Impotence – Causes & Treatments

Male impotence, or erectile dysfunction, is the inability to maintain an erection for a long enough time to have sex. A man who suffers from impotence may be unable to have an erection altogether, be unable to maintain it for more than a short period, or may be able to have an erection sometimes and not at other times. Approximately 10 to 15 million American men suffer from some form of impotence. The good news is that it is easy to understand and can be treated in all age groups.

To understand impotence, it helps to have a basic understanding of how an erection happens. The penis has a large amount of spongy tissue, through which blood vessels run, and some muscle. When a man is sexually stimulated through touch or mentally, nerve signals trigger a flow of blood from arteries into the spongy tissue in the penis. This tissue becomes engorged, making the penis erect. When an erection subsides, muscles in the penis contract, effectively squeezing the blood of the spongy tissue through veins. If there is any interference with the nerve signals or blood flow that cause an erection, impotence may result.

In the majority of cases, male impotence has an underlying cause. Diseases like diabetes, alcoholism, and kidney disease may affect both nerve signals and blood flow. Surgery or injuries to the bladder, prostate, and male urethra may cause nerve damage. Cardiovascular disease or other diseases of the blood vessels may interfere with blood flow. Nerve signals may be altered due to psychological reasons including anxiety and stress.

How does one deal with impotence? Going to a doctor is the first step, because this may help identify an underlying medical condition that should be treated. Exercise may reduce impotence in older men. Other lifestyle changes, such as quitting smoking and losing weight may also help.

An estimated 10 to 15 million men in the United States suffer from impotence, also known as erectile dysfunction. Some people also use the term impotence to describe other problems such as lack of sexual desire and the inability to ejaculate or have an orgasm. While many people who suffer from impotence suffer in silence, it is a treatable condition at any age. Impotence is sometimes used to describe female sexual dysfunction, which includes the broad categories of reduced sexual desire, pain during sex, inability to become aroused, and inability to have an orgasm.

Male impotence usually has an underlying medical condition that causes nerve or artery damage. Such damage can interfere with the nerve impulses that are needed to start and sustain an erection or with blood flow that is needed to engorge the tissues in the penis to make it erect. Diabetes, surgery, injuries, vascular diseases, kidney disease, and chronic alcoholism are some medical conditions that may cause impotence. Smoking can also cause impotence by narrowing the blood vessels. Since the likelihood of having some of these conditions increases with age, older men are more likely to suffer from impotence. Impotence can also be a side effect of certain drugs such as high blood pressure drugs and antihistamines, or low levels of circulating hormones such as testosterone. As much as 20 percent of all impotence may be attributed to psychological factors such as stress, anxiety, and guilt.

A doctor makes a diagnosis of impotence by carefully examining a patient’s medical history, performing a psychological evaluation, completing a physical examination, and doing some laboratory tests. Depending on what the cause of impotence is in a particular individual, there are a number of treatment options to choose from. These include counseling, drugs, surgery, and vacuum devices. The right treatment depends mostly on the cause and one’s age.