Health

Erectile Dysfunction: Causes and Treatments

What is erectile dysfunction?

Erectile dysfunction is a common condition for men with ages ranging from 40 to 70 years old, wherein patients are not able to produce enough testosterone. It is the inability of a male person to attain or maintain a penile erection that is not enough to achieve sexual satisfaction.

What are the causes of ED?

In order for a male to have sexual arousal, a complicated process wherein brain, emotion, nerves, blood vessels, and muscles are needed to work together. Any problem that will occur in any of those can result in a lot of problems including erectile dysfunction. A patient with psychological issues can also cause and worsen the condition of any patient.

Aside from psychological issues, physical issues can also be a factor for the inability of getting an erection. Any physical injuries that can slow down or lessen your sexual response for most cases. Here are common physical health issues that can cause ED.

  • Injuries that primarily affected the spinal cord
  • History of prostate issues
  • Heart disease
  • High cholesterol
  • Diabetes
  • History of drug addiction

What are the treatments for ED?

Different treatments for ED are revolutionized over the past few years. The treatments for patients with ED often work on improving the blood circulation into the blood vessels needed for a penile erection. The medication will also make the blood stay longer in the penis to achieve a stronger penile erection.

The substances that make blood to escape from the penis are known to be “phosphodiesterases”, and the main function of ED drugs is to repel this substance to let the penis receive an additional amount of blood that will result into a firmer penile erection. Current treatments for ED come into surgical methods, topical application, injection and pills/drugs.

What are the available ED drugs?

The most common ED drug that is often recommended by medical experts is the Viagra which is an example of phosphodiesterases inhibitor or a PDE-5 inhibitor. Aside from Viagra, there are also some more ED drugs that are considered effective including avanafil, vardenafil, and tadalafil. Each of them helps a patient to acquire a penile erection that is enough to provide sexual satisfaction.

All of the drugs/pills including those that are not mentioned has different duration of effectiveness with corresponding side effects too. A male patient with ED should also remember that there should be no treatments to be taken at the same time. Here is a useful website about ED drugs that can help you to know more about different ED drugs.

Side effects of ED drugs

Aside from the benefits given by ED drugs to any male patients, the treatment also comes with some side effects such as headache, stomachache, skin rashes, UTI, diarrhea, temporary sight impairment, and nausea. But even though there are some side effects that you can get from taking the treatments, there are only a few rare cases that caused bigger problems.

There are also some occasions that the effect of the treatment can be observed longer than the usual duration. By the time the erection last for over four hours, you should quickly get yourself into a hospital and ask for immediate attention. Taking no action might bring you the risk for a bigger problem.

Conclusion

Just like other drugs that were being used as treatments for different medical conditions, ED drugs can also be harmful without proper use despite the benefits that it can offer to you. An active lifestyle will also help in amplifying the effectiveness of the treatments. Avoid cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking, and eating foods with high cholesterol because those are agents of erectile dysfunction. Get yourself into regular exercise and healthy diet as experts suggest that this will even help in to reduce the requirement of ED drugs.

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