Impotence can be defined as a consistent failure to achieve or maintain an erection that is necessary for a satisfying sexual intercourse. Impotence is not a disease but a medical condition often referred as ‘Erectile Dysfunction’. There are varying degrees of erectile dysfunction. It can be a complete failure to achieve erection, an ability to maintain erection only for a short period or it can be an inconsistent ability to achieve it. Impotence can also be referred to other sexual problems like lack of sexual desire or infertility but erectile dysfunction refers solely to erection problems.

Although impotence is commonly related with age, it is not a condition that is exclusive to old age. Recent surveys say that more than thirty million men in the United States have erectile dysfunction and that more than 50% of men between the ages of 40 and 70 are suffering from some degree of erectile dysfunction.

Causes of Impotence

There are numerous factors that can lead to impotence and can be broadly classified as physiological and psychological causes. Erection is obtained as a result of a series of actions and when this sequence is affected at any point it results in impotence. About 90% of the existing causes for impotence are due to some kind of physical problem like damages due to injury or surgery, hormonal disorders, obesity, diseases including diabetes, alcoholism and also due to side effects from medicines. Another physical cause for impotence is smoking. Smoking affects the flow of blood in veins and arteries which is responsible for erection. Occurrence of impotence also increases with age but is not typical.

The other major cause for impotence comes under psychological problems like stress, depression, anxiety, guilt, uncertainty and fear of failure, to name a few. These psychological problems are most often reflections of impotence due to some form of physical causes.

Treatment for Impotence

Today people are more aware of the reasons for impotence due to the massive amounts of research being done on the subject and the ease of access to these findings. Once the cause of impotence is diagnosed accurately, it becomes very easy to treat it with a multitude of options that are available now. The treatment can be as simple as changing your eating habits.

If the cause for impotence is physical in nature then the treatment involves drug therapy, vacuum devices and in some cases surgery.

Drugs can either be taken orally or can be injected directly into the penis. The first and the most widely used oral drug for impotence is sildenafil, commonly known as Viagra. Cialis, Uprima and Levitra are some of the other well known drugs. Drugs that are directly injected include papaverine and alprostadil commonly known as Caverject. These drugs when injected makes the penis engorged with blood. Vacuum devices create a partial vacuum that draws the blood into the penis.

Surgery is usually done either to repair veins and arteries to increase the blood flow, or to make some implants that will help in achieving erection.

Psychological treatment is best done by an experienced counselor or therapist who can help to relieve the stress, anxiety and other causes.