Erectile dysfunction can affect a man at any age or at any time. ED is a problem that can be experienced by all men, no matter what their sexual preference, heterosexual or homosexual, or current situation, whether single or in a relationship.

Medically speaking there are two types of erectile dysfunction; primary and secondary. Primary ED is experienced by less than 10% of the males that have erectile dysfunction.

Primary ED is used categorize those males which have never been able to either achieve or sustain an erection in which they can satisfactory engage in sexual intercourse.

Secondary ED, in which the majority of those experiencing this problem, refers to men that previously were able to participate in sexual intercourse however now are experiencing problems.

As men get older, the possibility that a man will experience some type of erectile dysfunction increases. This can occur for a number of reasons including chronic medical conditions, disease or injuries.

Also, as men age they may require more sexual stimulation in order to achieve and erection than they have in the past. This natural effect from the aging and should not be confused with either a loss in sexual attraction, sexual disinterest or ED.

Erectile dysfunction has many causes and a variety of treatment. Most causes of non-temporary erectile dysfunction are physical in nature. These can be from disease, injury or side effect from a drug; anything that can cause a disruption in the nerve impulses from the brain to the area around the penis or in the muscle response to these impulses.

These physical causes affect the ability of the body to either maintain blood flow in the penis, or prevent the blood flow. Also, damage to the nerve impulses received at the penis can be a contributing factor. Diseases such as diabetes, kidney disease, multiple sclerosis, vascular disease, atherosclerosis, chronic alcoholism and other neurological diseases are reported to cause more than 70% of the ED cases.

It has been reported that about 10% of the men experiencing erectile dysfunction have some kind of psychological cause. Psychological causes that can bring on erectile dysfunction include anxiety, guilty or depression.

It has been shown that performance anxiety can often significantly negatively contribute to the effects of erectile dysfunction and make treating the problem even more difficult.

There are a wide variety of treatments for ED. Some of the more common are:

Chemical Medications: Viagra and similar drugs works directly to expand the arteries and allow greater blood flow to the penis. This increased blood flow will cause an erection when sexually aroused.

Penile Injections: The patient or his partner injects a powerful muscle relaxant into the base of the penis. This causes the muscle tissue to relax and allows increased blood into the penis causing an erection.

Penile Implants: This is an irreversible surgical procedure. There are various types of implants but the most common is the inflatable. The inflatable model is implanted into the penis with a saline reservoir and pump either in the abdomen or scrotum. When inflated by the pump, fluid from the reservoir flows into the inflatable balloons, creating an erection.