| Don't get mad - get a doctor
Tuesday, 07 Aug 2006
Here’s the word that strikes real terror into every
man’s heart, and deflates more than his ego.
Impotence. Or erectile
dysfunction, as it’s known nowadays.
It’s the Darth Vader of men’s sexuality and probably
the most feared word in a modern male’s vocabulary.
Despite intensive
focus over the past few years, and the introduction of
Viagra, Levitra and Cialis (what I call Lazarus drugs, because
they raise the supposedly dead),
impotence is still a word few men will ever let pass their
lips. Especially when it comes to their own sexual performance.
Despite the contention
according to medical studies that 50% of men have difficulty
maintaining an erection at some time in their lives, few men
will admit it.
It’s true that Playboy’s Hugh Hefner has become
the poster boy for admitting publicly he takes Viagra. But,
notably, he never ever says he needs to. Hey, who can blame
him for basking in the amazement and envy he gets at 80 years
old,
stating he regularly services
several young beauties. Maybe he takes it intravenously.
But for the average guy, having erection problems often causes
him such deep emotional trauma, despair and insecurity, he’s
terrified of anyone knowing.
Even his own partner.
That is a tragedy — not just for him but his partner
as well, as refusing to acknowledge impotence can cause irreparable
harm to an intimate relationship.
In the case of a wife, it’s often the case that she
blames herself, feels rejected, guilty or betrayed as she
can’t figure out why sex has stopped. But, hey, if your
guy can’t perform in bed, don’t get mad —
get him a doctor!
Especially as it’s now known that hiding such a major
problem can be physically very dangerous.
It’s always been known ED can be a link to other serious
health issues such as diabetes, but the newest studies from
the American Urology Association show it can be an early warning
signal for upcoming cardiovascular disease, even if there
are no symptoms yet.
“If a man is experiencing ED, he should definitely
have his cardiovasular risk factors investigated,” says
Dr. Miguel Llano, a physician at the Canadian Men’s
Clinic, specializing in erectile difficulties.
Although there are a number of different medical treatments
at the moment for ED —
including the pill trio (Viagra etc.) vacuum devices, surgical
treatment and personal injection therapy (despite the wince-making
thoughts, one of the most successful of all the treatments)
— Dr. Llano states that the future (maybe 2011) will
involve gene therapy.
Spearheaded by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New
York, gene therapy is a
genetic and cell-based technology that acts very differently
from the drugs in Viagra, Cialis and Levitra.
Dr. Llano explains: “Gene therapy relaxes the smooth
muscle cells by blocking the calcium. Without calcium ions
present, smooth muscle cells relax and the tissue will then
also relax. This allows blood to flow in and produce an erection.”
So, paradoxically, a penis has to relax internally in order
to stiffen up with blood flow.
But while the focus has been intense in recent years on male
impotence, solutions to the growing problem of female sexual
dysfunction, while not totally disregarded, have been less
successful.
After their attempts to create a Viagra pill for women failed,
Pfizer basically said that, since satisfactory sex for women
is obviously more “in the head” than “in
the parts,” a pill wasn’t the answer.
Of course not. Women need love and romance.
That, and lots and lots of good foreplay.
Source: http://torontosun.com/Lifestyle/SM/Gibson_Valerie/2006/08/06/1722432.html |
