Erection problems
Common beliefs about erection problems
Erection problems are uncommon
This is untrue – most men simply do not talk about it. A survey sponsored by the pharmaceutical company Pharmacia & Upjohn found that more than 1 in 4 of the UK male population over the age of 16 has experienced erectile disorder to some degree. Of these, over half experienced the problem as one-off incidents and a quarter suffered erectile disorder most or all of the time. There are probably 20 million men with erection problems in the USA, and 2–3 million in the UK.
Erection problems are usually psychological
This is an old-fashioned view; impotence is most commonly due to a physical cause.
Testosterone injections/patches are a good cure for erection problems
Testosterone is of use only in the uncommon situation the man has a proven shortage of testosterone.
Viagra-type drugs work for everyone
These drugs are successful in only 50–80% of cases.
Erectile failure (also called impotence or erectile dysfunction) means that you cannot achieve or maintain an erection of the penis sufficient for sexual intercourse. Sex drive is often normal. Impotence can occur at any age, but becomes more common with increasing age. Because the average age of the population is getting older, experts predict that by the year 2010 almost half the men in the UK will have erection problems. But impotence is not inevitable with ageing – 40% of 90-year-old men are able to have a normal erection.
Written by: Dr Margaret Stearn
Edited by: Dr Margaret Stearn
Last updated:
Thursday, June 10th 2010
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Comments on this article
Posted by Optional on 25/07/2010 at 01:43:59 pm
my frnd kicked me on my penis n from then there is no erection. and my penis has been dribbling since then. what should i do.is there no solution.
Posted by Optional on 19/07/2010 at 08:22:44 am
I am facing erectile problem. Not getting a hard stand and do not get a proper size. Is their a permanent solution for this. Please help with a permanent solution.
Posted by Optional on 19/07/2010 at 05:16:56 am
why men of indian origin do not have a sexual drive at 50
Posted by nicholas on 18/07/2010 at 07:38:52 am
my problem in the part underthe penis idonot know this part in english got a pain and water in the glands but now iam week if i do sex
Posted by Vicky on 21/06/2010 at 10:04:04 pm
I am 43 years of Male, and Diabetic for almost 10 years. I was having normal married life for almost 18 years. Recently I started the Medicanes to control the Diabetes, since then I am having Problem of Eraction During the Sexual Relations. What may be the cause behind this Problem ? Kindly Advice.
Posted by karen on 15/06/2010 at 04:54:24 pm
to masterbat 31 5 2010.hello.your promblem has nothing to do with sex or how you have sex.your promblem is this you have became addited to excessive masturbation....masturbation has become a drug to you.your excessive masturbating has produced the side effect that you can no longer perform sex.you should see a sexlogyist....karen
Posted by masterbat on 31/05/2010 at 12:42:29 pm
hi, they say a person does not know what he/she has until it is gone. I have a problem and keeping it a secret is killing me. first i have a history of masturbating excessively. i had a very good erection until this year, i noticed that at the early onset of the problem my erection started to disappear. normally when i am with a woman i have erection that were wonderful, but early before the main dysfunction i notice it was hard for me to get the erection i usually got when with a woman. I forced my self without the use of any stimulant to get one and everything was then ok i continued getting an erection. i then noticed that my sperm were usually not motile. it was about 7 months back that i had the real problem, while having sex doggy style the girl came forcfully back causing pain to my penis and i felt a sharp pain at the back close to my sacrum. i stayed for day without getting na erection, then i started to my masturbate frequently every day because it was the only thing that kept me sane. i am having a real problem dealing with it. this has led to venous congestion and erection is only with masturbation even though i get weak erections from the use of viagra
Posted by Optional on 03/05/2010 at 05:58:58 pm
I am a 23 yr old male who suffers problems with my erection. I do get erections but when i need to have sexual intercourse with a female on most occassions i fail to get erect. This happens me on most occassions. I would be erect but when i go about inserting my penis inside her im not hard enough. This has happened me on several occassions. I do not have a regular sexual partner. most of these situations have been one night stands. Im very embarassed about this situation and dont feel i can work up the courage to speak to my GP about my situation.
Posted by pravin on 22/04/2010 at 11:40:19 am
sir i have erection problem,my penis not erecting properly and when i am doing mastrubate suddently occur.please give guidance for this.. thanx
Posted by Gary on 20/04/2010 at 11:46:31 am
I was a late comer to the world of sex but during my first few times I had trouble getting hard. I'm not sure if it was nerves or just that I had been drinking but I am worried it may happen again. Not taking any alcohol would be an unrealsitic option
Posted by bob on 18/04/2010 at 03:10:30 pm
i have been having erection problums for the larst 2 weeks my pines dose not feel it self its like i cang feel it. i have been takening viagra evry week or so before my piens was like this after i started taking viagr my pines feelt like this like it is very tierd and dose not want to go up can you help me.
