Steps to Maintain a Good Sexual Health

Sexual health today, is nothing more than an expression of your general state of health.

If your libido is falling, if you have erectile dysfunction, or painful intercourse, you probably have other conditions affecting your general health.

Conditions that Affect Your Sexual Health

There are a few conditions that obviously affect directly your sexual health:

Overall state of your health

Obesity (being overweight)

Sexually transmitted diseases

Self-Image

Impotence

Lack of sexual satisfaction

What can be done about these?

1. If you are overweight, you must go on a diet and stick to it. There is no substitute. Overweight people have a decreased libido. Seek help, do what you have to do, but lose some weight. You will see your sexual health improving in direct relation to the weight loss.

2. Exercise is indispensable for sexual health. Whatever your condition is, make a daily effort to exercise, and in the least condition, walk. Walking is one of the best exercises known. It will help you to lose weight as well. Your exercise will help you boost your testosterone levels and this will increase your libido, and sexual ability.

3. Besides dieting, choose foods that promote sexual health. Make a red list (things not to eat) and a green list (things to eat). The red list will contain foods that are on your diet as forbidden, but also can contain red meat, junk foods, anything fried, things not fresh, hard alcohol, and other foods that do not promote general health. Your green list will contain lots of fresh foods, fruits and vegetables, fresh fish, and green tea, for example.

4. Examine your lifestyle. Are you getting enough rest? Rest and relaxation are crucial to overall health as well as sexual health. Your mood and outlook improves when you are rested and relaxed. You have to include chill out periods during your day, no matter how busy you are, and also sufficient sleep.

5. A major cause in the decline of sexual and general heath is stress. You must, for the sake of both your general health and sexual health, learn stress management techniques.

Finally you must make a good examination of your whole lifestyle. Are you living the way you really wish to? If your lifestyle is not promoting your sexual and general health in an acceptable manner, you have to begin to think about changing it. Self-examination is very good for each person, and you can simply sit down by yourself, before you sleep and review your day.

All of the above affects your sexual health in one way or another. If you want to be healthy and happy, you must start now to guard your sexual health.

How are erection problems treated?

How are erection problems diagnosed?

Your doctor can find out if you have an erection problem by asking questions about your health and doing a physical exam. Your doctor will want to know if the problem happens all the time or just from time to time. The exam, lab tests, and sometimes mental health tests can help find out the cause of the problem.

How are they treated?

There are a number of treatments for erection problems. Doctors usually start with lifestyle changes and medicines.

They usually don't advise surgery or other treatments unless those first steps don't help.

Treatment can include:

• Making lifestyle changes, such as avoiding tobacco, drugs, and alcohol. It may also help to talk about the issue with your partner, do sensual exercises, and get counseling.

• Finding and then stopping medicines tha t may be causing the problem. In some cases you can take a different medicine that does not cause erection problems.

• Taking prescription medicine that can help you get erections. These include pills such as sildenafil (Viagra), tadalafil (Cialis), and vardenafil (Levitra). Check with your doctor to see if it is safe for you to take one of these medicines with your other medicines. These can be dangerous if you have heart disease that requires you to take nitroglycerin or other medicines that contain nitrates.

• Taking medicines and getting counseling for depression or anxiety.

• Using vacuum devices or getting shots of medicine into the penis.

• Having surgery to place an implant in the penis.

Can you prevent erection problems?

Because erection problems are most often caused by a physical problem, it’s important to eat healthy foods and get enough exercise to help you stay in good health.

To reduce your risk of having an erection problem, do not smoke, drink too much alcohol, or use illegal drugs.

You may be able to avoid erection problems related to anxiety and stress by talking with your partner about your concerns. This may help you relax.

Erectile Dysfunction - Signs and Symptoms

What Are the Symptoms

Erectile dysfunction is the inability of the penis to become sufficiently rigid to engage in and complete sexual intercourse. It is not specifically known how many men have erectile dysfunction but it is far more common than many realize. Reliable estimates suggest that one of every ten men will suffer the problem at some time during his lifetime.

The problem may manifest itself in several ways. If the dysfunction:

· Is appearing only occasionally, the problem is not likely to be serious; all men experience problems with erections at some time in their lives.

· Develops gradually and persistently, there is probably a physical cause; this is generally the case with chronic impotence.

· Develops abruptly but you still have early-morning erections and are able to have an erection while masturbating, the problem is likely to have a psychological component.

When to seek medical advice

It is recommended that you see your GP if erectile dysfunction persists for more than several weeks. Many websites offer treatments for ED, medications like Viagra and Cialis.

Even if the medications that are offered by websites are genuine, such as Sildenafil (Viagra), these tablets are not suitable for everyone. Therefore, you should only take medication for ED that has been specifically prescribed for you by your GP.

If you have ED, your GP should assess your general state of health because the condition can be the first sign of more serious health conditions, such as heart disease.