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Healthy Living

August 2010
Top 10 Reasons for Male Sexual Dysfunction
Dr.Pamposh Raina
 
Over 50 percent of men between 40 to 70 years are ‘impotent’, in varying degrees. Here’s help.

Doctors define male Sexual Dysfunction (SD) as the consistent or recurrent inability to attain or maintain a penile erection sufficient for sexual intercourse. Though SD has clearly emerged as one of the significant medical problems of the 21st century, most people in India either do not go for the treatment at all or go to the quacks and get cheated. An andrologist or urologist would be able to help, by identifying and attempting to rectify these causes.

10 Causes
  1. Sexual performance could deteriorate over a long period of time when the cause is organic, and its onset in such a case would be gradual. But that does not rule out a sudden occurrence, when there is a pelvic surgery or trauma (pelvic fracture, spinal cord injury or penile trauma) in the body.
  2. Diabetes mellitus is one of the leading causes of SD. It affects the nerve as well as the vascular supply to the male organ.
  3. The cause could be with the nerves too (neurogenic) which includes multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, multi-system atrophy, spina bifida, pelvic surgery or radiotherapy, peripheral neuropathy (diabetes or alcohol induced).
  4. The arteriogenic causes (arising from the arteries) are hypertension, smoking, hyperlipidemia, diabetes and peripheral vascular disease.
  5. The venogenic cause (the veins are responsible here) is because of impairment of the veno-occlusive mechanism (the blocking of the venous return) due to anatomical or degenerative changes.
  6. Urinary tract infections, particularly prostatitis (inflammation of the prostrate gland) and structural change (angulation) in the male organ due to Peyroie’s disease, also adversely affect the performance.
  7. Some drugs, like antihypertensives, anti-arrhythmics, antidepressants, antiandrogens, anticonvulsants, and anti-Parkinson’s, also are charged guilty of causing SD.
  8. Excess intake of alcohol can also lead to SD over a period of time.
  9. Advanced liver or kidney failure also contributes to SD.
  10. The fibrosis (hardening) of the erectile tissue, known as corporal fibrosis, due to various causes is another cause of SD
Psychological Causes
  • The sexual act cannot be simply switched on and performed.
  • Both the partners need to be relaxed, have adequate privacy and have attraction towards each other.
  • One has to invest in foreplay liberally to reap the fruit of sexual act (pleasure) later on. One should not jump directly into intercourse in the beginning because the male organ has a mind of its own! It takes some time to get ready for the act, and the foreplay provides the necessary fuel for the fire to ignite.
  • Depression, anxiety, relationship difficulties, lack of attraction towards the partner and stress due to any cause can adversely affect the sexual health of a person.
Dr.Pamposh Raina is Urologist, Andrologist & Transplant Surgeon at Apollo Hospitals, Ludhiana

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