Male Erection Problems and Solutions for the Layman

For most males having an erection is no big deal. The scuttlebutt even is that male erection comes in too surfeit occasions that there has been human overpopulation in many parts of this planet. While a sweeping statement, such a remark may have some basis in fact. It is medically known that an average male can spontaneously have four to eight erections at night, and all these happen while sleeping. These instances of male excitement occur when dreaming, one end result of which must be the so-called wet dreams. Also quite obviously, these erections do not include those when he`s awake during the evening when most sexual interludes happen.

These frequent male erection occurrences indicate some simplicity that goes with the mechanics that make a man`s penis hard and firm. Some sexual stimuli emanating from the brain are transmitted to nerve endings at the male`s sex organ, triggering a rush of blood into two chambers called corpus cavernosa along the whole length of the penis. An erection then materializes as the sponge-like chambers are gorged with blood, making the penis ready for vaginal penetration. But simple as it seems, there are psychological and physical factors that could affect this whole process of brain communication with the penis` nerves. An adequate response could be hampered by the brain refusing to transmit the sexual stimuli. There could be physical or heart-related factors which could prevent enough blood to rush into the penis` blood receptacles in order to produce a firm and hard erection.

Psychiatric help is the doctor`s advice for those males without the physical manifestations that hinder male erection. In this case, the problem lies in the mind, perhaps resulting from guilt feelings on some childhood sex encounters that were carried into adulthood. A man can also have anxiety problems, arising from fears that he won`t be able to satisfy his sexual partner and make her reach an orgasm. Sometimes the psychiatric therapy alone would help; in other cases, some placebo pills are prescribed.

The active intervention of drugs is prescribed for penile dysfunction caused by physical factors which prevent sufficient circulation of blood to engorge the corpus cavernosum tissues of the penis. The culprit most often blamed for this particular condition is the enzyme PDE5 which hampers the efficient flow of blood to the penis and thus cause male erection problems. The oral pills now prescribed for impotent males essentially address PDE5`s effects by inhibiting the body`s production of this enzyme. Among these drugs are tadalafil which is sold under the Cialis brand, and sildenafil which is more popularly known in the market as Viagra.

Taking any of these oral medications will require prior medical clearance. These medications have been approved as prescription drugs and cannot be purchased over the counter. Medical supervision is needed for their use because these medicines can bring serious side-effects if taken with other drugs to treat other existing health concerns particularly those that are cardiovascular in nature. At the bottom of this page, click on a link to more informative articles on male erection issues.