If you are a man who has issues with erectile dysfunction, you may have felt too embarrassed to discuss it with anyone so far, even your partner, who by nature will surely be sharing your frustration.

However, it is vital to see your doctor, not least because the causes of it can include some wider health issues that need to be addressed themselves. This needs to be determined because it is not always the same thing (or combination of things) that brings the problem about.

That is not, however, to underplay the role that erectile dysfunction tablets may play in providing a resolution of the symptoms. This is important because even if you can pin down the causes of the issue, solving it to the point where the symptoms go away and you can get a healthy, hard erection again naturally is seldom a straightforward matter.

Furthermore, diagnosis is not always a simple task, because there are rather more potential causes of erectile dysfunction than you may think – and the list is growing.

Common Causes Of Erectile Dysfunction

Some common causes are well known, many of them being obvious causes because they are conditions that involve the flow of blood to the genital area being restricted in some way. This means high blood pressure and artery-clogging issues like obesity or high cholesterol are all common factors.

This means problems like cardiovascular issues, diabetes and self-inflicted causes like smoking or excessive drinking can all be underlying reasons for the problem.

Other causes can include injury or surgery that affects sexual function, which may include neurogenic erectile dysfunction (where nerve damage prevents the signals needed to trigger an erection passing from the brain to the penis).

Sometimes the cause lies not in physical problems but psychological issues, which means it is less about changing lifestyle with a better diet and giving up cigarettes and booze and more about seeing a counsellor.

A Computer Gaming Issue

However, it appears some less-known and slightly surprising concerns have emerged, including playing computer games too much. As Joe.co.uk reports, no doubt to the horror of its readership, a doctor has delivered a warning on this issue just as the EA Sports FC 25 has been released.

Dr Ashwin Sharma, who works for online pharma site MedExpress, observed: “With any major game release, it’s common for gamers to spend extended hours sitting in front of screens.”

However, he added, doing this is not a good lifestyle move, not least when it comes to sexual health.

“Prolonged sitting and lack of physical activity can negatively affect circulation and cardiovascular health, which are critical for maintaining sexual function,” Dr Sharma Warned.

It should be noted, of course, that the specific situation faced by gaming obsessives who may spend long hours in front of a console is a somewhat niche cause of erectile dysfunction. However, it is related to the wider point made by Dr Sharma about sedentary lifestyles, as these can lead to men piling on weight and not having a healthy heart.

Why Long Covid Curbs Elongation

Another emergent problem to which erectile dysfunction has been widely attributed is Covid-19 – and in particular Long Covid.

Because this is a virus that went from being unknown to medicine to the most studied pathogen on the planet in a matter of months, it is something medics and scientists are learning about fast. Despite this, much is not known about why some people get Long Covid, but it was not long before some started linking it and erectile dysfunction.

The connection between Covid and erectile dysfunction has been the topic of several scientific studies, showing there is a clearly increased risk for men who contract the virus.

This is not a unique feature of Covid; indeed, a statistical study published in Nature last year indicated other acute viral infections tended to have a similar effect (except herpes zoster, which was worse). But because Covid has been so common, it has added a much-increased likelihood of contracting a virus that can cause erectile dysfunction.

This happens because Covid has inflammatory effects in many sufferers, which curbs blood flow, which has the same end effect of reducing blood flow to the vital areas such as diabetes, hypertension and clogged arteries.  

Keep Taking The Tablets

What all this shows is that there are lots of ways in which erectile dysfunction can become a problem. Diagnosis can take time and may be complex as there could be a combination of factors, such as if you are a smoker who has had Covid.

In the meantime, however, the right medication can at least provide the relief you need, so that you can enjoy yourself more in the bedroom – provided you are not spending all night playing a newly released computer game, that is.