5 Ways to Treat Erectile Dysfunction

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The approach to treating ED is patient-specific. There is no one size fits all.  Treatment depends on several factors:

  • Patient age
  • Overall health (underlying health problems)
  • The CAUSE
  • Severity
  • Preference
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A wide variety of treatment options are available. Your doctor will decide which treatment is best for you based on the above factors. Similarly, psychological causes such as stress, anxiety or depression should be ruled out.  Side-effects of daily medication, as well as drug or alcohol abuse should also be ruled out as contributing factor.


1. Lifestyle changes:  Sometimes something as simple as living better can help improve erectile function.  Exercise, healthy eating, and stress relief can help the state of your erection.

2. Oral medications: these medications treat erectile dysfunction by relaxing smooth muscle in the penis, a process that increases blood flow and enables an erection.

  • Sildenafil (Viagra)
  • Tadalafil (Cialis)
  • Vardenafil (Levitra,Staxyn)

3. Injections/suppositories: similar to ED pills, the injectable medicine relaxes the muscles in the surrounding blood vessels of the penis, increasing the blood flow into the penis allowing an erection to occur

  • Alprostadil (self-injection): a small needle is used to inject medication into the base or side of the penis
  • Alprostadil intreurethral (Muse) therapy - a tiny suppository is placed inside penile urethra using a special applicator.

4. Vacuum Pumps:  increase blood flow to the penis by pumping air out of the vacuum tube and pulling blood into the penile tissue.  In order to maintain erection that is produced by “pumping”, many use constriction rings over the base of the penis.

5. Penile implants:

  • Inflatable implants: cylinders that are implanted in the erection chambers of the penis and inflated by a hydraulic pump implanted in the scrotum
  • Malleable implants: semi-rigid, bendable rods that are implanted into the penis, which can be worked manually into the desired position