Notice: The information in this article is being provided to help couples to understand the realities of premature ejaculation in sexual health, and the available treatments for it. If you are disturbed by this topic, please quit reading this article now.
Disclaimer: This article is not meant to provide health advice and is for general information only. Always seek the insights of a qualified health professional before embarking on a health or fitness program.
Premature ejaculation has been a recognized medical condition, since at least the 1930s, when the first topical creams were developed for its treatment. In 1943, specialists in the medical community were postulating that PE in men was strictly a psychosomatic condition.
In those early days, if a patient were to ask his physician about his PE concerns, the doctor would often offer a do-it-yourself technique for addressing the problem. The stop and start method remained the most widely prescribed treatment for premature ejaculation, for several decades.
The Creation Of The International Society for Sexual Medicine
The prognosis began to change in 1982, as the International Society for Sexual Medicine (ISSM) began to gather specialists to address PE and to give it a proper medical definition. The purpose of the ISSM is to promote and encourage the highest standards of practice, training and research in the field of sexual medicine.
After nearly 65 years of published research, more than 100 case studies, and 26 years of reviewing the available data, the ISSM experts agreed unanimously that lifelong PE exhibits a combination of three key factors:
1. Ejaculation, which always or nearly always, occurs prior to or within about one minute of vaginal penetration.
2. The inability to delay ejaculation on all, or nearly all, vaginal penetrations.
3. Negative personal consequences, such as the stress, bother, frustration and/or the avoidance of sexual intimacy.
Lifelong PE and Acquired PE
There are actually two types of PE conditions: lifelong PE and acquired PE. Acquired PE is different, only in that it begins later in life, and that it happens to men, who have previously had normal ejaculatory experiences.
After nearly 65 years of research, the medical community has concluded that in some cases, PE may be the result of psychosomatic conditions. Yet, the medical community remains unwilling to lump all premature ejaculation issues into the psychosomatic category. In fact, when discussing acquired PE, medical professionals list the following as possible causes: psychological issues, relationship problems, erectile dysfunction (ED), an inflamed prostate gland, or thyroid dysfunction.
The official evidence-based definition, as offered by the ISSM, has only recently been defined. It was an important milestone in the treatment of PE, because now clinicians can use the definition to provide a consistent diagnosis and treatment plan for patients. Since the definition is still new, it remains too early to determine how many men can be classified as lifelong PE sufferers.
According to the analysis of previous research, it may be possible that as many as 35% of men suffer from premature ejaculation of some kind. If time proves the 35% number accurate, then PE will be found to affect more men than erectile dysfunction, or ED. Erectile dysfunction typically affects men more as they age. However, premature ejaculation seems to affect men equally, across all age groups.
The History of Treatments for Premature Ejaculation
The first topical treatments for premature ejaculation started hitting the shelves of drugstores in the 1930s. Since the early 1980s, pharmaceutical companies have developed a range of additional drugs to treat this condition.
Antidepressants
Since the mid-1990s, the pharmaceutical industry has conducted an increasing number of controlled, evidence-based studies of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor drugs, commonly prescribed to treat premature ejaculation.
The studies have shown the effectiveness and safety of SSRI drugs to delay ejaculation. However, before you get too excited, it is important to understand what Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors or SSRIs really are. SSRIs are a class of compounds, typically used as antidepressants in the treatment of depression, anxiety disorders, and some personality disorders.
SSRIs should not be confused with SRIs. Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors or SRIs can be either selective or nonselective in their actions. What that means is that SRIs may inhibit the reuptake of serotonin or a range of other compounds. On the other hand, SSRIs will only inhibit the reuptake of serotonin.
SSRIs are considered to be the first class of psychotropic drugs to be rationally designed. As a result, they are the most widely prescribed antidepressants, in the United States and many other countries.
While SSRIs have been shown to be effective in the treatment of premature ejaculation, it is still an antidepressant drug.
Topical Analgesics
The second most common approach to the treatment of PE is a range of cream-based topical analgesics, i.e. numbing products. Most of the numbing products on the market, available for the treatment of PE, contain as its active ingredients, compounds such as benzocaine, lidocaine or other similar local anesthetics, which are commonly used for pain relief and preparation for surgery.
Benzocaine is a painkiller that is commonly used to treat toothaches, sore gums and sunburns.
Lidocaine is a much stronger painkiller and causes anesthesia deeper in the skin. Lidocaine is used in products that treat minor sunburns, scrapes, and insect bites. It is also used to numb the skin before surgery, and reduce the pain resulting from laser surgery and laser hair removal.
