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SEXUAL RESEARCH : Impotence causes

Most men experience a failed erection at some time in their lives, but if you find that you can’t achieve and maintain an erection in at least 3 out of 4 attempts, you should ask your doctor about impotence.

Impotence, also known as erectile dysfunction or ED, is a condition in which a man is unable to achieve or maintain an erection long enough to have a satisfactory sex life.

In the past, doctors considered impotence to be a mainly psychological problem, caused by performance anxiety or stress. Now, however, doctors know that most cases of impotence have a physical cause, which can be treated. In fact, according to Impotence Australia, physical causes contribute to about 75 per cent of cases of impotence.

Physical causes of impotence include damage to the arteries and veins that allow blood to flow into and out of the penis, damage to the nerves that send signals from the body’s central nervous system to the penis, and, more rarely, a deficiency in testosterone or other hormones. Some medications can contribute to impotence, as can some operations and radiotherapy treatments.

PHYSICAL CAUSES OF IMPOTENCE

Impaired blood flow to the penis

A very common cause of impotence is when blood flow to the penis is impaired due to atherosclerosis, also known as hardening of the arteries. In atherosclerosis, the arteries are clogged and narrowed, resulting in reduced blood flow. This narrowing of the arteries can be caused by conditions such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease or diabetes, as well as by smoking.

Impotence can also be caused by a blood clot that prevents enough blood from flowing into the penis to cause an erection.

Impaired blood flow out of the penis

In some men, blood can flow in to the penis easily, but the problem is that it leaks out again, so an erection cannot be sustained. This is called venous leakage. Doctors aren’t certain of the cause of venous leakage, but they can perform surgery to help repair it.

Medications

Some medications can cause erection problems as a side effect, including: diuretics; high blood pressure medications; cholesterol-lowering drugs; some types of antipsychotics; antidepressants; cancer treatments; non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs); and epilepsy medications.

If you experience impotence after starting a new medication, tell your doctor, who may be able to prescribe a different medicine for you. You should also tell your doctor about any over-the-counter medicines or complementary remedies you may be taking.

Diabetes

Both forms of diabetes, Type 1 and Type 2, are common causes of impotence: men who have diabetes are 3 times more likely to have impotence than other men. Diabetes contributes to impotence because it can damage blood vessels and cause a type of nerve damage known as peripheral neuropathy.

Prostate cancer

The advanced stages of prostate cancer can affect the nerves and arteries that are vital for an erection. Radiation treatment for prostate cancer can harm the erectile tissues of the penis, and surgery can cause nerve or artery damage to the penis. Treatment for advanced prostate cancer often includes drugs that counteract testosterone, and commonly cause erectile dysfunction.

Peyronie’s disease

Peyronie’s disease is an uncommon condition that affects a man’s sex life because his penis curves abnormally and causes pain when he has an erection. He might also be unable to have a hard erection. The curvature of the penis is caused by a scar, called a plaque, that forms in the penis.

Diseases of the nervous system

Multiple sclerosis (MS) and other degenerative diseases of the nervous system can impair the nerves involved in erections.

Depression

Many men find that when they’re suffering from depression, they can’t get or keep an erection. Asking your doctor for treatments for depression may help alleviate your erection problems as well.

Hormones

Low levels of the male hormone, testosterone, are more commonly linked to a lowered sex drive, rather than impotence itself. Only a small percentage of cases of impotence are caused by hormone deficiency.

Low testosterone levels may be the result of a condition called hypogonadism, in which the testicles don’t produce enough testosterone. More rarely, low testosterone can be caused by the pituitary (a small gland at the base of the brain) not secreting sufficient hormones to stimulate the testes to produce testosterone. The pituitary is also sometimes affected by small benign (non-cancerous) tumours that secrete prolactin, another hormone that can cause impotence.

Mildly decreased levels of testosterone are often not due to specific testicular or pituitary problems, but rather stress or depression. In this situation, testosterone replacement is rarely of any benefit.

Injury and accidents

Impotence can be caused by spinal cord injury; injury to your sex organs; or a pelvic fracture, which can cause damage to the nerves to the penis, or damage the blood vessels, resulting in impairment of blood flow to the penis.

Surgery

Surgery to organs near the nerve pathways of the penis, such as the bladder, rectum and prostate, can cause nerve or artery damage to the penis, resulting in the inability to have an erection.

Smoking

Smoking contributes to vascular disease, so it can contribute to erectile dysfunction by affecting blood flow to the penis. Smoking cessation often has a beneficial effect on erectile function.

Excessive alcohol use

Alcoholism can cause permanent nerve damage, resulting in impotence. This nerve damage is called peripheral neuropathy. Long-term alcohol use can impair the liver’s ability to function, resulting in a hormone imbalance in which a man has too much of the female sex hormone, oestrogen. On a day-to-day level, alcohol dulls the central nervous system, impairing sexual response.

Illicit drug use

Illicit drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, heroin, barbiturates, and amphetamines act on the central nervous system, impairing the body’s ability to respond sexually.

Prolonged exercise

Nerve and artery damage can be caused by cycling too hard, rodeo riding, or prolonged use of a rowing machine, resulting in the inability to get an erection. Often, minimising the use of hard bicycle seats and exercise machine seats will help restore sexual function.

PSYCHOLOGICAL CAUSES OF IMPOTENCE

Most cases of impotence have physical causes, but, in some men, psychological factors are the main contributors to impotence. Impotence that’s triggered by psychological factors is more likely to appear suddenly, and perhaps when you’re with just one particular person, than impotence that has a physical cause. You’re also more likely to have morning erections, and be able to have an erection when you masturbate, than men whose impotence has a physical cause. Here are some psychological factors that can have an impact on your erections.

