Types of Male Sexual Disorders
The Mayo Clinic lists four common types of sexual disorders for men:
- Erectile dysfunction, or ED
- Loss of sexual desire
- Low testosterone
- Ejaculation disorders
To a large extent, each problem correlates to a man’s age. Each can also be temporary and resolvable without medical treatment. You’ll find basic descriptions of the descriptions here, along with short descriptions of when visiting a doctor may be warranted. Learning more will require following the links provided in each section.
Does Erectile Dysfunction Really Happen to All Men Sometimes?
No matter how willing your spirit, your male flesh may occasionally prove too weak to engage in sexual intercourse. Achieving and maintaining an erection through ejaculation requires adequate stimulus and physical health. Stress, fatigue, injuries and medications for high blood pressure, depression and cancer can prevent you from performing every time you wants you to or produce outright impotence.
A full explanation of the causes of erectile dysfunction appears on the Cleveland Clinic website. When ED happens several times within a relatively short time or persists for months, you can speak with your regular doctor or a urologist about treatment options.
Medications such as Cialis, Levitra and Viagra have become the first option for ED therapy. Each works by increasing the flow of blood to the penis. While generally safe when used as prescribed, each of the drugs carries risks for causing headaches, stomach upset, runny nose, elevated temperature and, more rarely, heart attacks and vision problems.
When drug therapy proves unsafe, other treatments to consider include penile implants, penis pumps and injections of hormones directly into the penis.
Is a Loss of Sexual Desire Natural With Age?
In a patient information article bearing a title almost identical to the one for this subsection, a doctor with the Mayo Clinic explains that almost all men desire sexual intercourse less as they grow older. Low libido can be a medical condition when it occurs in a younger man, however. The underlying problems range from emotional distress to the inability of the endocrine system to produce enough testosterone. A man who wants to want to have more sex should schedule complete physical and mental checkups.
What Happens When Testosterone Levels Get Low?
Sexual disorders in men and women can be helped with treatment.
As noted, low levels of testosterone decrease your sex drive and can make having sexual relations difficult and unsatisfying. Other symptoms of what advertisements for testosterone replacement therapies dub “Low-T” can include the following:
- Weight gain
- Breast growth
- Emotional instability
- Inability to concentrate
- Hair loss
- Muscle loss
- Hot flashes
- Testicle shrinkage
- Soft and more easily fractured bones
Testosterone begins decreasing as soon as a man enters his 40s. That decline then continues with each passing year. So, as a factsheet from the National Library of Medicine points out, the real warning signs that medical attention is merited are multiple symptoms listed above and a complete loss of interest in having sex.
What Counts as an Ejaculation Disorder?
Urologists recognize three principal ejaculation disorders. The most common is premature ejaculation, which happens when a man releases semen following minimal stimulation or even no physical contact. Causes for this range from lack of experience to hypersensitivity. The condition causes no physical problems, but it can create psychological issues that lead men to seek interventions that include counseling, desensitizing gels and intercourse with sexual therapists.
The other two main types of ejaculation disorder identified by experts with the Weill Cornell Medical College are retrograde ejaculation and retarded orgasm. During retrograde ejaculation, semen flows from the testicles up into the bladder instead of entering the urethra so it can leave the penis. This happens when nerve damage prevents the opening on the bladder neck from closing. The condition can be irreversible, especially in people with advanced diabetes.
Retarded orgasm, which is also called delayed ejaculation, is the opposite of premature ejaculation. Regardless of stimulation, a man suffering from this condition cannot release semen. As with other ejaculatory problems, a range of mental and physical difficulties can lead to retarded orgasm. And, similarly, this make sexual disorder can produce psychological issues if left untreated.