In January of 2009, the FDA issued an alert about the possible serious and life-threatening risks associated with the improper use of these products. (1) The FDA stated that these products are used to the desensitize nerve endings that lie near the surface of the skin, causing a numbness of the skin.
The FDA-issued Public Health Advisory, indicated that these products may be absorbed into the bloodstream, after application to the skin, if the products are used improperly, which may cause life-threatening side effects in patients.
As we are discussing the topic of sexual health, using a “numbing product” may be counterproductive to one’s goal of enjoying the sexual experience. Besides numbing the penis, topical analgesics may cause redness to the skin, or a slight burning or stinging sensation. Additionally, in some cases, your female partner may also experience numbness and irritation on sexual contact.
Ancient Asian Herbs Are Now Being Studied Seriously By Western Medicine
If you desire to avoid the use of antidepressants and topical analgesics, there are other options available.
For many centuries, people in Asian countries have utilized herbs to promote the overall physical and sexual vitality of humans. Natural herbs had been mostly ignored by Western medicine, until the last couple decades. In recent years, medical researchers and primary physicians in Western countries have begun to give natural herbs honest consideration.
Disclaimer: For the record, “the U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not strictly regulate herbs and supplements.” It recommends that, “there is no guarantee of strength, purity or safety of products, and effects may very. You should always read product labels. If you have a medical condition, or are taking other drugs, herbs, or supplements, you should speak with a qualified healthcare provider before starting a new therapy. Consult a health care provider immediately if you experience any side effects.”
Panax Ginseng
According to the Medline Plus section of the U.S. National Library of Medicine website, provided in conjunction with National Institutes Of Health, scientific studies have shown that “ginseng is well tolerated by most people, when it is used at recommended doses, and side effects appear to be rare.” (2)
Within the same page, it was stated that early studies have suggested that applying an herbal combination containing Panax ginseng on the penis may help treat premature ejaculation. The NIH citation suggested that since the Panax ginseng was tested with other herbs, the contribution of the ginseng remains unclear.
Butea Superba
Another herb that has attracted a lot of attention is Butea superba. The PubMed website, provided courtesy of the U.S. National Library of Medicine and National Institutes Of Health, acknowledges studies conducted in Thailand, concerning the positive impact of Butea superba on men’s sexual health.
In three separate studies, mentioned on the PubMed website, Butea superba has been shown effective in increasing sperm count, and in the treatment of erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation. It has also been shown safe for human consumption and topical application.
In the first study, Butea superba was shown to increase the weight of the testes and increase the sperm count in rats. (3) Butea superba was given to the rats at a rate that is 100 times greater than what is recommended by Thailand’s FDA for human consumption. Yet, no adverse health effects were seen in the rats that were tested.
For ED patients, improvement was shown in 82.4% of participants. (4) The conclusion of this study indicated that Butea superba appears to improve the erectile dysfunction in ED patients without any apparent toxicity.
The third study of Butea superba suggested that ethanol extracts of Butea superba were effective in enhancing penile erection in rats. (5) The results of the study suggested that this herb might act through the cAMP/cGMP pathways, which are intracellular secondary messengers that play a key role in mediating cellular responses to various hormones and neurotransmitters.
Other Herbal Supplements Are Always Being Tested
It is recommended that whenever you are considering any herbal supplement, you should check for the existence of any medical studies and reports, documented by a government agency or a medical journal, concerning the effectiveness and possible side effects, of any natural herbal remedy.
Just because a substance is “natural” does not mean that it is guaranteed safe. Since the FDA does not regulate herbs, it is your responsibility to make sure that any substance that you apply topically or consume internally, will not cause you any harm or adverse side effects.
As stated previously, the FDA recommends that you should always read product labels and get educated about the active ingredients in any herbal remedy. The FDA also recommends that if you have a medical condition, or are taking other drugs, herbs, or supplements, you should speak with a qualified healthcare provider before starting a new therapy. As a final word of warning, the FDA recommends that you consult a health care provider immediately, if you experience any side effects.
References:
1. http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/2009/ucm109068.htm
2. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-ginseng.html
3. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16889907
4. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12937809
5. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16619349
Editor’s Note: Article previously published here.
…
Bud Castillo writes about medical issues. The active ingredients, for the treatment of premature ejaculation, in D-Lay(r) For Men are Panax ginseng and Butea superba. As documented in this article, the U.S. National Library of Medicine and National Institutes Of Health have suggested that these herbal supplements are safe for humans and may be effective for the treatment of premature ejaculation (PE) for men. Learn more about our PE topical treatment, D-Lay(r) For Men, at our website: http://www.delay-cream.com/
Read more articles written by Bud Castillo
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