Stress and anxiety

When you’re stressed and focusing on other issues apart from sex, you might find that you don’t want to have sex as often and there might be a drop in your ability to perform when you do try. You might find that tackling the source of your stress can have benefits in the bedroom as well.

Fear of failure

Anxiety about your sexual prowess (commonly called performance anxiety) can, in itself, contribute to failure. By putting pressure on yourself, you become too anxious to get an adequate erection. Most men experience isolated episodes of erectile failure. Even when the transient physical cause has passed, anxiety that it may recur is sufficient to prevent erection. Anxiety, whether about something specifically sexual or part of a wider anxiety syndrome, is never helpful to good sexual function.

Problems with your relationship

Impotence may be a manifestation of a poor relationship, or a problematic time in a relationship. Sexual boredom, tension or anger among partners, and lack of intimacy and communication are all possible triggers of erectile dysfunction. In these cases, seeing a counsellor may help.

It’s worth remembering that impotence is a complex medical condition, which may have more than one cause. For example, if impotence is the result of a side effect of medication or an underlying disease, the anxiety caused by lack of performance may perpetuate the erectile dysfunction even after the physical cause has been tackled. Almost any chronic physical or mental health disorder, including those with no direct effect on penile nerves or blood supply, can have a powerful effect on sexuality, sexual self-image and erectile function.

If you’re worried about your sexual response or the quality of your erections, don’t be afraid to talk to your doctor, who has access to treatments that can help.

HEALTHY SEX : Sensual touching techniques

By discovering how responsive your bodies are to certain sensations you and your partner can heighten your potential for sexual arousal. Psychosexual therapist Paula Hall describes an exercise to help you do just this.

Preparation

* This exercise should take an hour, so leave yourself enough time.
* Before you start you could prepare your space.
* You'll be naked, so put on the heating an hour before so you'll be warm enough.
* Collect some different textured objects (soft, silky, smooth, warm, cool etc).


The partner being touched

Lie naked on a bed or wherever's comfortable. If you're brave enough, you can be blindfolded to heighten the experience.

The secret of success is to make sure you're lost in the moment. Allow yourself to feel every sensation to the full by thinking of nothing else. Remember to give feedback to the toucher.
The partner doing the touching

Before you start, you could use an old-fashioned hairpin to find your partner's non-genital erogenous zones. Slowly run the hairpin over their body. Most of the time they'll only feel one point of contact, but on the highly sensitive erogenous zones they'll feel both.

It's your job to provide a wide range of different stimuli for your partner to experience. Work from head to toe experimenting with a range of different objects and textures.

Try using a silk scarf or a soft blusher brush. Can your partner tell the difference between suede, leather and velvet? How about rubber or a feather? Now try touching with a massage roller or ball.

Experiment with different pressures and different strokes too. Heighten the sensory expectation by making random rather than predictable movements.

Remember to ask what feels good and what feels best.

When you've had enough, swap roles. But be warned - it could be a long night!

WARING : Most Contagious Diseases !

Hepatitis A

Breeding grounds: Most of us who are fortunate enough to live in industrialized countries have been vaccinated against Hepatitis A. That renders us immune from infection for about 15 years. If you haven’t been vaccinated, however, it’s easy to catch Hepatitis A in unsanitary conditions. If you’re traveling through rural villages, make sure you drink bottled water only and avoid eating fresh fruits and vegetables that have been washed in suspect water.

Malaria

Breeding grounds: Malaria is widespread in tropical regions, including sub-Saharan Africa, South America and parts of Southeast Asia. Anywhere you find Anopheles mosquitoes, you’ll likely find malaria. Anti-malaria drugs are available for travelers who visit those regions, but the malaria parasite is quickly becoming resistant to the drugs. Check with the CDC before you travel to determine if you’ll need to worry about taking anti-malaria drugs on your next trip to the tropics.

Measles

Breeding grounds: If you’re looking for measles, visit your local preschool. Most small children catch the virus there and spread it like wildfire. It is relevant to note that contracting measles when you are a child is much better for you than contracting them when you are older as they can manifest into much worse conditions as you age.

Tuberculosis

Breeding grounds: Tuberculosis is common in developing nations, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. It’s also found in South America and Asia in less-developed regions. In these areas the disease can be especially difficult to treat. The required antibiotics are expensive, often beyond the means of the infected. There is a tuberculosis vaccine, called BCG. It was developed between 1905 and 1921, but many countries do not have access to sufficient amounts of the vaccine to make a big impact on rates of infection and control.

Influenza

Breeding grounds: Influenza is found everywhere. It peaks during the winter season in both hemispheres, breeding like crazy and flitting through the population. Flu vaccines, or “shots,” are available. They’re made on an almost yearly basis, using the most common influenza bugs at the time. They are fairly effective, but flu viruses are known for fast mutation rates and thus circumventing immunities. If you want to stay well this flu season, get your shot and remember to wash your hands frequently. Also keep your distance from the infected.

 

WAKE UP, RIGHT NOW !!













AN EXTREEM DEFORESTATION

A recent assessment by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) projects that orangutans will be virtually eliminated in the wild within two decades if current trends continue. Orangutans are native to the tropical forests of Indonesia and Malaysia, where rapid forest loss and degradation are threatening orangutans and other species, including the Sumatran tiger, the Sumatran rhinoceros and the Asian elephant.

[at the picture : Green area is tropical rain forest]