Preventing Male Erectile Dysfunction (ED) with Home Remedies & Natural Foods

Male erectile dysfunction is an erection problem that most commonly affect older men. Some men experience erection problem that may be cause by overwork, stress, illness, or medication and are not consider ED because these are temporary problems that go away on its own without treatment. Men who experienced ED is not capable of achieving or maintaining an erection long enough to have penetrative intercourse for a period of 6 to 12 months.

There are two types of erection problems and these include acquired ED and lifelong ED. Acquired ED applied to men who previously was able to achieved and maintained erection long enough to have penetrative intercourse and currently unable to consistently achieve or maintain normal erection. Lifelong ED applied to men who never experienced erection long enough to have penetrative intercourse.

Causes of Male Erectile Dysfunction

Even though ED most commonly affect older men but it can also affect young men who may experience ED caused by performance anxiety or getting nervous about having sex. In older men, ED is not caused by old age but it is caused by diseases associated with old age. Some of the diseases that lead to the cause of ED in male may include the following.

• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• Cardiovascular problems
• Heart disease
• Nerve disease
• Multiple sclerosis
• Parkinson’s disease

Other Causes of Male Erectile Dysfunction

• Stress and anxiety
• Overweight
• Certain prescription medications
• Smoking
• Alcohol and drug abuse
• Brain injury
• Spinal cord injury
• Injury to the penis
• Nerve damage from prostate and bladder surgery
• Low levels of testosterone

Most commonly ED is caused by a combination of physical and psychological factors among many men. Physical factors affect mostly older men and psychological factors affect mostly younger men with performance anxiety. When a man is affected by his inability to perform physically, this can also affect his self-esteem caused by his sexual failure that can lead to guilt and worsen his ED condition.

Types of Treatment

Psychological causes of ED may be treated with counseling and psychotherapy. Physical causes of ED required further test to determine the origin of the problem in order to determine the best treatment option. Some of the test performed may include physical exam, blood tests, neurological test, penile ultrasound, and urine tests. Once the test is complete and the root cause of ED has been determined, treatment can begin.

There are different types of treatment for male erectile dysfunction and these may include oral medications, testosterone replacement therapy, injectable medications, vacuum devices, and surgery.

There are three types of oral medications on the market that has been approved by the FDA and these include sildenafil (Viagra), tadalafil (Cialis), and vardenafil (Levitra). These drugs use the affects of nitric oxide to treat male erectile dysfunction. Nitric oxide is a biological gas produced naturally within the body and the drugs help the body to retain more of this gas. Nitric oxide relaxed smooth muscle tissues and causes erection by dilating blood vessels that increases blood flow into the penis.

Different dosages may be required for different individual so you may have to work with your doctor to determine the dosage that works for you. Oral medications cannot be use if you are already taking nitrate medication for chest pain or if you suffered from previous medical condition such as high or low blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, liver disease, kidney disease, and diabetes.

Testosterone replacement therapy can be used to treat ED caused by low level of testosterone. Testosterone replacement therapy may involve the use of skin patches, topical gel or muscular injections to increase the level of testosterone in the body.

If oral medications and testosterone replacement therapy do not work, you may consider injectable medications. This method uses medication called alprostadil that is injected into the base of the penis or inserted into the urethra. Injection can produce very strong erection in men that may last for an hour. Some of the side effects may include scarring of the penis and prolonged erection.

If medications do not work, you may consider vacuum devices. Vacuum device work by pulling large amount of blood into the penis, a tension ring is place around the base of the penis to maintain erection for sexual intercourse. After sexual intercourse, tension ring can be removed.

Surgery is the last option if all the other methods do not work. Surgery performed may involved implanting a device into the penis that cause penile erection or surgery may be performed to repair leaking blood vessels that cause ED when blood leak from penile tissues.

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