Men with erectile dysfunction need psychological help

The Vice President of the Ghana Psychological Association, Pastor Albright Benibensu, has asked men suffering from erectile dysfunction (ED) to seek psychological help.

He told the Ghana News Agency that while some ED conditions were medical, most cases were psychological and advised men with the condition not to avoid psychologists to avoid substance abuse.

Erectile dysfunction, according to John Hopkins Medicine, is a persistent inability to achieve or maintain a penile erection sufficient for satisfactory sexual performance.

Controllable risk factors include obesity, lack of exercise, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and smoking.

Rev. Benibensu said in Ghana, erectile dysfunction is largely caused by increased stress and misinformation about sexuality that causes performance anxiety.

“Economic pressure, work pressure, long commutes, housing problems and noise pollution all expose men to ED. There is so much noise in the environment, making it difficult for men to concentrate during sex,” he said.

Rev. Benibensu said among most Ghanaian couples, ED is the third cause of marital problems, leading to divorce in some cases.

He said misinformation about sex and advertorials about aphrodisiacs in the media were a major problem and urged men to be careful about their sexuality.

Dr. Kelvin Owusu, a wellness consultant at Violet’s Medical Center, a private healthcare facility in Accra, said the uncontrolled and continued use of alcoholic and non-alcoholic aphrodisiacs in the form of bitters, dried herbs and pills can worsen erectile dysfunction.

He said the composition of these aphrodisiacs can also predispose men to health complications such as kidney and liver dysfunction or failure.

“When it comes to sex, exercise and healthy living are the best aphrodisiacs. Your sexual performance depends on the health of your heart. If your heart is healthy, your sexual performance will improve naturally. Taking long-lasting drugs during sex puts pressure on the heart and can lead to death during the act,” he said.

Dr. Owusu said ED is also the body’s way of signaling men to monitor and improve their health, eat right, exercise regularly and get enough rest, adding: “Your sexual performance is part of your holistic health , once you’re healthy, your waistline will also do the job”.

He said that every man would experience ED at some point in life, depending on what he or she was going through, and that research had also shown that penetrative sex would only last three to six minutes.

The International Index on Erectile Function (IIEF) says that in 1995 there were more than 152 million men worldwide suffering from erectile dysfunction and projects that by 2025 approximately 322 million men will have erectile dysfunction, an increase of almost 170 million, with Africa largely affected is becoming.

Dr. Owusu said non-communicable diseases such as hypertension and diabetes expose men to ED due to complications or poor treatment of the diseases, explaining that “hypertension will cause ED, the treatment of hypertension can cause ED, but ED caused by the medication can be corrected.”

The sale of sex enhancers is a growing business for many, especially drinking bars and herbalists. Some people also prepare their brews.

Kwame Amanfo, a civil servant, told the Ghana News Agency that he had his own mixtures to enhance sexual pleasure.

“… not the ones advertised on the market, I have herbs, I prepare them myself with alcohol and it is very effective,” he said.

A commercial driver, Master Karkari, said: “There is a medicine that I take, it comes from China, the medicine is a supper, if you take it you can have sex with a woman until the next day and you will still being hard.”

Mr Kingsley Boamah, a pharmacist at A Blacks Pharmacy, Ablekuma, said in Ghanaian society, the social expectation that a man should be strong in bed and last longer during sex has left many in health crises.

“Some men use the drugs to increase their masculinity. Most of the men who buy aphrodisiacs here tell me how they feel shamed when they cannot perform well in bed,” Mr Boamah said.

Dr. Kenneth Klufio, a specialist urologist at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH), said his institution recorded many cases of priapism among men who used aphrodisiacs.

Priapism is a painful erection that lasts for several hours when blood remains in the penis and cannot drain.

He said five to eight men reported experiencing ED during consultations every day, and encouraged men who experience ED to report to hospitals as help is available to manage the condition.

“ED affects a person’s quality of life, happiness… get help,” said Dr. Klufio.

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