Any man can suffer from erectile dysfunction and although many people often think of the older generation when they think of this condition, it can happen to men at any age in their life. For any man, erectile dysfunction can be embarrassing but for younger men especially, it can have a significant impact on their self-esteem and stop them from getting intimate with new and current partners.

Around one in four men who are diagnosed with erectile dysfunction are under the age of 40, but the media often portrays this as an older man’s problem. If you think that you are suffering from erectile dysfunction and want to know why and how you can treat it, here we take a detailed look into the causes and treatments of erectile dysfunction in young men.

What is Erectile Dysfunction?

Erectile dysfunction is classed as the inability to maintain or get an erection. It is expected as you grow older to have some form of erectile dysfunction, but if it is affecting your sex life and having a bad impact on your mental health, it’s vital that you see a doctor who can help you get treatment and diagnose you with the condition. If you have trouble maintaining or getting an erection every so often, this is not necessarily erectile dysfunction, but it could be due to many factors including mood and substance misuse.

The process of getting an erection is more complicated than it sounds and there are many systems within the body that work together to send blood to the penis. To gain and maintain an erection, the body requires the nerves, hormones, brain, muscles and circulatory system to sync up. Due to this, it can be difficult to determine the cause, but below we look at some common causes in young men.

The Nervous System

The nerves have an important role to play in erectile dysfunction and it may be the issue that is causing your problems. If you have suffered any nerve damage, it could cause sexual problems that would not usually occur in your age group. This is not something that many doctors consider, although there are studies that have shown this is a vital area to assess when looking for a cause in young men.

The Brain

Our brain plays a massive role in our sexuality and the sexual feelings that we have, therefore it makes a lot of sense that the brain could be the reason behind your erectile dysfunction. For a lot of young men, erectile dysfunction is not due to a physiological problem, but a psychological one. Mental health issues including anxiety and depression can cause erectile dysfunction. If you have a big stressor going on in your life, or you suffer from a mental health problem, this could be the reason behind you struggling with erectile dysfunction.

There may be other psychological reasons behind your inability to get an erection, such as nerves, especially if you are getting intimate with a new partner for the first time. If you are worried about not being good enough for a partner or have other worries, this can lead the brain to focus on these, rather than the task at hand.

Hormonal Problems

In young men, one of the causes of erectile dysfunction is a hormonal imbalance. If you have low testosterone levels, you may struggle to get an erection. Likewise, too much or too little of the thyroid hormones can affect your sex drive. Some young athletes and bodybuilders who use steroids will find they suffer from erectile dysfunction and this is due to the fact that steroids can disrupt the usual functioning of the body and therefore affect hormone levels. There are many other causes, as well as risk factors for this condition. For an extensive list of these, click here.

Treatments for Erectile Dysfunction in Young Men

The cause of erectile dysfunction has a lot to do with what treatment should be used and what is available. In most cases, medication is used alongside lifestyle changes, but there are many new and innovative ways in which erectile dysfunction can be treated in young men. Here we look at two natural ways to beat the condition if medication is something you do not want to consider.

Changing Your Lifestyle

A healthier lifestyle leads to a healthier you, whether this is to improve your mental health to tackle your problem or to stop taking steroids to enable your hormones to go back to their normal levels. The correct lifestyle changes are sometimes all that is needed to tackle erectile dysfunction in young men. Reducing any stressors in your life can have an impact on your sex life, as can losing weight and exercising. Talking to a doctor before making these changes is advised, as it may be that another factor is causing your erectile dysfunction, and therefore making these lifestyle changes will not solve the problem at hand.

Other Therapies

As medicine and technology advances, medical professionals are finding new and better ways to treat and manage conditions, including erectile dysfunction. One of the newest ways in which treatments centers can treat erectile dysfunction is with Gainswave therapy. This is a natural therapy and is an alternative to taking medications or having surgery. This treatment uses sound waves to promote the growth of the penis and blood vessels, for a more natural way to treat the problem. Restoravita.com offer this new form of treatment for any young men who need help with their erections.

Take control of your life and speak to your doctor if you think you are suffering from erectile dysfunction. There is no need to suffer in silence – you are not alone, and there are many professionals out there that can aid you in overcoming this condition. Although it can feel embarrassing for a young man, there are plenty of treatments out there, so the sooner you determine the cause, the sooner you can get back to being yourself.