| Take time to relax this festive season and enjoy the flexibility of time to engage in spontaneous intimacy with your partner.
Being stuck in hours of traffic and long lines at the airport, crime, financial issues, family worries, relationship difficulties… These are the types of stressors that we all experience at one time or another. Some stress can be healthy — it keeps us alert and ready to avoid danger. But when stress persists, and our bodies begin to take strain, people need to take a step back. And for many men, stress can be one of the causes of erectile dysfunction (ED).
With the festive season almost upon us, and many people taking a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, many men might want to consider their options should ED have become a problem over the year.
ED is common
ED is a common condition of ageing men. As many as 50% of men over the age of 40 will suffer from some degree of ED. Experts believe that psychological factors such as stress, anxiety, guilt, depression, low self-esteem, and fear of sexual failure cause 10 to 20 percent of ED cases. (Other biological causes include diseases such as diabetes, surgery, injury, a side effect of some common medicines, smoking etc).
Most men will experience psychological based ED at least once in their adult life and an occasional episode is not a diagnosis for on-going ED. In most cases, isolated episodes are more likely to be due to fatigue, stress or an over-indulgence in alcohol than due to an underlying physical cause. It is natural for many men to react to an occasional erection problem by becoming more anxious, which results in further sexual problems.
There have been enormous advances made by both men and women about their sexual roles and identity since the sexual revolution of the 1960's. However, many men still feel enormous pressure to 'perform' sexually. Very often their feelings of self-worth and masculinity are intricately interwoven with their ability to perform. An erection problem, even if it is an isolated incident, can lead to 'performance anxiety' and the subsequent loss of confidence and self-esteem.
Occasional ED is normal
The most important thing to remember is that occasional episodes of ED can be normal. Unless there is an underlying physical cause for ED, or the episodes increase in frequency, there is no need for treatment.
For those men who begin to experience repeated episodes of erectile dysfunction, whether caused by biological or psychological factors, modern oral treatment options are very effective and are often the first option suggested by your healthcare practitioner.
Oral PDE5 inhibitors are the most common treatments used for ED. In most men, erectile dysfunction is caused by inadequate flow of blood into the penis. PDE5 inhibitors work by helping the blood vessels relax, which increases blood flow. They do not cause an erection without sexual stimulation, and the penis will return to its normal size and flaccid state after ejaculation. They also have no effect on sexual desire (libido) and do not change sensation in the penis.
New treatments
In the past, one of the disadvantages of these treatments has been that, when taken with fatty foods, the absorption of the treatment is delayed and the effectiveness hampered. Fortunately, one of the PDE5 inhibitors has no interaction with fatty food.
This means that a romantic dinner or festive season celebration need not stand in the way of intimacy with a partner. Furthermore, this treatment, approved by the FDA in November 2003 and available in South Africa since 2003, appears to take effect in 15 to 30 minutes. It is the only oral ED treatment shown to improve erectile dysfunction for up to 36 hours in most men. A randomized study of 2102 men in the British Journal of Urology found that nearly two-thirds of men reported successful intercourse attempts 24 to 36 hours after taking the drug .
The added advantage of the new ED treatments which have entered the market over the past few years is that various consumer educational campaigns have a positive role in striving to make men more comfortable to discuss their condition with their doctor. And similarly many doctors and specialists are more available to address this medical condition with their patients.
Men who are experiencing repeated episodes of ED are urged to speak about it to their doctor or pharmacist. |
