What is impotence?

Impotence is another word for the medical condition 'Erectile Dysfunction' (ED for short). It is the inability of a man to achieve or maintain an erection sufficient for his sexual needs or the needs of his partner.

Who suffers from it?

Most men experience erectile dysfunction at some point in their lives, usually by age 40, and the vast majority are not psychologically affected by it. Previously associated with middle age, it has now been established that impotence affects younger men too.

What causes impotence?

The cause is often circulation-related resulting from other conditions such as prescription drug use or diabetes.

In the majority of cases (estimated to be around 70%) there's a physical cause for the impotence where nerve damage or poor blood flow underlies the problem. If a man has early morning erections and can masturbate to climax then the cause is likely to be psychological, which makes up the remainder of cases.

However, many men suffer a combination of physical and psychological reasons. It's very easy for a man with impotence to become stressed and depressed about his situation and this makes matters worse. Men being men tend to suffer in silence and are often too embarrassed or ashamed to talk about the problem to anyone. So even if the cause was physical to start with, the psychological effects will compound the problem.

It has also been suggested that smoking affects your sexual functions.

Can I seek treatment?

How common is impotence?

Unfortunately, Impotence is very common. It is estimated that between 20 and 30 million men in the US have erectile dysfunction, only a small percentage of them have yet to seek or receive treatment.

Isn't most impotence an emotional or psychological problem?

While it is true that problems with erections can cause great psychological stress for the man and the partner, the underlying cause of the problem in up to 90% of cases is a physical or medical one, like diabetes, heart disease or high blood pressure.

Is impotence treatable?

Yes, often the underlying cause can be determined with a few simple tests and in some cases corrected. Even if the cause is not correctable (i.e. high blood pressure, prostate cancer, atherosclerosis, diabetes, etc) nearly every man can have his erectile dysfunction treated and satisfactory erections restored.