Treatment of Erectile Dysfunction

• Psychosexual therapy.
  When psychological factors or relationship problems are considered to be the cause of your impotence, a course of sex therapy or couples therapy might be recommended. Therapy's very useful in helping you to re-establish a sexual relationship with your partner when there's been a long period without sex.
  
• Vacuum pumps.
  A device involving a plastic cylinder and pump is used to make blood rush to your penis, enlarging it in a similar way to an erection. When you remove the pump, the erection is sustained by slipping a tension ring around the base of the penis.
  
• Injections.
  You or your partner will be taught by a nurse or doctor to inject a drug directly into the shaft of the penis when you want an erection. An erection usually follows within 15 minutes. The procedure is easy to learn.
  
• Transurethral therapy.
  This involves taking a small pellet of a drug, about half the size of a grain of rice, via the urethra (the tube through which urine is passed) using a special disposable applicator. The drug is absorbed through the urethra directly into the erectile tissue of the penis, giving an erection within five to ten minutes.
  
• Oral Prescription treatments.
  There are four different brands available, ranging in duration, potency and side-effects. They are not an aphrodisiac and do not increase sexual desire. Taken in tablet form between ten minutes and one hour before sexual activity, the treatments can remain effective for between two and thirty six hours depending on which treatment you take. For further information see our articles on Viagra, Cialis and Levitra.
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• Hormone treatment.
  Only a small proportion of cases of erectile dysfunction are caused by hormone abnormalities. The most frequent hormone abnormality is a reduced level of the male sex hormone testosterone which can be restored by appropriate hormone replacement. It's unwise to take testosterone preparations unless you've had tests that confirm a deficiency.
  
• Penile prosthesis.
  You shouldn't consider a prosthesis (implant) until other forms of treatment have been tried. There are two types of implant. The semi-rigid type keeps the penis rigid all the time but lets you bend it downwards when you're not having sex. The hydraulic type is more sophisticated and causes the penis to stiffen when a pump (implanted in the scrotum) is activated.
  
• Surgical treatment.
  A few cases of impotence are caused by abnormalities in blood flow in and out of the penis and can be treated with surgery.

Other files related to treatment or erectile dysfunction.