Premature Ejaculation (PE)

Premature Ejaculation (PE) - Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

Premature Ejaculation (PE) is a common sexual ailment that occurs when a man ejaculates real soon during sexual activity than he and his partner would like. Simply put, PE is a condition in which a man ejaculates on minimal sexual stimulation or soon after penile penetration. It is found that one out of three men say they have premature ejaculation at some point of time.

It is not a matter of concern as long as it happens very rarely. However, your doctor might diagnose premature ejaculation if you ejaculate within a minute of penetration and if you fail to hold semen ejaculation during intercourse nearly every time. Both biological as well as psychological factors can play a role in developing PE. Although it is embarrassing to talk about it, premature ejaculation is quite common and absolutely treatable. Counseling, medications and knowing certain sexual techniques can help delay semen ejection.

Causes of PE

The exact cause of this sexual ailment is idiopathic. While it was considered a psychological issue, experts have now found that premature ejaculation is an intricate interaction between a few biological and psychological factors. Following are the potential causes of PE:

• Hormonal imbalance
• Abnormal levels of neurotransmitters or brain chemicals
• Uncontrolled diabetes 
• Inherited traits
• Early sexual experiences
• Poor physical or body image
• Long-term depression
• Guilt feeling of making love
• Erectile Dysfunction (ED)
• Performance anxiety
• Relationship issues
• Fertility problems

Symptoms of PE

The classical symptom of PE is the inability to hold semen ejaculation for more than a minute after penetration. However, PE might occur in almost all sexual situations, even while masturbating. Primary or lifelong PE occurs almost all the time when your encounter sexual activity. Secondary or acquired PE develops after having sexual experiences, without any ejaculatory issues.

Complications of PE

Chronic PE can lead to personal problems in your life and marital relationship. Disharmony in relationship, even divorce, is the common complication. Another complication associated with PE is fertility issue, wherein a man fails to get his partner pregnant, as the semen ejaculation does not occur intra-vaginally.

Treatment of PE

Treating PE needs a different and multifactorial approach. Common PE treatment options include behavioral techniques, medications, topical anesthetics and psychological counseling. Remember that it takes time to find out the perfect combination of treatment that is suitable and works best for you. Behavioral therapy with oral medicines might be helpful.

Behavioral Techniques

This kind of therapy involves taking simple steps – such as masturbating couple of hours before lovemaking so that you can delay your semen ejection. Your medical advisor may ask you to avoid indulging in sexual activity and recommend you to focus on foreplay and other sexual play, which can remove unwanted pressure during sexual activity.

Kegel exercise

Kegel exercise is a form of pelvic floor exercise that strengthens your weak pelvic muscles. Poor pelvic muscles might decrease the ability to hold or delay ejaculation. Speak to your doctor to know how to perform Kegel exercise.

Pause-Squeeze Technique

Start with normal sexual activity and when you almost going to ejaculation, ask your partner to squeeze the end of your penile organ for a few seconds, until the ejaculation urge passes away. Ask your partner to repeat the squeezing as required. This pause-squeeze technique can be of great help.

Medications

There are many medicines available to help delay your ejaculation. The Food and Drug Administration has approved a few medicines that help treat PE, such as antidepressants, analgesics and PDE5-inhibitors. These are prescription medicines that are ought to be used under the supervision of your doctor. Fluoxetine, Duloxetine and Dapoxetine are common anti-depression medicines that are prescribed to treat PE. A combination of Sildenafil Citrate and Fluoxetine (Malegra FXT) is often prescribed to men with erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation.

Psychological Counseling

A counselor, psychotherapist or psychiatrist can help you tackle with emotional causes responsible for developing PE. Counseling helps when used in combination with oral drug therapy. Talking about problems and expressing your feelings might be helpful in managing premature ejaculation.