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Dealing with Erectile Dysfunction

It is hard enough these days for a man to please a woman in a sexual relationship, but the job becomes even more difficult for him if he can't get hard. Over 40 million men in the United States have experienced erectile dysfunction at least once. The majority of men are impotent at some point in their lives, some on an occasional basis, others for extended periods of time.

Achieving an erection is a complicated process to begin with, normally starting in the brain. The brain processes certain messages that the senses pick up, such as seeing a provocatively dressed woman, smelling a certain perfume, or touching soft skin, and sends arousal signals to the penile nerves. The brain doesn't even actually need to be stimulated by the senses, often times just by thinking about these images, scents or sensations is enough for the brain to start sending signals to the genital area. As a result, or if the penis is directly stimulated, the spongy tissues of the penis fill up with blood, causing the penis to swell. The veins that control the outflow of blood get compressed, trapping it within the organ. The penis usually remains erect for as long as the stimulation lasts or until orgasm is experienced.

Erectile dysfunction, otherwise known as impotence, is simply when the erection isn't hard enough, or maintained long enough to permit sexual intercourse. It can be classified into two different categories, either primary or secondary erectile dysfunction. Primary is rare and describes a man that has never been able to have intercourse, while secondary is very common and describes a man that has had intercourse many times, but now can not. Erectile dysfunction is a more accurate term than impotence, because the man still experiences sexual desire and may even still be able to have orgasms and ejaculate semen. Most commonly men with erectile dysfunction are able to achieve partial erections, or are able to attain an erection, but unable to sustain them for any length of time.

There are two different categories of factors that cause erectile dysfunction, psychological or physical and often the cause is a combination of two or more of these. Stress is the leading cause of erectile dysfunction when there is no medical problem present. If a man is worried about his job, finances, his marriage, a family member, or is going through a depression, his interest in sex usually decreases, often resulting in the inability to maintain an erection. Performance anxiety is also another major cause of this problem.

Some medical conditions can result in erectile dysfunction as well; alcoholism and diabetes are the most major causes of this condition in North America, as these diseases affect the nervous system. Other diseases that affect the nervous system, such as multiple sclerosis will have the same effect. Any condition which affects the vascular system, such as hardening of the arteries, will often result in erectile dysfunction - even prescription medications such as drugs for high blood pressure; can affect the ability to attain an erection. Another possible cause is involvement in an accident that results in pelvic fracture, or spinal cord injury.

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