The penis is one of the most overlooked parts of the body. Unlike women who take care of their vagina, most men do not take care of their penis since its urinary tract is quite inaccessible. However, I am here to inform you that your penis is as important as any other body part. If you don’t care for your penis, you could end up with infections and other consequences that will affect your overall health. In this article, I will enlighten you on penile health and what it is. Additionally, I will inform you about the consequences of not taking care of your penis the way you should. Hang on a bit longer, and I will show you the benefits of taking care of your penis.
Penile Health: What Is It?
When you hear of penis health, what first comes to mind? You may think penis health has to deal with weak or strong erections alone. While penile health involves erections, there’s more to it than that. Usually, penile health includes getting and keeping erections, ejaculation, and reproduction. Also, you must know that penile health problems could be an indication that you have an underlying health condition.
We must note that underlying health conditions could affect your penile health and other aspects of your life. For example, penile health issues could play a significant role in your behavioral patterns. Thus, such conditions could cause stress on your penile muscles, weakening your erection, ejaculation, and ability to reproduce. We will walk you through certain conditions that tend to affect penile health.
Underlying Conditions That Affect Penis Health
Several conditions tend to hurt your penis health. I would like to note here that poor penis hygiene is one of the deadliest factors affecting penis health. Poor penis hygiene could lead to weaker erections and may also affect your ability to ejaculate. Consequently, weaker erections tend to affect your quality of life since you will typically have low self-esteem. These underlying conditions could affect your penis’ health.
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Erectile Dysfunction
Erectile dysfunction is notorious for causing weak erections in men. A study noted that about 40% of men get affected by erectile dysfunction at age 40, while about 70% of men above 70 get affected by the condition. Erectile dysfunction makes it more difficult for you to maintain strong erections. Consequently, you will not enjoy a satisfactory sexual life since you cannot keep a strong erection.
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Ejaculation Problems
As a man, you must ejaculate to enjoy your sexual life. Premature, delayed, or painful ejaculation are some of the few things that could affect your penis’ health. Additionally, retrograde ejaculation could have adverse effects on your penile health. Retrograde ejaculation occurs when semen finds its way into the bladder instead of passing via the penis.
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Decreased Libido
Libido is an essential indicator of your penis health. A high desire for sex is usually ideal for a man. However, we also need to note that libido decreases with age due to hormonal changes in your body. If you are a man in your 20s or 30s, you will experience higher libido than someone in their 50s or 60s.
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Sexually Transmitted Infections
An underlying condition that could play a significant role in your penis health is a sexually transmitted infection. Infections like gonorrhea, genital warts, syphilis, chlamydia, and genital herpes could threaten your penile health. Interestingly, these infections cause penis discharge, painful urination, blisters or sores on the penis, or even within the genital area. Yeast infections could also harm your penis’ health.
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Penile Cancer
Although not predominant, penile cancer also significantly affects your penis’ health. This cancer usually begins as a blister on your penis head, foreskin, or shaft. Consequently, it develops into a wart-like growth that tends to discharge watery pus.
Factors Influencing the Risk of Penile Issues
The problem of penis health does not start overnight. Several risk factors affect your penile muscles and cause problems with your penis. Also, we must note that some factors that affect your penis’ health are strictly psychological and not physical. Some of the factors that could increase your risk of penis problems include:
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Diabetes, Heart Disease, and Other Conditions
Diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, high cholesterol, and obesity are some of the factors that could possibly affect your ability to have a strong erection. These factors predispose you to erectile dysfunction, which makes it difficult for you to enjoy sexual activity. Other health conditions also tend to play significant roles in influencing penile issues.
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Some Medications
Sometimes, you will notice some level of erectile dysfunction when you consume certain medications. However, we must note that such medications do not have a permanent impact on your penis’ health. Most of these effects usually disappear after a few hours. Some of the medications that could cause erectile dysfunction include antidepressants, blood pressure medicines, and prescription sleep medicines. Additionally, medicines that decrease hunger, prostate cancer medicines, and ulcer medications could increase your risk of getting exposed to penis issues.
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Smoking
Smoking is one factor that is not talked about well enough. While most people think that smoking only affects their lungs, it would interest you to know that it also affects their sexual lives. Smoking tends to increase your risk of erectile dysfunction while also causing harm to other parts of your body.
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Treatments for Prostate Cancer
Radical prostatectomy (surgical removal of the prostate gland and surrounding tissues) is another factor that could increase the risk of penile problems. Once your penis tissues do not get enough blood or other things necessary for their survival and growth, you may face certain penis problems.
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Excessive Drinking
Drinking excessive alcohol could cause low libido, bad sexual behaviors, and even erectile dysfunction. Hence, it is always advisable to consume moderate amounts of alcohol to ensure that you stay sexually active without encountering penis issues.
