Erectile Dysfunction Health Video

Erectile dysfunction or ED is the inability of a man to maintain a firm erection long enough to have sex. Erectile dysfunction is generally found in older men but can occur at any age. Learn about the different causes, symptoms, and treatments of erectile dysfunction in this video.

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Contact a doctor for erectile dysfunction
Symptoms may mean a more severe condition
Address any blood flow problem
Discuss treatment options with your doctor

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Dr. Davis is one of San Francisco's finest house call specialist physicians and has been providing house calls and office visits to the Bay Area since 2005. His practice is built upon the philosophy that excellent customer service and excellent patient care go together. Dr. Davis works out of a charming 100-year-old Victorian home, and he believes that healing should begin when you walk in the door. While trained in modern medicine, Dr. Davis also has a deep appreciation of cultural anthropology, the natural sciences, and philosophy all of which he integrates with his medical practice. Dr. Davis received his MD from the University of Florida and completed his Family Practice residency at Lehigh Valley Family Practice. He has also lived, studied, and traveled abroad extensively, including for one year in Beijing, China, where he studied and practiced the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture.

JUSTIN C. K. DAVIS, MD: Hi, I am Dr. Justin Davis and today, I am going to describe to you the condition known as erectile dysfunction or sometimes referred to as impotence. Erectile dysfunction or "ED" is a condition where a man is unable to maintain an erection in order to have successful intercourse. Now, do not panic if this happens too occasionally because it really happens to all man on occasion but what specifically erectile dysfunction describes is when on a consistent basis, not even 25% of the time, are you able to get a successful erection and there are many underlying causes for erectile dysfunction or impotence and some of these are very highly treatable and important to diagnose because they may belie other conditions that are underlying. And what I mean by this, for example, is that the process by which a man gets an erection is when the blood flow to the penis increases, the smooth muscle of the penis relaxes and the blood is able to go into a very spongy-like tissue and it becomes engorged thereby causing an erection. Well, if something is causing this blood flow not to be able to go into the penis, thereby causing erectile dysfunction or impotence, then that can let you know that there is another problem that may be affecting blood flow. An example of this could be severe heart disease. Another example would be diabetes or even prediabetes. So again, if you have this problem, it is important not to ignore it, not only because there is a lot of potential treatments for it, but because it is important to diagnose if you may have another serious underlying condition. Now, the symptom of erectile dysfunction, of course everyone knows the major symptom which is not being able to get an erection; however, again, don't forget that this will happen to most men on occasion but it is the consistent inability to maintain an erection that really describes it as a disease process. The treatment these days, number one, is to identify the underlying cause so, for if example, you have a problem with blood flow, then it is very important to address that blood flow problem or that cardiac problem, diabetes problem, whatever it may be and treat that first or other instances, erectile dysfunction may be secondary or caused by a low testosterone level. So, the treatment in that case would be to give a hormone testosterone so that it is at a normal level. But regardless of the cause, there are certain medicines designed today that can enhance the blood flow to the penis, thereby causing easier to get and maintain an erection. These are commonly known as Cialis, Levitra, and Viagra. All these work in a similar way and can benefit many men regardless of the cause who have erectile dysfunction. There are also some other less well-known ways to correct the problem of impotence or erectile dysfunction that involve injecting certain kinds of medicines or inserting very small medicines into the tip of the penis; there are potential surgeries that can be done as a last resort and even some devices are made that create a suction around the penis which can actually draw blood into the penis causing an erection and then a ring will be put at the base of the penis trapping the blood there long enough to have successful intercourse. So again, whatever the underlying condition is that may be causing your ED or impotence, then make sure you let a doctor know because we want to be able to treat the underlying cause and we also want to help you be able to maintain a normal and healthy sex life.

Erectile Dysfunction Health Video

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