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Most men experience occasional erectile dysfunction (ED) at some time in their lives as a result of fatigue, stress or excessive alcohol consumption. However, when it occurs consistently or for a long period of time, causing significant distress to the sufferer or to his relationship, then it starts to be considered a serious problem.

Here are some treatment options starting with self help:

Share your concerns - it is particularly important that you communicate with your partner by being open and honest and asking for their support. The lines of communication need to be opened.

Start by placing less emphasis on intercourse and more on developing other forms of sexual intimacy. Spending time cuddling, kissing, licking and massaging can still be pleasurable and will help keep you emotionally close to your partner.

Sex therapy - many men could benefit from a course of counseling or therapy. Sex therapy is particularly necessary if the ED has psychological causes which cannot actually be cured with physical treatments. Sex therapy can help to restore self esteem and sexual confidence. Involve your partner in sex therapy too.

Practice a healthy lifestyle by cutting down on the drinking and quitting the smoking. Take moderate-intensity exercise - brisk walking for example - for half an hour on most days of the week. Eat a balanced diet rich in fruit and vegetables and low in fat. Reduce the stresses in your life.

In recent years, pharmaceutical companies have been developing ED treatments as they have realized the extent of the problem. There are now 3 different brands of tablets known as phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitors. Cialis and Levitra work in a similar way to Viagra (the first drug of this type) but take effect more quickly. A 4th drug Uprima comes as a tablet to be dissolved under the tongue and it brings about an erection in about 20 minutes. Prior to such research, men who sought help and medical advice from their doctor were prescribed such treatments as testosterone or penile injections or even penile implants.

Traditional natural healing products for the treatment of Erectile Dysfunction were not always readily available in the western world. Now you can chose a natural rather than a man-made solution for ED as a safe alternative. With a natural healing product, you retain the power to control your erection as opposed to some oral and man-made drugs which induce an erection for a longer period of time but do not give you the control. A natural healing product will help boost your self esteem and confidence by allowing you to get an erection and to maintain it for as long as desired.

Many men used to feel embarrassed when they sought medical advice for an ED problem but fortunately, the problem has been discussed so openly in the media in recent years, that they are starting to feel more confident about getting help.

Amoils offers all natural treatments for common conditions and ailments using essential oils. Visit our Erectile Dysfunction page for more information.

Source : Medicalnewstoday

Erectile-dysfunction drugs like Viagra may be the answer to many men's physical inadequacies, but these pills do not offer any help in untangling the emotional and relationship pressures that frequently accompany the condition.

'Sexuality in Midlife and Beyond', a new report compiled by researchers at Harvard Medical School, suggest that the medications work only if the man is feeling sexual desire for his partner, but if emotional issues are impinging on libido, the pills will not help.

The 48-page report says that if a man struggling with ED is embarrassed that he is no longer willing to attempt sexual activity, his partner may mistakenly believe that he is no longer attracted to her. She may assume that her partner's newfound erections are merely a chemical phenomenon, not the result of his interest in her.

Sex therapy may be more helpful in dealing with such cases, rather than dependence on erectile-dysfunction drugs, says the report.

It advises that couples should try to regard these drugs as an opportunity to renew their sexual relationship, while realising that ED drugs are neither a mandate to have intercourse nor a panacea for every problem in the bedroom.

Source : News.Yahoo

When urologist Dr. Irwin Goldstein declared in 1997: “There are only two kinds of male cyclists, those who are impotent and those who will be impotent,” many bike riders scoffed.

Several prominent urologists dismissed Goldstein’s claims, saying that they were based on a small sample of riders and that the cardiovascular benefits of cycling outweighed any risk of impotence.

Ten years later, more than two dozen published studies, including several by Goldstein, have confirmed the connection between cycling and sexual dysfunction. Problems can range from impotence to an erection, says a report in the Los Angeles Times.

Bike companies have responded by developing new saddle designs, and riders have bought millions of these ergonomic seats in the last 10 years. But whether they will help a rider’s sex life is a matter of contention.

Some medical and occupational health researchers say they don’t prevent erectile dysfunction, that the modifications don’t necessarily ensure adequate blood flow to the male organ. They advocate a more radical seat design that some cyclists say is dangerous.

Some cyclists opt for a big, soft-gel seat. But that can be the worst choice for circulation, some experts say. Riders on large gel seats sink in, and the gel tends to bunch up under the tender bits, cutting off blood flow.

Women can also be affected. A study of 48 young women competitive cyclists and 22 women runners published last year in the Journal of Sexual Medicine found that the cyclists had decreased genital sensation compared with the runners, but that this didn’t have any negative effects on their sexual function. Another study found that female competitive cyclists who spent a lot of time on their bicycles had swelling and damage to the lymphatic vessels in the vulva.

Then a professor at the Boston University School of Medicine, where he headed the Institute for Sexual Medicine, commented: “Riding should be banned and outlawed.”

A study presented to the American Urological Assn. in 1997 found that 4.2 percent of cyclists had moderate to complete ED, compared with 1.1 percent of runners. That study compared 738 male riders from a Boston cycling club with an age-matched control group of runners.

A second study, presented to the association the following year comparing cyclists and swimmers, found that 4 percent of cyclists had ED compared with 2 percent of swimmers. Older bicyclists and those riding long distances tend to have an increased risk.

And yet another study, published in the International Journal of Impotence Research in 2001, found that men who rode for less than three hours a week decreased their risk of ED, compared with noncyclists, possibly because of the benefits to the cardiovascular system. But the same research found that cycling more than three hours a week nearly doubled the risk of ED, compared with noncyclists. To this day, Goldstein says bicycles should come with a warning label, similar to those on cigarette packs, that cycling may cause impotence.

Source : Dailytimes

A new study sheds light on how erectile dysfunction (ED) interacts with diabetes. The study is expected to improve efficacy in treatments.

The study, "Lack of Central Nitric Oxide Triggers Erectile Dysfunction in Diabetes," was conducted by Hong Zheng, William G. Mayhan, and Kaushik P. Patel, Departments of Cellular and Integrative Physiology; and Keshore R. Bidasee, Department of Pharmacology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE. The results appear in the March 2007 edition of the American Journal of Physiology – Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, one of 11 peer-reviewed scientific publications issued monthly by The American Physiological Society (APS) (www.The-APS.org).

Background


Sexual dysfunction is a well-recognized consequence of diabetes mellitus in men. Erectile dysfunction, retrograde ejaculation and the loss of seminal emission have all been described by such patients. This study examined induced penile erection, yawning and stretch in diabetic rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats treated with streptozotocin (STZ) to induce diabetes were used as they exhibit sexual and behavioral symptoms similar to those found in diabetic men with sexual dysfunction.

The researchers focused on the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus, located in the brain, an integration center between the central and peripheral nervous systems. The site is involved in numerous functions, including erectile function and sexual behavior, and is a primary site within the forebrain that has been implicated in penile erection. The investigators also examined central nitric oxide (NO within the PVN) which plays an important role in the neurotransmission of normal penile erection.


Source : Medindia