The Hard Truth: 5 Misleading Myths About ED

The Hard Truth

It’s easy to be swooned by the several myths about erectile dysfunction that surface in bars and fantasy draft chat rooms. But given the sensitivity of the topic, men tend to lose their heads (the one on your shoulders).

So before you start believing that things like shockwave therapy and Gainswave electrocute your testes, or that eating raw eggs makes you more lustful, let’s explore and debunk the five most misleading myths about erectile dysfunction.

1. Age Matters

Erectile dysfunction does occur for many men at older ages and the occurrence of ED does increase as men age, however, ED rates have increased during the last twenty to thirty years, especially among younger men. According to a study from the Journal of Sexual Medicine, one out of every four erectile dysfunction patients is under 40 years old.

2. ED is Uncommon

Erectile dysfunction is one of the most common sexual problems for men. In the U.S.,
approximately 15 to 30 million men have been diagnosed at some point in their lives. Luckily, treatments for ed like shockwave therapy are just as abundant, offering men plenty of options to choose from.

3. Healthy men don’t experience ED

Yes, men who are in poor health are at higher risk of ED. However, achieving an erection is a complex process involving psychological impulses from the brain, adequate levels of the male sex hormone testosterone, a functioning nervous system, and adequate and healthy vascular tissue in the penis.

Men with no medical conditions can still experience psychosocial or psychological ED due to life stressors, medications, drinking, recreational drugs and other factors that impact this complex process.

4. ED is permanent

Many men may experience ED temporarily during certain periods of their life. As men grow older, the tissues in the vascular and nervous systems that play a part in erections, along with hormones, tend to decline.

However, treating low hormones (testosterone) or repatterning the vascular tissue of the penis (shockwave therapy) to open up blood vessels, changing medications that may interfere with libido and erections, decreasing stress, increasing activity level, getting better sleep, losing weight, “retraining your brain,” and eating well can all improve and often completely treat erectile dysfunction.

5. The only treatment option is the “little blue pill”

Viagra (the little blue pill) has been a great treatment option for ED. However, not only are there many other medications available to treat ED in different ways, but there are also emerging treatments that are proving to be effective as well. Injectable therapy and low-intensity shock wave therapy are currently being used as treatment choices.

When it comes to separating fact from fiction, it’s best to reference an erectile dysfunction specialist. Don’t lose your “head” over something you heard someone say when all you have to do is ask an Austin urologist about it.