Among the sex related issues that are quite common place, and yet, not a focus of public attention is Erectile Dysfunction. Studies have shown that, there are more and mode cases of men with erectile dysfunction, this discovery could be due to the advance in technology or the more open-minded view of the world. Many men are able to get diagnosed these days, and they are able to access the care needed.
What is Erectile Dysfunction?
Erectile Dysfunction is a condition that occurs when a man cannot get his penis to stay hard during sex or even the case can be as extreme as a man not getting an erection at all, regardless of the stimulation involved. Erectile Dysfunction can be as a result of physical or psychological causes.
Physical cause of erectile dysfunction can be from an injury or body irregularities. Most times erectile dysfunction from this causes tend to be permanent, although not always. Psychological causes of erectile dysfunction can be due to stress and trauma. Fatigue, fear of underperforming, and other mental pressure can lead to inability to maintain an erection.
In a society that has always since time immemorial, attached the prowess of a man to his ability to get it hard when the needs arise, and any man that is unable to get it up at such moment, can be tagged with various labels that are disheartening, and will even more put pressure on his ability to perform, this compounds the problem. Sexual orientation does not, in any way, lessen the role played by a hard rock penis in sexual activity, especially since it can be a physical proof of how the man is enjoying him.
Erection is as a result of the blood vessels in the penis being filled with blood that makes the soft tissue in it relax and allow this in flow of blood, this blood stays in the penis during sex or any form of stimulation, allowing you to maintain your erection for as long as needed. In the case of erectile dysfunction, the issue tend to arise, when the blood will not move into the vessels as they should, or when it does, it does not stay in the penis for long, thereby causing a loss of erection. So now you know, there is no bone in a boner, it is just blood filling up vessels.
I will be answering some important questions based on what most men with erectile dysfunction ponder over. But, note that whenever you start noticing symptoms of erectile dysfunction, symptoms include loss of sexual urge, inability to hold an erection, premature ejaculation and some others, seek out your doctor, so that adequate testing can be made. Typically, most men experience issues with their erection due to some temporary issues, but when your sex life is being affected, you need to take an action. So, once the check-up with the doctor has been done, let’s get back to the answers to your questions.
Since erection is an obvious sign of arousal in a man, you might want to know, what are the levels of arousal that exist in a man according to the state of the penis?
1 – penis looks the same, no increase in girth or length
2 – penis size increase in girth and a little bit of length but cannot penetrate the vagina or the ass
3 – penis is semi hard, obvious increase in girth and length but not hard enough for penetration.
4 – penis is hard, bigger girth and length and can penetrate, but you would still feel a little bit of flexibility in it.
5 – the penis is rock hard and has no form of flexibility in it anymore, it usually points straight ahead from the man at this point. This is the level of erection that most men desire. But, I want to share with you how you can enjoy sex even if you cannot attain this fifth level of penile arousal.
What could be the reasons for your erectile dysfunction?
Physical or medical reasons
- Smoking is a common cause of erectile dysfunction, more than you could ever imagine.
- High blood sugar which is known in medical term as Diabetes
- High blood pressure, also known as hypertension can cause erectile dysfunction, you have read the relationship between your penis and blood.
- Heart conditions can affect your ability to get or maintain an erection.
- Old age, especially men over the age of 50, experience more erectile challenges than those younger.
- Drug abuse, you should not be surprised that this made the list, several drugs that are being abused have side effects that affect your blood pressure, and the flow. Guess which organ relies on blood pressure and blood flow to function... Yes, your penis, that is it.
- Alcohol, aside from the fact that alcohol can make you lose control of your body coordination, it can also affect your ability to perform in bed.
- Lack of exercise can put a dent in your bedroom performance, exercise gets the blood flowing and the nerves awakened, lack of any form of exercise can make rust build up in your bodily functions.
- Obesity, having an extra body weight, can have an effect on your ability to get it up during sex.
Mental or emotional reasons
- Anxiety and pre-performance fear, fear of underperforming or fear of failing to impress your sex partner can affect your arousal. You might think, this is counter-productive, yes it is. Your fear can inhibit from performing as you should in bed, the best way to help yourself is to relax and just enjoy the flow. Foreplay usually helps, I will be explaining more about that later.
- Depression is another underlying cause of erectile dysfunction, a depressed person has probably lost feeling of excitement about things, sex and its activities are some of these things. You need to take the necessary therapy and medications to help your mental health before pursuing sex with another person
- Issues in the relationship can be a reason for inability to maintain an erection. Nursing an anger or hurt feelings from your partner can affect your sexual life with them, you probably will not find the partner desirable, until you have resolved any form of conflict between you, so that both of you can relax and enjoy sex with each other. Sex with unresolved conflicts between the partners can seem intrusive and uncomfortable.
