin etc. that leads to lack of desire in sex and damaged genital tissues and causes the penis to lay flaccid rather than attaining a strong erection. Along with the above mentioned causes, side effects of various medications has raised as one of the emerging reason of erectile dysfunction.
Among the mental causes, a person may face problem of erectile dysfunction due to his mental inability to concentrate and attain full confidence in sexual relationship, mental imbalance etc. this often lead to lack of desire for sex and they cannot hold their erection rather they fail to even erect their penis.

How Erectile Dysfunction Is Diagnosed?
The degree of erectile dysfunction can vary from person to person, it can be a momentary to quite a short period or total inability to hold their erection and perform sexual intercourse.
Diagnosis of erectile dysfunction is carried out by:

• Physical Examination: Physical examination in any condition becomes doctor’s first choice. Doctor may try to determine possible causes of erectile dysfunction during physical examination such as sensitivity of penis towards sexual invitations or determination of possible injury causing erectile dysfunction etc.
• Patient’s Medical & Behavioral History: Patient’s medical, sexual and behavioral history may serve as a clue towards diagnosing erectile dysfunction and it degree. Some people lose their ability to attain erection to a chronic and severe disease history, some loses it to history of drug abuse and some lose it to their sexual history.
• Psycho Analysis: Patient’s psychological examination can reveal causes of erectile dysfunction and also can help in finding out all possible solutions.


• Along with the above mentioned diagnosis tests, there are many other laboratory based tests available that can help in finding out degree and nature of erectile dysfunction.

What Are Possible Treatments Available For Erectile Dysfunction?
After detailed diagnosis of your problems and in depth study of nature and degree of erectile dysfunction, your doctor will decide to prescribe medications and a diet plan that you need to strictly follow. There are many drugs available in the market that can be injected directly to the penis or in your body or taken orally. Phosphodiesterase (PDE5) inhibitors are also available in market which can be taken hours before sexual encounter. Your doctor may choose to vary the dosage of medications depending on the nature and degree of ED (Erectile dysfunction).

Your doctor can also choose to use psychotherapy in order to help you overcome problems and anxieties that are associated with sexual encounter. He may suggest you some techniques that you and your partner can use to enjoy the sexual encounter.

If your doctor finds it hard to treat erectile dysfunction using any type of drug, he/she may decide to recommend you surgery to help restoring your system and find a permanent solution for you.

Your doctor may also suggest you using some devices that can help you improve your sexual performance and come over erectile dysfunction problems.

If you are suffering from erectile dysfunction, you should first consult your doctor and find out a good solution rather than trying some drugs without any expert observation.