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Erectile dysfunction is relatively common and affects over 20 million men in the United States. This helps to explain why new drugs such as Cialis, Levitra, and Viagra have become so popular.

Erectile dysfunction (ED), also known as impotence, is the inability of a man to achieve or sustain an erection sufficient for his sexual needs or the needs of his partner. Most men experience this at some point in their lives, usually by age 40. Erectile dysfunction is different from other conditions that interfere with sexual intercourse, such as lack of sexual desire and problems with ejaculation and orgasm.

Diseases (e.g., hypertension, diabetes, kidney disease, alcoholism, atherosclerosis) and medications (e.g., drugs for high blood pressure, heart medications, antidepressants, tranquilizers, and sedatives) account for as many as 70% of chronic ED cases and psychological factors (e.g., stress, anxiety, depression) account for 10-20% of cases. Over 200 commonly prescribed drugs are known to cause or contribute to erectile dysfunction and over 35% of men with diabetes experience erectile dysfunction.

Erectile dysfunction has many causes and most of these are treatable. Erectile dysfunction is not an inevitable consequence of the male aging process! How erectile dysfunction is treated depends on what things are causing it. After your doctor checks you for medical problems and medicines that might cause erectile dysfunction, he or she may have you try a medicine to help with erectile dysfunction. Some of these medicines are injected into your penis and others are taken by mouth. Not everyone can use these medicines. Your doctor will help you decide if you can try them. The most common oral medications are Cialis, Levitra, and Viagra.

If the medications above are not right for you, you could also try using vacuum pump devices, or there may be surgical options. Your doctor may send you to an urologist to talk about these options.

In any event the first step in improving and resolving erectile dysfunction problems is a visit to your doctor.

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