- Stress is a major part of people’s life that they may not be aware is putting a cramp on their sexual performance, you are less likely to acknowledge your stress, because you feel it is part of life and should be experienced, but your body knows its limit and one of the ways that it can show its protest to a stressful lifestyle is by refusing to perform at its optimum which can affect your ability to get or maintain an erection during sex.
Listen to your body and provide the tender loving care that it needs by answering to its needs.
Can you enjoy sex with Erectile Dysfunction?
Yes, you can still very much enjoy sex while having challenges maintaining an erection. Sex is a combination of several activities, that are not limited to penetration alone. Sex encompasses various ways of stimulation that can be enjoyed just as much as penetration, these other forms of stimulation can even help you relax as a man, and also improve your erection. This brings us to the most important part of sex, Foreplay.
The art of Foreplay
Foreplay is a series of stimulating activities that precedes the actual sex. Foreplay is a game of the physical and also the mental. The stimulation of the body parts, kissing, caressing, nipple play, blow job, hand job, anal stimulation and several other forms of stimulation that you and your partner find pleasurable, which means foreplay is an act built on communication.
Foreplay can even help you get an erection, if your erectile dysfunction is as a result of stress or fear. Engaging in a consenting foreplay can produce a calming and relaxing effect on your nerves and also your arousal to shoot up.
Can sex toys help a man with erectile dysfunction enjoy sex?
The answer to this question is a yes, but that answer is based on several other factors, which includes the severity and cause of the erectile dysfunction. If your erectile dysfunction is mild or moderate, you can benefit from several sex toys that either aid the penis to hold in blood or stimulate the penis to get blood flowing into it, some sex toys perform both of these functions and some other features.
Sex toys that can help a man with erectile dysfunction and related challenges to participate in penetrative sex include:
- Penis sleeves
These are also called cock sleeves, penis enhancer, penile prosthetic and other variations of these terms. Penis sleeves are toys made with either silicon or rubber materials, they are worn over the penis in other to create more length and girth for the wearer. They can be worn for various reasons such as increasing the size of the penis, both length and girth, to reduce or enhance the sensation from penetration in order to prevent premature ejaculation. Men with erectile dysfunction can use it as well, because penis sleeves allows you to be able to perform penetration that would have been difficult to do with a penis that is not hard enough.
There are penis sleeves built for men with erectile dysfunction that makes it easier for the penis sleeve to stay on during sex. Men with healthy erection only need to slide their penis into the penis sleeves and can rely on their own erection to keep the penis sleeve in place. But, as a man with erectile challenges, penis sleeves made for this purpose have a hole underneath, where the balls go into, and some penis sleeves may come with straps as well, so you can slide your semi hard penis into the penis sleeve with the balls holding it, this way you can be able to enjoy penetration. An advantage of penis sleeves is that you can also experience ejaculation, this might not always be the case but it is possible, especially with a semi hard erection.
- Cock rings
These are little devices that are used to trap in blood in the penis after it has attained a significant level of erection. It is a circular object usually worn below the shaft of the penis to prevent the blood that has gone into the tissue from escaping back into the other parts of the body.
Cock rings are ideal for mild erectile dysfunction, where you can not maintain erections for long, or you cannot maintain it at all, once you stimulate your penis, and it has responded, you quickly wear the cock ring to prevent the penis from losing this erection. Some are some vibrating cock rings in the market now, that provides constant stimulation to the penis and at the same time keep your erection intact. An example of such is the FUN FACTORY NÕS.
- Vacuum pumps
These are devices built to help stimulate the penis to erection, vacuum pumps can be operated either with water pressure or air pressure. There is the tube and pump, the penis is put in the tube and held against the body to prevent the air pumped in, from escaping. Using the pump, the pressure induces the vessels in the penis to be filled with blood, blood gives you erection. Once the penis is hard, you can remove the pump and use a cock ring to trap the blood in the tissue.
- Male vibrators and penis strokers
There are sex toys built with powerful motors that stimulate the penis to induce blood flow into it. The devices might not be the permanent cure to your erectile challenges, but they can help to enjoy as much pleasure as men with healthy erection. With these vibrators, you can keep your arousal high and able to maintain erection during sex. An example of a penis stroker is the FUN FACTORY MANTA.
These toys can be used complementary, especially cock rings, which you would have noticed keep popping up in the use of most of these toys.
Other ways to treat and manage Erectile Dysfunction
There are other ways to treat erectile dysfunction, these are based on the primary cause of the condition. These ways include:
- Therapy and counselling
- Medications
- Exercise
- Meditation and relaxation therapy
Tips to experiencing a good sex life
- Good communication is important with your partner
- Find a health care provider that is qualified to help you and should be someone that you are able to share your challenges with, without holding back
- Do not feel pressured to perform according to a certain standard, set your own standard.
Conclusion
Having erectile dysfunction does not exempt you from enjoying all the pleasures of sex, there is more to sex than penetration and in good communication with your partner, you can be able to explore these areas to the fullest and enjoy your sexual life without frustration.