Erectile Dysfunction Treatment
Erectile dysfunction can be embarrassing to many people. The condition affects many relationships, which can result in breakups or divorce. Erectile dysfunction can be treated at any age, and patients can regain their normal health. There are various treatment alternatives that patients can choose from when treating the condition (Burnett et al., 2018). These approaches include self-care, medical interventions, therapy, and surgery. The decision for a treatment plan is personal, but it is important to discuss it with your partner and consider the recommendation given by the health care professional.
Treating Erectile Dysfunction
Following the self-care approach, various options are effective in treating erectile dysfunction. The first treatment option is changing personal lifestyle and adapting to a better lifestyle that works better toward personal health. Changing lifestyle choices means leaving habits that cause health concerns and adapting to new healthy habits (Burnett et al., 2018). For instance, people who consume too much alcohol and smoking, they are at high risk of getting health complications, including erectile dysfunction. Smoking has high-risk factors associated with erectile dysfunction; therefore, quitting and adapting to new habits that advocate for good health are key (Protogerou et al., 2021). Limiting alcohol consumption is another vital habit to adopt and void drug abuse and illegal drug use.
In self-care, engaging in physical activities and making good and healthy body weight is another approach that can help treat and prevent erectile dysfunction. Physical exercises help improve blood circulation and also keep muscles active. Erection entails engaging muscles; therefore, exercises such as Kegel help patients activate their muscles during erection, thus eliminating the erection problem (Allen, 2019). Kegel exercise is highly recommended as a first choice treatment plan for erectile dysfunction, and it is a very effective treatment plan. Maintaining a healthy body weight helps avoid other health-related complications such as heart disease and diabetes, which are also associated with erectile dysfunction.
Some of the patients’ erectile dysfunction is a result of psychological issues that they face. Treating their condition require therapy sessions or counseling where there are helped by counselors and therapists to solve their psychological issues, which in return solve their erectile dysfunction problem (Protogerou et al., 2021). Therapy sessions help patients and equip them with skills that help them lower their emotions and stress or anxiety levels to a controllable state. At the end of the sessions, patients are free from the psychological issues that cause erectile dysfunction, and with the aid of their partners, they can stay strong and forget about erectile dysfunction.
On the medication side, doctors can prescribe medications that can be taken orally by mouth. Doctors can change the medications they prescribe if they do not have an effect on a patient. These oral drugs include Cialis, Stendra, Levitra, and Viagra (Burnett et al., 2018). Most of these drugs fade off after a while. These medications are mostly used during sexual intercourse, which relaxes muscles and increases the blood flow, which helps in sexual intercourse by maintaining an erection. These medications are not prescribed if the patient is taking nitrates. The combination can be lethal to the patient.
The other medication used to treat erectile dysfunction is prescribed by injections. These injection medicines are very effective and work better than oral medicines (Protogerou et al., 2021). They last between 30 to 60 minutes and take about 7 to 10 minutes to take effect. Suppositories and injectable medicines form blood around the penis, which causes the erection, and patients can maintain an erection for enough period for sexual intercourse.
The last treatment option for erectile dysfunction is surgery. Before considering this option, it is important to consult a doctor and try other treatment options. During surgery, surgeons plant new implants around the penis, which help in getting and maintaining an erection (Burnett et al., 2018). Again, they can also reconstruct the arteries responsible for blood flow to allow them to increase the blood flow, which increases the erection function during sexual stimulation. These implants are mainly of two types: malleable and inflatable implants (Allen, 2019). The malleable implants can be adjusted according to the penis positioning, but inflatable implants widen and lengthen the penis. The healing process takes around two weeks; after five weeks, patients can use their implants.
Read about Erectile Dysfunction Symptoms here.
References
Allen, M. S. (2019). Physical activity as an adjunct treatment for erectile dysfunction. Nature Reviews Urology, 16(9), 553-562.
Burnett, A. L., Nehra, A., Breau, R. H., Culkin, D. J., Faraday, M. M., Hakim, L. S., ... & Shindel, A. W. (2018). Erectile dysfunction: AUA guideline. The Journal of urology, 200(3), 633-641.
Protogerou, V., Chrysikos, D., Karampelias, V., Spanidis, Y., El Bisari, S., & Troupis, T. (2021). Erectile dysfunction treatment using stem cells: a review. Medicines, 8(1), 2.