What are the causes of erectile dysfunction?
Erectile dysfunction
Males may suffer from various sexual problems, including premature ejaculation, delayed or absent ejaculation, loss of sexual desire, and sexual weakness. ED is known medically as erectile dysfunction (ED), which is the inability to have a penis erection or to maintain an erection for a period sufficient to complete sexual intercourse. It should be said that ED affects millions of men around the world, and the chance of infection increases With age, as statistics indicate that ED affects 12% of men under the age of 60, 22% of men in their 60s, and 30% of men 70 years of age or more. In younger men, one study showed a strong relationship between smoking, drug use, and sexual dysfunction in men under the age of forty compared to older men.
Causes of erectile dysfunction
occurs as a result of increased blood flow in the penis. When a man is sexually aroused, the muscles of the penis stretch, blood flow increases through his arteries, and this blood fills two chambers inside the penis, called the corpus cavernosum of the penis. And causes these two chambers to be filled with blood, and the penis expands and increases in size and hardness, thus helping to complete the sexual process successfully. After the end of the sexual process, the muscles in the penis contract, causing it to return to its normal size before an erection, and blood flows out of the two chambers through the veins of the penis. ED can occur as a result of a defect that affects the erection process, such as insufficient blood flow to the penis as a result of various problems and other reasons. The causes of ED can be divided into physical and psychological causes, as follows:
Physical causes of erectile dysfunction
Common physical causes and health problems of erectile dysfunction include:
- heart disease.
- Blockage of blood vessels due to atherosclerosis.
- High levels of fats in the blood.
- hypertension.
- diabetic.
- Obesity.
- Metabolic syndrome; is a condition characterized by increased blood pressure, high levels of insulin, accumulation of body fat around the waist, as well as a high level of cholesterol in the blood.
- Parkinson's disease or Parkinson's disease.
- Multiple sclerosis.
- taking certain prescription medications; Such as antidepressants, antihistamines, and some medications used to treat high blood pressure, pain, or prostate diseases.
- smoking.
- Peyronie's disease is a disease characterized by the development of fibrous scar tissue within the penis.
- Alcoholism and drug abuse.
- Sleep disorders.
- Surgeries or injuries affecting the pelvic area or spinal cord.
Psychological causes of erectile dysfunction
The brain plays a major role in starting the erection process properly, due to its role in feelings of sexual arousal. It can be said that a number of factors can interfere with sexual feelings, and cause or exacerbate the problem of erectile dysfunction. Among these factors are the following:
- Depression, anxiety, and other conditions affect mental health.
- Nervous and psychological stress.
- The existence of problems in the relationship between the spouses is due to psychological pressure, poor communication, or other concerns.
Treatment of erectile dysfunction
- Oral medication therapy: Medications used to treat impotence include; Avanafil, Sildenafil, Tadalafil, and Vardenafil. These drugs are used by taking pills an hour or two before sexual intercourse. Studies have found that these drugs are effective in 7 out of 10 men who use them, but response rates are lower for diabetics and cancer patients. Side effects of these medications include headache, nasal congestion, facial flushing, muscle aches, and indigestion.
- Testosterone therapy: Testosterone can be used to treat ED, in addition to the aforementioned medications, in men with low sex drive and low levels of testosterone in the blood.
- A penis pump or vacuum pump is a plastic tube that slides over the penis and is attached to a pump at the other end of the tube, which works to reduce pressure around the penis by emptying the air in the tube, which leads to an erection. After an erection, a flexible ring slides to press against the base of the penis, which helps keep blood inside the penis and prevents it from leaving for up to 30 minutes. The effectiveness of this device reaches approximately 75%, after proper training in its use.
- Alprostadil is used either by injecting it into the two cavernous bodies of the penis or by placing it inside the urethra. The first method is to inject alprostadil into the side of the penis through a very fine needle. It should be noted that the first injection of the drug must take place in the doctor's office before the man injects himself. The success rate of this method is approximately 85%. This method may be suitable for the treatment of impotence, in men who do not respond to the oral medications that we talked about earlier. Priapism or a prolonged erection is the most common side effect of this method, and this type of erection causes severe pain and may lead to permanent damage to the penis and irreversible impotence if not treated, so it is worth mentioning that men who suffer from Penile erection for longer than two to four hours, review the emergency room, to take antibiotics. The intraurethral treatment method is done by placing a very small medicine pellet into the urethra using a special tool, without the need to inject the medicine using a needle.
- Surgical treatment: Surgical treatment is done by inserting implants into the penis. Surgery is resorted to in the event of failure of other treatments, and surgical intervention is characterized by higher rates of success and satisfaction, compared to other methods of treating impotence.