KissMeGoodnight
eLearning Series:
Your Sexual Health
Impotence
and Your Sexual Health
(Men and Women)
Both men and women are concerned about impotence
and the affect it will have on their sex lives. Talking to
your medical health care professional will help alleviate some
of those fears, as well as present ideas for treatment. Impotence
and loss of your sex drive is very common in men and women
as they age. The loss of your sex drive can happen
for many reasons including getting older. Stress plays an important
role in our sexual health. There may be times when you are
ready and want to have sex, while your partner is at the other
end of the libido scale. This would then be a time for communication
to find out how you both can receive pleasure when you are
ready as well as help your partner in ways other than sexual
intercourse.
Impotence
is more common in men older than 65, however, it can occur
at any age. The majority of men experience erectile
dysfunction at least one time in their lives and this is very
normal. It is also normal as men age, that they will experience
changes in the erectile function just as they experience changes
with the rest of their body. Their orgasms may not be as powerful
as they once were and the time it takes to achieve erection
in between orgasms will become longer. There are a couple of
signs and/or symptoms of impotence. These signs include the
inability to have a full erection, inability to maintain an
erection during intercourse, and the complete inability to
achieve an erection regardless of the attempts made.
The way a penis maintains an erection is primarily the way
it is made. The penis has two cylindrical structures that look
kind of like sponges. These cylindrical shapes run along the
length of the penis. When arousal takes, place blood begins
to flow into the cylinders, which then increase up to seven
times their normal size. Just as a sponge when you get it wet
it expands, the same happens with the penis. When blood flows
in to the penis, an erection is formed. The longer the arousal
the harder and stiffer the penis becomes. Once ejaculation
has occurred the blood flow retreats and the penis goes back
to its normal size and shape.
The first step that needs to happen for a man to have an erection
is he needs be aroused. Men can become aroused through touch,
taste, smell, auditory, and through vision. Then there will
be a response in his nervous system. When the brain responds
favorably to a certain sense, this activates blood flow in
to the penis. When this starts, there is a relaxing of the
blood vessels within the penis, which allow more blood flow
to enter. This produces a harder erection. The downside to
this is the delicate balance of all these factors that create
an erection. If one area is disharmonious, the man can experience
erectile dysfunction.
There are several nonphysical causes of impotence, among them
are:
- Psychological problems
- Stress – this could be from work, or family, or both
- Anxiety – about finances, children, or life in general
- Fatigue
- Depression
- Negative feelings toward yourself, spouse, or circumstances
around you
- Resentment
- Hostility
- Lack of interest
- Some Physical causes of impotence can include:
- Diabetic neuropathy (nerve damage caused by diabetes)
- Cardiovascular disorders, which can affect the blood flow
to the penis
- Prescription medications – talk to your doctor and find out
if any of your medications are a potential cause of impotence
- Cancer or prostate operations
- Spinal cord fractures
- Multiple sclerosis
- Hormonal imbalances
- Alcohol and other forms of drug abuse
Impotence can also be one of the first signs of another underlying
health problem. Several medical conditions also have erectile
dysfunction as a side effect. Therefore, it is important not
to see only the impotence but other medical factors as well.
There may be times when you cannot really tell the difference
between the physical and nonphysical symptoms of erectile dysfunction.
The simple act of fearing that you may not be able to get an
erection can in itself cause you to not have an erection. # # # # #
by KissMeGoodnight.com
: 2006
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