Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Erectile dysfunction and treatment of impotence

Erectile dysfunction (ED), also known as impotence, is the inability to achieve or sustain an erection for satisfactory sexual activity. Erectile dysfunction is different from other conditions that interfere with male sexual intercourse, such as lack of sexual desire (decreased libido) and problems with ejaculation and orgasm (ejaculatory dysfunction). This article focuses on the evaluation and treatment of erectile dysfunction.

Erectile dysfunction (ED, impotence) varies in severity; some men have a total inability to achieve an erection, others have an inconsistent ability to achieve an erection, and still others can sustain only brief erections. The variations in severity of erectile dysfunction make estimating its frequency difficult. Many men also are reluctant to discuss erectile dysfunction with their doctors due to embarrassment, and thus the condition is underdiagnosed. Nevertheless, experts have estimated that erectile dysfunction affects 30 million men in the United States.

While erectile dysfunction can occur at any age, it is uncommon among young men and more common in the elderly. By age 45, most men have experienced erectile dysfunction at least some of the time. According to the Massachusetts Male Aging Study, complete impotence increases from 5% among men 40 years of age to 15% among men 70 years and older. Population studies conducted in the Netherlands found that some degree of erectile dysfunction occurred in 20% of men between ages 50-54, and in 50% of men between ages 70-78. In 1999, the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey counted 1,520,000 doctor-office visits for erectile dysfunction. Other studies have noted that approximately 35% of men 40-70 years of age suffer from moderate to severe ED, and an additional 15% may have milder forms.

For people who have to deal with the condition of impotence, life seems unfair and many people want to know why they have it and not somebody else. It is a valid question to ask, but there doesn’t seem to be any good answers. With everything that man has accomplished, like walking on the moon and decoding all of the genomes in the human body, it seems like curing impotence would be easy and fast. Of course, this will never happen but it seems like it should be attainable.

The problem with impotence is that there are so many things that can cause it and the doctor can only treat the other problems with the medicines available today. One of the impotence causes is the drug interaction between medicines used to control the initial problems. Sometimes drugs can work together to add other medical situations including impotence. If this happens, the person’s doctor will have to think about using other medicines and see if that clears up impotence. If it does, things are great, but if it doesn’t there might not be a way to stop impotence.

Impotence help is hard to get because men have pride and will not admit that they are any less of a man. Medically speaking, controlling the diseases is more important than impotence. Some problems can kill people and if the medicines are needed to keep the disease in check, there is nothing that can be done. It may be that the person will have to learn to live with the impotence causes and try to go on with life. This is easier said than done but it is necessary to say.Impotence causes some personal problems if not dealt with properly. One of the biggest problems that impotence causes is depression. When someone is told that impotence is going to be a part of their lives, there will be a period of time spent in introspection.

There are many things that a doctor can use to solve the problem of impotence. The attitude of the person will make or break the rest of their life. Going to a mental health doctor might be needed for those people who are having a hard time dealing with impotence. Seeing a doctor for depression is one of the smartest things people can ever do. The doctor will work with the people to overcome the situation with counseling and possibly with the use of a depression medicine.

In any case, the doctor will work with the man to get him back to health. It doesn’t mean that it will be forgotten, some will deal with it on and off for many years.What it does mean is that with proper care, people can go on with their lives and find new meaning for their life.