It can take over his mental life and affect relationships particularly if the man is worrying, alone and unable to discuss the problem with his wife or a close friend, both of whom would surely urge him to seek help from his GP, who can refer him to a specialist consultant. Failure to do so can turn what may be a curable condition into a longer term psychosexual problem that may become much harder to correct.

There is a strong connection between the possible physical causes and the man’s emotional and psychological wellbeing and consulting an expert urologist can help to relieve all this.

There are four main types of dysfunction and these are the inability to achieve or sustain an erection, too rapid ejaculation, the inability to ejaculate and a loss of the desire to have sexual relations also known as loss of libido.

The first step if a man has any of these symptoms is to establish whether there is an underlying condition that is causing the condition. These can range from recent surgery for prostate enlargement to diabetes, ageing which can lead to reduction of hormones such as testosterone, or a heart condition.

Depending on the outcome of the diagnostic investigation the consultant may prescribe medication to correct the condition, and perhaps one of the most well-known pharmaceutical for correcting male sexual dysfunction where there is difficulty of achieving or maintaining erection is Viagra.

A course of corrective hormone therapy may also be prescribed where appropriate.

However, in older males medicinal treatments such as Viagra have been shown to have a failure rate of between 30% and 45%. If the failure to achieve erection after taking Viagra has not been caused by lack of a willing partner or the right environment it may be appropriate to turn to surgery.

The process involves inserting a silicone implant into the penis to mimic the function of erection and the consultant will advise the patient on the most appropriate implant type for their condition.

Male infertility is also a serious issue for many men who wish to father a child and the first step in treating this condition is for the consultant to test the sperm, both its quality and quantity. It is something of a myth that the absence of one testicle prevents a man from becoming a father.

If there is a low sperm count or quality there are certain lifestyle changes that should be made first and these are to stop smoking if the patient smokes and to moderate alcohol intake if they are a heavy drinker. Some conditions can be treated with medicine alone, and there is also a surgical procedure called variocele that can be used to improved sperm quality and quantity.

It is also possible to gather and store a man’s sperm for use in IVF treatment. It takes only one sperm to fertilise an egg, after all, and IVF treatments have given hope and success to many couples who have been struggling to father a child.

For any man worrying alone about erectile and infertility problems, the message is clear: do not struggle on alone. Help is available so consult a specialist who can help. This article is known by famous urologist and andrologist, Dr Rajesh Taneja, an expert surgeon and consultant in Male sexual dysfunction and Male infertility. Visit website: http://www.drrajeshtaneja.com/