Learn All About Erectile Dysfunction

In order to treat a disease successfully, you first have to determine its cause. That is the same case when looking at impotence in men. Impotence is a worrying matter amongst males for it is associated with a loss of machismo (male pride). Because of this, many men tend to suffer from the disorder in silence. It is interesting to know that it is normal to suffer from impotence. In fact, impotence can affect every man at one point in his lifetime, so it is nothing to be embarrassed. So instead, it is time we come out of hiding and start investigating what is causing us to become impotent.

Impotence is a disorder that has many causative agents, so we are going to look at some of the possible causes of male impotence. The most common cause of impotence among males is drugs. A good example of a drug that can trigger impotence or erectile dysfunction is alcohol. Alcohol can affect the nervous system thus affecting the signals sent by the brain to the penis to effect an erection. Another drug that can trigger impotence is nicotine, the substance found in tobacco cigarettes. Nicotine causes arteries to constrict thus reducing the amount of blood that pushed through an artery, which in turn affects erection.

Another cause of impotence can be your health status. If you are suffering from a certain disease such as high blood pressure and are taking medication, you may suffer from erectile dysfunction. Blood pressure affects erection for an erection is the result of blood filling in the erectile tissue of the penis. Therefore, any condition that either elevates or lowers blood pressure to abnormal or subnormal levels also affects erectile functionality of the penis. Physical damage to any parts of the penis can also attribute to impotence.

There is also a major cause for impotence, though it is one of the least considered and that is emotional stress. When the human brain gets excited sexually, it sends signal through the nervous system in the spine until it reaches to the penis where it causes the erectile tissues to become turgid as they fill with blood. However, in times of emotional stress such signals are strongly suppressed, such that even in the event of receiving sexual stimuli from a partner, the body does not respond. Self-confidence also plays a role in getting an erection. If you have once suffered from erectile dysfunction earlier you may find that, the condition continues to haunt you and yet it will just be a psychological thing. This is true for as long as your brain gets the initial idea of failure to achieve an erection, there will actually be high chances that you will fail to get one all because of lack of confidence.

Now that you have an idea of what causes impotence it is now time to examine ourselves our lifestyles and identify what can be the cause of our impotence and only then can we treat it.

Impotence, medically referred to as erectile dysfunction, happens when a man cannot manage to get an erection or keep it steady until the end of sex and sexually related activity. Various causes are associated with impotence in men, usually over 40 years of age. These come in two groups: physical and psychological.
Physical causes of impotence
Physical changes in the body can lead to the condition and they encompass diseases, medication and lifestyle.
* One of the natural causes is age. Impotency is more evident in older men due to the numerous changes that occur in the body with age. A drop in the levels of hormones and a reduced blood flow is common at an older age. Hormonal treatment is the best solution to balance hormonal levels.
* Lifestyle also plays a major role. Smokers and drinkers are more at risk of becoming impotent than non-smokers and non-drinkers. The same applies for obese people. In all the cases, there is a reduction in the flow of blood in the penis due to narrowing of the blood vessels. Avoiding alcohol and smoking will help to widen the blood vessels, allowing for an increase in blood flow.
* Surgery in the surrounding regions of the penis can affect erection. Surgery may result in damages to nerves, penile structures and the blood supply system. Although medical drugs resolve the problem, this will depend on whether they do not conflict with surgical medication.
* Disorders of the nervous system cause some damage to the penile nerves and arteries causing erectile difficulties.
* Drugs have many effects on the body, and directly affect erectile functions. Men must stop taking drugs to reduce the effects.
* The corpus cavernosum is tissue in the penis that plays a crucial role in erections and their maintenance. There is a disorder called the Peyronie’s disease that can affect it. The solution here is to treat the disorder.
Psychological causes of impotence
These are associated with the feelings and moods. Effective treatment is reducing or coming to terms with the source of the feelings.
* Anxiety to perform well may cause restriction of blood vessels and the penis to remain limp and lifeless. Sexual intercourse is not the only sexual activity one can do to get sexual satisfaction. Relaxing the mind before sex is also important.
* Stress is another culprit that leads to problems to become erect and stay erect until the end. In the stressful environments that we live in, it is very difficult to be completely rid of stress. Men can try to avoid stressful situations, if possible.
* Depression plays its own part in rendering a man impotent. In this case, treating the depression is vital. However, anti-depressants are capable of inducing impotency. An alternative is therapy.
* Lack of sexual excitement is the main cause of boredom, which in turn brings on impotency. Both parties can try to come up with different ways to sexually excite each other.
There are suitable treatments for impotence, depending on the source of the causes. It is important to treat first the underlying causes. Therefore, it is advisable for men to seek treatment as early as possible.

Impotence or rather more commonly known as erectile dysfunction is a condition in which a person fails to achieve an erection after being sexually stimulated. This means the mind or brain responds well to the sexual stimuli but the penis does not respond in the desired manner, that is why it is termed erectile dysfunction (failure to erect). Now what really causes such a thing to happen? Well, many things can cause this to happen so we are going to look at the possible causes one by one.

One cause of impotence is age. As we advance in age, we tend to lose vigor and our blood vessels tend to lose their elasticity. Our organs begin to operate beyond optimum, due to cell degeneration because of advancing age. This means that as they age, they end up restricting smooth blood flow. This reduces the volume of blood that can reach organs in the extremities such as the penis. Since an erection is the result of blood collecting in the spongy tissue of the penis that means the reduction in blood volume also means a reduction in erectile strength.

Impotence is not only associated with old age. We can be young and yet still suffer from erectile dysfunction. The majority of young men that suffer from erectile dysfunction do so because of using drugs. Drug abuse is a major cause of erectile dysfunction. Drugs such as cocaine, heroine, alcohol, nicotine all play a role in disturbing the normal function of the nervous system. Anything that affects the nervous system can also trigger the onset of impotence. This is so for when the body receives a sexual stimulus it sends messages via the central nervous system in a complex chain of reactions and pathways until it gets to the penis resulting in an erection. Drugs retard the speed at which such signals are conveyed through the central nervous system, thus resulting in the penis not responding at the desired time.

There are certain diseases, which can cause erectile dysfunction. The most common diseases that are associated with impotence are diabetes, coronary heart diseases, kidney and bladder problems. All these diseases either affect the rate at which blood circulates in the body or affect the chemical composition of the blood itself. Any changes to blood pressure or blood chemical composition brought about by these diseases causes the blood vessels to constrict, thus making it impossible to achieve an erection.

Another possible cause for erectile dysfunction is physical damage to the penis. The penis is connected to the nervous system via nerve receptor sites. If these nerves that are located in the penis are damaged, that means the signals that will be sent by the brain will stop somewhere and not reach the targeted organ which is the penis thus resulting in an erectile dysfunction. There are also certain diseases, particularly sexually transmitted diseases, which if untreated they can even permanently damage the erectile tissue of the penis thus resulting in permanent erectile dysfunction. Damage can also result from surgery, which affects the structure of the penis.