Erectile dysfunction is a major healthcare issue that affects every one in 10 men, and up to 20 percent of men between the ages of 40-70. Erectile dysfunction is defined as ‘the persistent inability to attain or maintain a penile erection sufficient to permit satisfactory sexual performance’. The prevalence of erectile dysfunction increases with age and is especially high among men with chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Erectile dysfunction is a serious condition that should be treated, as it can cause considerable distress and reduced quality of life.
What treatment options are available?
By now, most men will be familiar with the oral tablets, the so called PDE5 inhibitors like sildenafil, or tardenaphil that your doctor can prescribe (provided you do not take nitrate medication for angina). These are often very effective, but can come with some slightly unpleasant side effects like headache, visual disturbances, facial flushing and back pain. These tablets should be consumed ideally on an empty stomach and require sexual stimulation to activate their effect within two to six hours of ingestion. Very popular, these pills are readily available now through some online pharmacies. Beware of cheap counterfeit options from abroad though. Success with a pill requires relatively healthy penile tissue. If the severity of your erectile dysfunction is such that pills do not work, then you can consider penile injections. Not hugely pleasant to administer, penile injections are none-the-less the most effective drug-induced solution for erectile dysfunction. Working for approximately 80 percent of users with a natural looking and feeling erection, this option can last any where from 15 minutes to four hours and longer. Before you get too excited, an erection lasting four hours or more is deemed a medical emergency and requires A&E attendance.
More recently, it has become possible to drop a bead of active agent (alprostadil) into the urethra and activate the penile blood vessels from there—but success is limited as it is very difficult to ensure sufficient drugs pass through the thick urethral wall into the surrounding tissue.
A Vacuum Erection Device (VED) is the safest and most consistently successful non-invasive treatment option for your erectile dysfunction problem, applied in a totally natural way. Clinically proven to work for over 92 percent of men, a VED has none of the unpleasant side-effects associated with drug therapies (headaches, visual disturbances etc.) and is much more cost effective in the long-term. Plus, you can use your VED device as often as you want!
Essentially a mechanical solution, it mimics the effect of a natural erection by pulling arterial oxygenated blood into the external penis using a gentle vacuum effect. Some suppliers have as many as five cylinder sizes and four ring types to ensure correct customisation with your size parametres, and provide free hospital-based or home visit assessment and demonstration.
The advantage of a VED is that it gives you time to gently work the penis back to normal size (in your own time with two to three 10-minute practice sessions per week), reversing the shrinkage caused by chronic penile inactivity. The so-called ‘penis-gym’ effect is all about working the cells in the penile tissue back to normal activity and rebuilding healthy penile architecture. This can set the stage for better success with drug options and potentially a complete recovery when possible (age/medical background/pelvic surgery can complicate the chances of recovery).
How does it work?
Easily, in three simple steps:
- The penis is positioned inside device cylinder.
- Pumping periodically over a one to three-minute period pulls blood into the penis creating a fully rigid erection.
- An erection maintenance ring is transferred from the device cylinder to the base of the penis against the body wall. Removal of the cylinder allows full sexual intercourse to take place.
Finally, note that in most parts of the UK, doctors will be able to prescribe the options above if you have certain medical conditions eg. diabetes/history of prostate cancer/multiple sclerosis/radical pelvic surgery. These are called Schedule II conditions. However, some areas now require patients to self-fund all or most treatments.
We suggest you contact the sexual advice association: sexualadviceassociation.co.uk/ or Prostate Cancer UK: prostatecanceruk.org for further information.
Successful in over 92 percent of cases, SOMAerect Vacuum therapy is the drug-free, natural way to restore intimacy within seconds—giving you total control over the timing and duration of your erection.
Fully customisable, their next generation technology enables you to induce full penile engorgement comfortably every time and promote good penile health.
In fact, regular use often leads to a full return of natural function. Already used by millions of men worldwide, SOMAerect products can be used in complete safety with 100 percent consistency as many times per day as needed.
