Overview: Erectile dysfunction is a persistent difficulty in achieving and maintaining an erection sufficient to have sex.
It is a common type of male sexual dysfunction which makes men unable to get or keep an erection firm enough for satisfactory sexual intercourse. It can have a profound negative impact on the quality of life and results in unsatisfactory sex life for his partner. erectile dysfunction can cause stress, affect your self-confidence, and leads to relationship problems.
ED becomes more common as you get older, But it’s not a natural part of aging. Erectile dysfunction may indicate that you have a damaged nerve, or clogged blood vessels.
Major symptoms of ED:
Here are some major symptoms that indicate that you may have erectile dysfunction :
Erectile Dysfunction – Symptoms and causes
Reduce sex drive: lower sex drive means low testosterone- which is a male sex hormone that helps in the development of male reproductive tissues (-testes and prostate) that leads to erectile dysfunction.
Urinary hesitancy: Erectile dysfunction and urinary hesitancy are correlated, getting up many times during the night to urinate, may associate with erectile dysfunction.
Premature ejaculation: PE is a clear symptom of erectile dysfunction, ejaculation happens sooner than his partner would like to have during sex.
Nocturia: It is positively associated with ED. Poor sleep quality restricts the oxygen, testosterone, and oxygen both are important for a healthy erection.
Enlarge lymph nodes: Having enlarged or swollen lymph nodes near reproductive organs indicate erectile dysfunction.
Low libido: libido is a sexual desire, low libido can lead to a vicious cycle of physical and emotional side effects including the inability to maintain an erection.
Difficulty in maintaining an erection during sexual activities.
Reduce interest in sex.
Major causes of ED:
Erectile dysfunction is caused by many factors. Some major factors are given below:
Physical causes:
Heart diseases: cause erection dysfunction. It includes;
Atherosclerosis: Clogging or hardening of arteries causes heart attack and reduces blood flow to the penis that leads to erectile dysfunction.
High cholesterol: High level of cholesterol build up on vessels which causes them to narrow and slow down the blood flow to the penis that would cause no erection at all.
High blood pressure: HBP can damage your arteries by causing them to become thicker or even to brust also restrict blood flow towards the penis.
Diabetes: a condition having a high blood glucose level that causes long term health problems.Type-2 diabetes affects patients’ lives emotionally and creates a problem with maintaining an erection.
Psychological causes:
Stress: Stress causes the release of brain chemicals that can keep an erection from even getting started.
Anxiety: It causes mental distraction when personal sexual expectations are not met, it leads to erectile dysfunction.
Fear: A fear of sexual failure negatively leads to ED.
Medications: Antidepressants, anti-ulcer drugs, diuretics, and muscle relaxants are major medications that cause erectile dysfunction.Other drugs like :
Alcohol
Cocaine
Marijuana
Barbiturates
Nicotine
Intake of all these drugs suppresses the central nervous system and serious damage to blood vessels that lead to erectile dysfunction.