IMPOTENCE: DESCRIPTION AND POSSIBLE MEDICAL PROBLEMS
Impotence is defined as a permanent inability to maintain an erection. As a result, sexual activity—including masturbation—reaches a near standstill. Sometimes impotence results because a man’s sexuality changes with age: after the age of 50, his sexual activity can decline rapidly. One study shows that sexual activity in a man drops by 10% in his 50s, 20% in his 60s, 20% more when he’s in his 70s, and 50% or more in his 80s.
But health problems and illness can also cause impotence. Stress can be one factor; heart disease may be another, since an erection occurs when the tissues in the penis fill with blood. If there is a problem with getting the blood to these tissues, an erection cannot occur. And high blood pressure can also cause impotence, as can prostate disease. After a man has prostate surgery, he may be in doubt about his sexuality; however, the surgery can also permanently alter his physical ability to achieve an erection.
Medications, such as drugs to control blood pressure like beta-blockers, can also be responsible. Smoking and alcohol both dilate the blood vessels, which again means there’s less blood available to reach the penis. Depression is also a very common cause of impotence, and an underlying medical illness such as stroke or cancer can not only cause a man to lose all interest in sex but make him physically unable to have an erection.
Ask yourself the following questions:
1. Have I been depressed or ill lately?
2. Am I unable to have and maintain an erection at all? Or am I comparing it to the erections I had when I was 20 years old?
3. Have I become suddenly impotent, or has the condition developed more slowly?
4. Am I unable to achieve an erection all the time or only occasionally?
5. Are my legs cold or swollen?
6. Have my breasts or testicles become enlarged?
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