Cases of Erectile Dysfunction Without Medical Treatment
The common cases of erectile dysfunction can be treated without official medical treatment
Advertisements in which men casually talk to their urologists about erectile dysfunction are still mostly pure fiction.
Despite the fact that there is a wide range of options when it comes to treating problems with potency, according to a new study: most men with erectile dysfunction do not undergo prescribed medical treatment.
Dr. Brian Helfand, an assistant professor of clinical urology at Northshore University Health Center and the University of Chicago, believes that treatments for erectile dysfunction are underused.
He says that only 25% of men with this problem accept the help of a doctor.
Helfand conducted a study with medical records of more than 6 million men with erectile dysfunction.
Examining the database of insured persons in the period from June 2010 to July 2011, it was found that 6.2 million men aged 30 and older suffer from erectile dysfunction, defined as the inability to achieve the erection necessary for satisfactory sexual intercourse.
He then compared these data with those who received prescriptions for drugs that treat this disease, such as Viagra and Cialis, but also for other dThe age of the men as well as other health problems were also taken into account.
It is known that erectile dysfunction is more frequent with age, and it has been shown that older men find it most difficult to opt for medical treatment.
Only 18% of members aged 65 and over undergo medical treatment for potency problems.
By reviewing medical conditions that can lead to erectile dysfunction, Helfand observed that men with a diagnosis of prostate cancer in the least number (15%) of cases medically treat erectile dysfunction rugs, such as substitutes for male sex hormones.
If patients were diagnosed with erectile dysfunction and did not get a prescription for medication, they were considered medically untreated.
The age of the men, as well as other health problems, were also taken into account.
It is known that erectile dysfunction is more frequent with age, and it has been shown that older men find it most difficult to opt for medical treatment.
Only 18% of members aged 65 and over undergo medical treatment for potency problems.
By reviewing medical conditions that can lead to erectile dysfunction, Helfand observed that men with a diagnosis of prostate cancer in the least number (15%) of cases medically treat erectile dysfunction.
This study does not offer data on the reasons why men rarely opt for medical help in dealing with the problem of erectile dysfunction.
But Helfand believes that some of the reasons may lie in the fact that doctors often do not prescribe drugs for the treatment of erectile dysfunction or patients who take a prescription do not use them.
Other reasons, in his opinion, include the costs that these drugs entail and – shame.
One expert in this field believes that these data do not reflect the real situation.
“The conclusion from this study, which is that three-quarters of men diagnosed with erectile dysfunction are not treated, does not match what we encounter in clinical practice,” said Dr. Jacob Reiffer, a professor of urology at David Geffen University School of Medicine. in California.
“If you want to know how many men are being treated and how many are not, it is necessary to interview people,” Rifer said.
“Men don’t go to pharmacies maybe because those drugs are expensive, or they find them in other ways – abroad or online.”
Another urology professor at the University of Kansas, Ajay Nangia, comments on the results of this study and states that the price can really be a big problem, but not to a significant extent, considering that some of the drugs for erectile dysfunction cost around 4 dollars per pill.
“It’s getting easier to talk about things like this,” Nangia says.
However, it turns out that most men still have a problem with starting this topic, which may be part of the cause of untreated erectile dysfunction.
