Erectile dysfunction or impotence is a condition where people, or specifically men, suffer the inability to obtain and maintain an erection that is firm enough to have sex. When you have troubles getting it up from time to time, it shouldn’t be a cause for your concern. However, when it is an ongoing issue that you are having troubles with, it can be a huge problem that can affect your self-confidence as well as a huge problem that can affect your relationship. Erectile dysfunction may also be a symptom of an underlying health condition. In this article, we will dissect all the things we know about erectile dysfunction; starting from symptoms and complications to causes and risk factors as well as to prevention and aid.

Symptoms and complications

When you have erectile dysfunction, there might be some symptoms that will occur that you should look out for. The symptoms of erectile dysfunction include a reduced sexual desire as well as having persistent troubles with getting and keeping an erection. On the other hand, some complications that come from it include low self-esteem, stress, anxiety, and relationship problems such as an unsatisfactory sex life or the incompetence to make your significant other pregnant.

Causes and risk factors

In terms of causes, erectile dysfunction can be caused by something psychological and something physical. In the psychological aspect of the cause of erectile dysfunction, our brain, as well as our mind, play a vital part to trigger an erection where there are a lot of things that could cause erectile dysfunction. They include stress, mental health conditions such as depression or anxiety, relationship problems that interpose with sexual feelings. Regarding physical causes, they can be because of the metabolic syndrome, heart problems, cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, sleep disorders, injuries that affect the pelvic area, multiple sclerosis, prescription medications, tobacco use, substance abuse, and many more.

Prevention and aid

When it comes to prevention, the best way is to live a healthy lifestyle and create health-conscious choices. You should exercise regularly, have a balanced diet, quit smoking, avoid drugs and alcohol, get help with mental health problems, and see your doctor for checkups. In terms of aid, you can take medication to help it erect, go counseling if the cause is psychological, take treatments for erectile dysfunction, and go to a doctor for pumps or surgery and their expert opinions.