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Psychological and Neurological Issues
We already noted that some penile issues are more psychological than physical. Severe stress is one of the leading psychological issues that could cause you to have penile issues. Additionally, depression and other mental health conditions could cause your penis to not function properly. It will interest you to know that some medications given to curb these mental health conditions could also have adverse effects on your penis health. Ironically, erectile dysfunction also causes depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem.
Neurological conditions like stroke, back and spinal cord injuries, dementia, and multiple sclerosis could also affect your sexual life. These conditions could affect your penis’ health because they affect the nerve impulses from the brain leading to your penis.
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Unsafe Sex
Sex with multiple partners, practicing sex without protection, and other risky sexual behaviors could expose you to sexually transmitted infections. Consequently, sexually transmitted infections could cause penile health problems. Hence, you need to practice safe sex to avoid penis problems.
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Aging
It is natural for you to age. While aging has its perks, it also comes with some downsides. As you grow older, you will experience lower testosterone levels which means you will enjoy lower libidos. Consequently, lower testosterone leads to a higher risk of erectile dysfunction. Also, with age comes lesser sensitivity of the penis to touch, which means you will not enjoy sex as much as you did as a youngster.
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Hormonal Imbalances
Hormones also play a vital role in your sexual life. Any imbalance in associated hormones could lead to penis problems. For example, lower testosterone levels could mean low libido and weaker erections.
How to Cater For Your Penis: Penis Problems and Solutions
The first thing to know about your penis health is that good hygiene counts. Good penis hygiene, like other parts of the body, will save you from a lot of health issues. You must cater to your genitals if you want to reduce the chances of penile problems. Taking care of your penis will save you from problems like common infections and skin irritations.
- Ensure that you gently wash your penis daily to keep a healthy penis. If you have a penile foreskin, gently pull back and carefully clean underneath the foreskin. Additionally, clean the tip of your penis regularly.
- Make sure that you use only water (and perhaps a very gentle soap) to clean this area. Do not scrub the glans (the tip of your penis) because it is very sensitive.
- It is best to avoid penis enlargement creams and other botanicals taken to enlarge your penis. Most times these products do not work and may even cause more harm to you. Instead, you can consult a certified healthcare practitioner for professional penis problems and solutions.
- Always visit a penis healthcare (urologist) expert if you notice issues with your penis.
- Try as much as possible to wear clean undies at all times. Clean underwear reduces the risk of microbial contamination.
- It would also be best to practice safe sex at all times to avoid issues with sexually transmitted infections.
- Always use protection while having sex and try as much as possible to limit the number of sexual partners involved in your life.
- It would be best to wash your hands before you touch your penis at any point. This point is essential especially if you handle anything that might irritate your penis.
General Tips to Improve Your Penile Health
There is no one way to keep your penis healthy at all times. Instead, you can leverage a holistic approach by taking care of all aspects of your general health. Once you take care of every part of your body, the penis included, you will enjoy a good sexual life. We will walk you through some of the best tips to help you maintain solid penis health.
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Always Drink Water
Water and other relevant fluids are necessary if you want to remain hydrated. Hydration is an important yet underrated tool when it comes to overall general health, especially penis health. Studies have suggested a link between erectile dysfunction and hydration, which means you need to stay hydrated if you want to enjoy a proper sexual life.
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A Balanced Diet Is Essential
You need a balanced diet to help reduce the chances of developing heart disease and diabetes, which are both risk factors associated with erectile dysfunction. A study revealed that people who consumed a balanced diet were less likely to develop penile issues. Also, the study noted that people who consumed flavonoids found in spinach, avocado, and other foods were less likely to develop erectile dysfunction.
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Regular Exercise Is a Must
The best way to stay ahead of erectile dysfunction is to practice regular, moderate exercise. A moderate home-based walking program could reduce erectile dysfunction. Hence, it is best to exercise a few times weekly to stay agile. You can try brisk walks intermittently to improve your penile health.
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Watch Your Weight
It is best to maintain a healthy weight if you want to reduce your chances of developing diabetes. Also, watching your weight will help you steer clear of high cholesterol levels and heart diseases, all of which tend to have adverse effects on penile health.
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Practice Effective Stress Management
While effective stress management is essential for your overall health, it also plays a significant role in penile health. Interestingly, there is a link between sexual performance and fertility, and stress and anxiety. You stand a greater chance of developing cardiovascular diseases with increased stress. Consequently, cardiovascular diseases have a negative effect on erectile dysfunction. You can use stress management techniques like deep breathing, meditation, journaling, and spending time with loved ones to rid yourself of stress.
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Proper Sleep Is a Must
Most people tend to ignore the proper sleep cycle. However, sleep plays an important role in your vascular health. Interestingly, your vascular health is responsible for your ability to become erect. Thus, getting proper sleep ensures that you can enjoy a better sexual life.
Conclusion
Penile health is an important aspect of every sexually active male’s life. In this article, we looked at everything you need to know about penis health. We also discussed the underlying factors that could affect your penile health as well as some possible ways to keep your penis healthy. If you notice any issues with your penis, ensure to visit a certified health practitioner for accurate health advice.