According to the International Society for Sexual Medicine, “premature ejaculation (PE) is a sexual dysfunction characterized by ejaculation in which ejaculation always or almost always occurs before or within approximately one minute after vaginal penetration, and the inability to delay ejaculation at all or almost all vaginal penetrations; and negative personal consequences such as distress, discomfort, frustration, and refusal of sexual intimacy”.
What are the possible causes of premature ejaculation?
One of the main causes of PE is masturbation and ejaculation habits during puberty. Guys seek immediate satisfaction, or try to ejaculate as soon as possible so that they are not caught masturbating, which causes the brain to perceive that ejaculation time as the time desired by that individual and register it as their “default” ejaculation time. Conversely, there are guys who stop and restart masturbation to delay ejaculation time and get their brain to register longer ejaculation times.
Other causes may be stress, anxiety, infrequent intercourse, increased sensitivity of the glans penis, etc.
Facts about men who suffer premature ejaculation
PE is the most prevalent sexual dysfunction in men and is estimated to affect 1 in 3 men, according to Mayo Clinic.
Tips to control or improve premature ejaculation
One of the ways to alleviate PD is to try to avoid stress and anxiety and to avoid having more frequent ejaculations. It is well known that prolonged periods of abstinence without ejaculation result in earlier ejaculations in normal individuals without PE and that after ejaculation the next ejaculation occurs later than the first.
What are the treatments for premature ejaculation?
Although the advice mentioned in the previous point is useful, men need to be aware that PE has pharmacological treatment and that they should go to their Andrology or Urology specialist to treat it.
The results of pharmacological treatment of PE with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in combination with phosphodiesterase inhibitors, which relax the smooth muscle fiber of the seminal vesicles, are highly satisfactory in more than 90% of the cases treated. This pharmacological treatment combined with relatively frequent sexual intercourse (3 times per week) by prolonging the ejaculation time will cause the brain to change the “default” ejaculation time in that individual to a longer ejaculation time that initially usually ranges between 10 and 15 minutes. This usually occurs after about 3 months of treatment after which the individual can stop taking the treatment.