Posted by Jake on 08/04/2010 at 05:25:13 am
hi, me and my girlfriend have tryed to have sex but couldn`t because I couldn't get completely hard. I can get an erection when I masturbate but I just cant before trying to have sex. please help me
Posted by Optional on 23/03/2010 at 04:23:25 pm
hi i`m 17 years old, me and my girlfriend have tryed to have sex but couldn`t because i could get fully hard. i can get completly erect when masterbating but i seem not to before trying to have sex. please help
Posted by Khan on 04/03/2010 at 06:39:10 pm
My name is Khan, i am 22 years old, bechlor student my problem is i am suffering from penis erection. my penis doesn't erect very hard. please can u help me out?
Posted by L on 18/02/2010 at 12:26:28 am
I've known my boyfriend for about 2 years and for a while he had a problem with "getting up" (erection). Were ok now i used to think it was because of me,the problem now is when we use condoms it's much harder for him to get an erection. Does anyone know what the problem is?
Posted by Bob on 09/02/2010 at 02:28:00 pm
ED is there any help at my age i have high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes
Posted by Vikzz on 31/01/2010 at 02:26:00 pm
I feel I have ED since it erection is not always possible . I have heard of medicine called VigRx Plus . I wish to know how safe is it to consumer and if it has any side effects ?
Posted by Qqqqqq on 30/01/2010 at 04:38:00 pm
Is it advisable to take sexual enhancement pills / dry fruits/ or any herbal medicine to maintain the strength, even if a person doesnt have any erectile problem. or will it make adicted to those things.
Posted by graham on 26/01/2010 at 08:41:00 pm
can i take viagra when am taking blood presure tablets
Posted by girmaaa jabeessaa on 16/01/2010 at 08:22:00 pm
wow i am sorry i have same problem that i did not want to speak. here is it when want to play agame with my girl freand my pines denayed to errect what shall i do?
Posted by Q on 05/01/2010 at 10:57:00 pm
ok I Know I'm young but my boyfriend and I have a really healthy relationship and his problem is not getting an erection...its keeping it once we start having sex..i've talked to him about it but i'm not sure what else to do...
Posted by zozo on 01/01/2010 at 07:21:00 pm
i have erection problem but my main concern is my manhood is getting small and small i lost my normal size please help
Posted by Anonymous on 29/10/2009 at 09:37:00 pm
i tore something in my penis,its shorter and somewhat bent and i can feel some scaring at the base which i think is causing the problem,i need a specialist int the houston area.
Posted by Anonymous on 22/10/2009 at 10:21:00 pm
Mer & my boyfriend have been going out for a while now, about 8 months. We started off slow due to his shyness but we're now ok. We had sex at 3 months, whilst under the influence of alcohol, and didnt have it since. But recently we've had 4 attempts at having sex and each one resulted in us not having it because my boyfriend couldnt get an erection. He says its nerves. but i feel its my fault.. what do i do??
Posted by gary on 07/10/2009 at 12:30:00 pm
hi iam worried about my erection .jist before i and my girlfreind are about to have sex i start to worry i wont be able to get an erection or if i do hold on to it .thats wen i start to panic abot not being able to satasfi her. weeve been going out for 2 months now ive had alot ov sexual partners b4 and not had this problem so why now? this causes me to either not get an erection or not hold on to it .i find it alot easier if ive had a drink because i feel more relaxed why can i no be like that wen ive not had alcohol ?
Posted by lewis on 13/09/2009 at 04:10:00 pm
hi, i am very worried about a small roblem i have regarding recent routine explorotory surgery on my right testicle as there was speculation that it was twisted. the surgery showed that my testicle was not twisted but i had a bruising of the epididimus and there was a blood clot inside my scrotum. i had surgery friday night (11th sept 2009) and am still recovering, however i cannot get a full erection and sustain it. is this just because of my recent surgery and is temporary or will this become an underlying problem? thanks alot for your time lewis
Posted by lynn on 11/09/2009 at 10:50:00 am
my partner has a problem keeping a erectoin when makeing love and i,am beging to think that i,am the problen and that i do not turn him no,we do not make love from one month to the next,and this is making me think that he not interested in me.
Posted by n/a on 06/09/2009 at 04:10:00 pm
my parner is having problems keeping it up during sex and we dont no what to he says its not me but i dont no what else could be causing it??
Posted by shameless on 20/08/2009 at 04:44:00 pm
am 35 been having errection problems for a bout 5mth now it get hardish but if i put in partner it soon goes soft .its very stressfull. the only way is 2 masterbate and then its not all ways as hard as it was befor
Posted by Joe.S on 12/08/2009 at 06:09:00 pm
I have an erection problem where i do get errect but it isnt as hard as it could be and then if i try put him in my partners Vagina, it isn't hard enought to go in or if i do get it in, it comes out easily :/
Posted by Anonymous on 02/08/2009 at 02:45:00 pm
after 25 sessions of radio therapy on my bowel and a number of cancer operations not only can i not sustain an erection it is only half the size of befor is there anything i can do
Posted by simon on 28/07/2009 at 02:27:00 pm
I have Erection problems most of time I make sex 2 or 3 min. what can I do? pleas help me Thanks a lot Simon
Posted by Anonymous on 22/07/2009 at 04:44:00 pm
My current boyfriend is having errection problems and i dont know wot to do to help his only young and i feel its my fault.
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