Words: Dr Naveen Kumar BOGGARAPU
Q: I’ve been told that homeopathy is safe and useful for erectile dysfunction [ED]. I’d appreciate it very much if you’d kindly advise.
— LP, Kolkata
Stress, tough work-life schedules, junk-food, sedentary habits and bioclocks gone ‘wide of the mark’ have led to a host of lifestyle diseases — big and small.
Erectile dysfunction is one among them.
Erectile dysfunction is a persistent or recurrent inability to attain, or maintain adequate penile erection, until completion of sexual activity. It was previously called impotence. Erectile dysfunction [ED], can affect men of all ages. The likelihood of developing ED increases with age; however, men as young as 18-20 years of age too seek treatment for this disorder.
The cause of erectile dysfunction is generally due to one of the two factors — psychological, or physical.
- Psychological factors include feelings of nervousness related to sex
- Feelings of inadequacy, stress at work, or home
- A troubled relationship with the partner may contribute to the problem, hindering normal sexual function.
Performance Anxiety
Performance anxiety is a common problem — this results from depression and anxiety related to sexual performance.
Other psychological causes include stress, anger and low self-esteem. A history of sexual abuse, guilt about sexuality and early homosexual experiences are other factors that can trigger sexual dysfunction.
Many physical factors and disorders can lead to erectile dysfunction, the most prevailing being high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol levels, vascular diseases [e.g., arteriosclerosis], diabetes, prostatic problems and so on.
In addition to these, erectile dysfunction may also present as a side-effect of medications, such as anti-histamines, anti-depressants and anti-hypertensives.
Conventional medication recommends psychotherapy and exercises to help increase the blood flow in the penis as also the releaseof hormones that act as mood elevators, besides oral drugs and hormonal treatments to correct ED. These methods often fail to take care of the cause, the origin of the disorder — besides, they carry the risk of side-effects.
Treatment
Mental, emotional and physical stresses normally predispose ED in many individuals. A majority of sexual dysfunctions are primarily psychogenic in origin; they are, therefore, sensitive topics for patients to discuss.
Homeopathy, a natural form of mind and body medicine, is ideally geared to treat and correct many of such subtle, underlying predispositions — safely and gently, without side-effects.
Homeopathic treatment depends upon the presenting symptoms of ED, along with the personality, or distinctive characteristics of the individual. It also takes into consideration the actual symptoms of erectile dysfunction [ED].
Homeopathy prescribes a suitable remedy based on individual symptoms — the remedies treat the root cause, as opposed to conventional drugs that treat the condition in general, and resolve them, safely, also gently, without side-effects.
