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Do you have erectile dysfunction (ED), or just the typical occasional erection difficulty? Sometimes it can be difficult to discern between the two. There are several ways to figure out whether your problem is fleeting, or indicative of long-term erection health issues.
There is probably nothing that shakes a man’s self confidence more than the inability to achieve and maintain an erection when the need arises. The doubts triggered by such an experience go to the very essence of a man’s sense of what it is to be a man.
Few men make it through life without occasionally experiencing such a sinking moment, yet stressing over it unnecessarily certainly won’t help and may, in fact, lead to further difficulties in this very sensitive area.
Temporary Dysfunction
You’ve probably been told that temporary erection dysfunction can be traced to a host of causes, not the least of which is stress itself. However, others include having a little too much to drink, going for an extended period without sleep, taking medications that interfere with normal erection function, and fighting off illness.
Sadly, most men tend to be a little hesitant to discuss matters of erection and normal sexual function with their doctors. Generally speaking, men like to think that they have the resources to handle just about any problem on their own, and they are particularly reticent to talk about any perceived notions of erection dysfunction.
How to Identify Problem
So how do you know whether you’re having a real problem or not when it comes to achieving an erection? It’s not like a fever that can be measured by taking your temperature with a thermometer or a broken bone that prevents you from putting weight on your leg or hip.
Fortunately, there are a couple of tests you can run to help you determine whether you’ve got a physiological problem that’s interfering with your ability to achieve an erection or simply temporary fatigue or exhaustion that’s created an equally temporary problem.
One of the most widely used self-administered tests to diagnose erection dysfunction is the nocturnal penile tumescence test, or NPT. According to WebMD, most men each night have three to five erections during deep sleep, also known as REM (rapid eye-movement) sleep.
Take the Stamp Test
Also known as the stamp test, the NPT test is particularly helpful in the detection of erection dysfunction that is physiological in origin. It is less helpful in the diagnosis of erection dysfunction linked to psychological problems because even men with such problems are likely to have erections during deep sleep.
Although the NPT test can also be conducted in a sleep laboratory setting, it can easily be adapted for self use.
Preparing for the Test
To prepare for the test, you should avoid drinking alcohol or taking sedative or sleep-inducing medication for at least two nights prior to testing, according to HealthCentral.
For the test itself, you’ll need an unbroken strip of four to six stamps of any kind. The test should be run over the course of three consecutive nights, during which you should wear brief-type undershorts.
Before retiring, wrap the strip of stamps snugly around the shaft of your flaccid penis as it protrudes through the fly of your briefs. Try to keep pubic hair held against your body by the briefs so that it doesn’t get tangled up in the stamps. Overlap the strip of stamps, moistening the overlapping stamp so that it seals the ring around your penis. Once the ring of stamps has dried and is secure, carefully place your penis back inside the confines of your briefs, which should be worn throughout this test.
Checking for Results
The moment of truth comes in the morning when you check to see if the ring of stamps has been broken along one of the perforations during sleep. If so, it’s a hopeful sign that your equipment is in working order, at least physiologically.
Because the test is conducted over the course of three nights, breaking the ring of stamps on three successive nights is a pretty clear indication that there are no underlying physical obstacles to achieving and keeping a strong erection. However, failure to break the ring of stamps may be a sign that a medication you are taking is interfering with normal erection function or that your problem is psychological rather than physiological.
In any case, the evidence you’ll garner from the stamp test provides a good starting point for any discussion you may have with your personal physician or any other medical professional.
IIEF Questionnaires
Another test that is helpful involves an interactive questionnaire that is widely available online in a couple of different formats. Known as the International Index of Erectile Function, the questionnaire helps those who take it to determine if there is a problem of erection dysfunction and, if so, how severe a problem it may be.
In its shorter form, the IIEF-5 poses five questions about the subject’s sexual history during the previous six months with special attention paid to the quality of the erections he’s experienced during that time. For example, Question One gets to the heart of the matter by asking “how do you rate your confidence that you could get and keep an erection” over the previous six months.
Possible Responses
Possible responses to Question One range from Very Low to Very High. Other questions address the subject’s ability to achieve and keep an erection after stimulation and during intercourse. Each response is assigned a numerical value. At the conclusion of the test, the subject can gauge his level of erection dysfunction, if any, by totaling his numerical score and checking it against a scale that runs from Severe ED to No ED.
The 15-question format of the IIEF, which can be found at numerous websites online, begins with the same five questions although it directs the subject to confine his answers to his sexual history over the previous four weeks. Other questions in the IIEF-15 questionnaire involve overall enjoyment of sexual intercourse during the four-week period, whether ejaculation was achieved, level of sexual desire, and satisfaction of sexual relationship with partner.
Rating Erection Hardness
Also known as the Sexual Health Inventory for Men, the IIEF-15 questionnaire also asks subjects to rate the hardness of their erection. Possible responses range from “penis does not enlarge” to “penis is completely hard and fully rigid.”
If your findings from either the stamp test or one of the IIEF questionnaires indicate the likelihood that your erection difficulties are physiological in nature, your doctor has at his disposal a wide array of diagnostic tools. Taking these physician-supervised tests can help to pinpoint more precisely your problem so that steps can be taken through medication or other means to resolve your episode of erection dysfunction.
No matter what the source of your erection problem may be, don’t let stress make matters worse. There’s help out there and the sooner you decide to take action on your problem, the sooner you can find a solution.
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Don Amerman is a freelance author who writes extensively about a wide array of health-related topics.
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