Erectile dysfunction

Does ED always need treatment?

No. Sometimes making lifestyle adjustments can make it go away. If you drink a lot of alcohol, smoke cigarettes, or take recreational drugs, curbing these habits can help with erections.

Being overweight can be a factor in ED too, so eating a healthy diet and exercising more is a good solution as well.

You might get erectile dysfunction if you’re anxious about sex. And talking to someone about it, whether it’s your partner, a friend or a therapist, can make all the difference. If you find that having conversations about it doesn’t help though, medication may be recommended.

Which erectile dysfunction pills are best?

It’s down to personal choice on your part really, and your health background.

Viagra is a household name and has been around the longest, and some would argue it’s the most successful treatment for ED.

The generic, Sildenafil, is less expensive, but has the same active ingredient in it, and functions in the same way in the body. Manforce, Suhagra are other ED treatments containing the same ingredient — Sildenafil.

The benefit of Tfil (Tadalafil) is that you only have to take one and it stays active for up to 36 hours (other ED drugs average about 4 or 5 hours).

There’s also a smaller dose version of this designed to be taken every day. With the everyday version, you’re ‘ready to go’ all the time, and you don’t have to wait around for the drug to take effect (it takes half an hour to an hour for most others). Tadalafil (Tfil), is cheaper and works in exactly the same way.

As well as being a licensed treatment for ED, Tadalafil is an approved option for BPH (or benign prostatic hyperplasia) which is when you have an enlarged prostate. So if you experience BPH and ED, Tadalafil can treat both conditions.

Varimax (Vardenafil) is another ED treatment that starts to work within 30 minutes after you take it. It’s a good option for men who want a quick-acting drug, but don’t want to take something every day.

Erectile dysfunction sprays

If you can’t take ED tablets because of their side effects or due to an existing health condition, or if you’d just prefer not to use them, there are prescription sprays available too like Vigore.

You apply this spray to the opening of your urethra (the opening at the tip of your penis) and the active ingredient in it, sildenafil, relaxes the blood vessels in your penis. Once the blood vessels are more dilated, more blood can flow into your penis, and this allows you to get an erection.

So using ED sprays is a bit different to taking ED tablets. They work faster than ED tablets (effective within 5-10 minutes of use, rather than between quarter of an hour and an hour). From a spontaneity point of view then, it’s a pretty strong option.

How do ED medicines work?

By improving circulation of blood to the penis, doctors can help treat impotence in men.

When you are aroused, your brain sends signals to the blood vessels near the penis. These then widen and allow blood to flow in making it firm and erect. Other vessels then tighten to keep the blood there.

Erectile dysfunction happens when blood vessels at the base of the penis don’t widen and blood is not able to get in. An enzyme called PDE5 causes this which makes vessels too restrictive.

Impotence medicines block the effects of PDE5 on the blood vessels near the penis. The vessels then open up and allow blood to flow in. This helps men get a hard and erect penis which lasts long during sex.