Thirty Million! This staggering figure denotes the estimated number of men suffering from impotence in the US alone. The numbers keep rising and perhaps a lot of cases even go undetected. The incidence of impotence also known as Erectile Dysfunction increases with age, thus you will find number of people over the above the age group of 60, suffering from this condition.

So, what is the problem all about?

Impotence is the inability to attain and maintain erection that is required for satisfactory intercourse. In some men, the inability could be a total failure to achieve an erection while in others it may be an inconsistent ability to achieve one. Then again, some men may attain an erection but only for a brief while.

Such is the nature of the problem that most men would rather suffer in silence. Or worst come worst, they would indulge in self treatment by going in for one of the thousands of treatment methods and drugs that are advertised in the print and media these days. This does more harm than good as these methods almost never work out in the absence of medical expertise. These are only money making schemes since it is easy to dupe ignorant population that already has a very vulnerable side to it. A lot of people only come out in the open and seek medical help if it is interfering with conception and reproduction.

Let's start by getting a little familiar with the mechanism of how penis achieves an erection.

The process starts by a mental and, or a sensory stimulation. The impulses are transmitted from the brain via the spinal cord to the male organ or penis. The penis is a highly vascularized muscular organ. On getting the impulses, neurotransmitters are released and this relaxes the penile muscles and it fills up with blood. The engorged muscle inhibits or blocks the outflow of blood. This causes enlargement and stiffening of the organ.
Therefore, any problem with blood vessels, nerves and, or tissues of the penis can interfere with erection and cause dysfunction.

In sixty percent to seventy percent of the cases, the cause is some underlying disease. It's commonly associated with diabetes and kidney disease. Apart from that, the incidence is also seen in case of vascular diseases, multiple sclerosis, hypertension and atherosclerosis. Physical damage from injury or surgery in and around that area may also lead to impotence. It could be a result of injury to brain and spinal cord. It could also be drug induced as is in the case of antidepressants, tranquilizers, antihistamines and anti hypertensives. In ten to twenty percent of the cases the credit also goes to lifestyle related factors like stress, anxiety, obesity, alcoholism and smoking.

It's heartening to know that a lot of research has gone into this area and impotence is treatable. To a great extent, in many cases the situation is also temporary and resolves itself after due medical treatment. It is important to make information more readily available to people so that they can make some informed choices. It is best to approach a doctor without delay when suffering from impotence. Many a times, the psychological damage this condition causes is far greater than the actual physical affliction.