Yahneake Sterling, Staff Reporter

Not being able to get it up. It's an issue many men try to avoid thinking about. But the fact is, erectile dysfunction (ED) is a reality that is slowly coming to light.

While many may view the condition as an age-related one mainly affecting older men, the truth is that ED affects men from the adolescent stage, right up to, and after, middle age. However, it is more common in men aged 40 and over and men who are approaching andropause.

ED is a condition where a man cannot obtain or maintain an erection, to the point where he is unable to ejaculate, therefore prohibiting satisfactory sexual performance.

If the question in your mind is, what causes ED, Flair has some answers.

Urologist Professor Lawson Douglas says there are four main causes. "The causes are psychogenic (in the mind) first of all, something is upsetting the man; second, he can have a vascular problem (blood not being able to reach the penis); third, a nerve problem (can be caused by surgery); and fourth, hormonal problems (they give you the feeling to have sex, but are not essential in producing an erection, but they can cause a man not to feel like having sex)," Professor Douglas explained.

Other factors

However, there are other factors that can lead to ED.

"The penis itself is made up of erectile tissue in that the cavernous spaces have to open up and close down ... so something can go wrong with the erectile function because of the tissue in the penis not working as it should," Professor Douglas added.

Health issues also play a part in ED, in that they affect the nerves that help with an erection. Diabetes, hypertension and obesity are three such issues.

"Diabetes will affect the nerves and might affect the blood flow by shutting down the vessels. Hypertension won't cause ED but the treatment for hypertension might shut down the (blood) vessels and any illness that causes the person to feel weak and not up to anything will cause erectile dysfunction," Professor Douglas noted.

Obesity, he says, leads to an increase in a man's female hormone levels. Losing weight will increase a man's sexual efficiency.

He warns that smoking also leads to ED and young men should take note of this.

Addressing the psychogenic issues that cause ED is one of the most important steps in dealing with the problem.

Taking phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (PDE5), which are oral erectile-dysfunction medicines such as Viagra, Cialis or Levitra, can help solve the problem. The drug is used to block the degradative action of phosphodiesterase type 5 that causes a man to lose his erection.

However, not all men can use these PDE5 inhibitors as they can lead to serious problems if the man suffers from certain medical condition, such as certain heart diseases.

"The main contraindication is if the man is already on a nitrate (for heart problems), to open up the vessels in the heart, then he cannot take any one of these drugs because it will be an overdose and this will kill him," Professor Douglas stressed.

Therefore, a man should always consult his physician before taking any of these drugs.

yahneake.sterling@gleanerjm.com