Erectile Dysfunction

THE MAN suffering from erectile dysfunction is frustrated, anxious and depressed, as he has tried every remedy under the sun pills and potions, hormone injections and extracts of pearls and diamonds. He has visited quacks and as a last resort even changed his partner. He is excited and aroused, and wants a sexual encounter, but his penis remains limp and lifeless. He feels wretched and humiliated by his repeated failure in front of his aroused partner. His confidence in his manliness and faith in his penis are rudely shattered. He had grown up believing that nothing could go wrong with his missile. Other men could have erection problems, but he, never! The car could stall or the TV black out, but his gadget had always been fail proof. The space shuttle could run into problems but he could shuttle in and out of bed at will. Like most men living in the Fantasyland of Sex, fie believed that penises are made to last forever.

The word impotence implies 'powerless' or 'wanting in natural strength' and is a misnomer which should not be used. Sex therapists have coined a new term, erectile dysfunction or erection problems.

What is Erectile Dysfunction?

Dr. Masters and Mrs. Johnson have defined an impotent male as one who cannot achieve or maintain an erection sufficient for intercourse. He is therefore unable to obtain or give gratification during the sexual act. According to them, there are two different types of erectile dysfunction: (1) primary erectile dysfunction where the male has failed every time he has attempted sex because of his inability to achieve an erection or maintain it; and (2) secondary erectile dysfunction which is a highly frequent complaint in males who have functioned adequately for some time but develop erection problems later. It usually begins with an initial erective failure, resulting in anxiety and fear of failure in subsequent attempts at sex.

Erectile dysfunction has to be differentiated from premature ejaculation. Premature ejaculation is a condition where the male ejaculates immediately after interomission, leaving his partner unsatisfied. In premature ejaculation, the erection is present but the ejaculation is early. It is therefore different from erectile dysfunction, though premature ejaculation after some time may lead to erectile dysfunction.

Sterility is inability to procreate or to have a child. Sterility and erectile dysfunction are often confused by laymen, and even by doctors. A sterile man can be potent; that is, he can have normal intercourse, but he will not have children. An impotent man, on the other hand, may not necessarily be sterile; he can have children, as pregnancy can result by merely depositing the semen on the external genital organs of the female. One of my female patients had two children, though the husband was impotent. In a divorce suit filed by her, the wife had difficulty in convincing the lawyers that an impotent man can have children.

Primary erectile dysfunction

Primary erectile dysfunction is an almost cent per cent preventable disorder, but its prevention begins in the cradle as soon as the young infant discovers his genitals and derives innocent pleasure by touching them. All are born with a clean sexual slate on which the infant, and later the child and the adolescent, inscribes his sexual alphabet. All of us agree that there is only one way to write a letter of the alphabet correctly. The same applies to the sexual alphabet. There is only one way of learning sexuality the right way.

Secondary erectile dysfunction results from diverse causes ranging from organic diseases to psychogenic reasons. It can be classifed as owing to: (1) medical causes and hormonal imbalances; (2) alcohol and drugs; (3) psychogenic reasons.