Patient's question:
My boyfriend had a circumcision two months ago. Now, when he gets erect, it's not hard enough, and it's difficult to penetrate. Could you please ask the expert what might be going on? Besides psychological reasons, are there other factors? Will this affect his future sex life?Doctor's answer:
Hello: Based on what you mentioned, the current situation should be entirely psychological. Many men are unsure whether they suffer from erectile dysfunction, but it can be determined by observing nocturnal penile erections. Normal men of all ages can experience reflexive erections during sleep. During puberty, the average is about 6 erections per night, each lasting 20-30 minutes. In young adulthood, the average is about 4 erections per night. Even in healthy elderly individuals over 65, there can be a total of 1-1.5 hours of erections per night. Even children often experience penile erections during sleep.Clearly, nocturnal penile reflexive erections are unrelated to sexual stimulation and are not influenced by psychological factors. Therefore, they can be used to distinguish whether erectile dysfunction is caused by psychological factors or by medical conditions. If an erectile dysfunction patient has no nocturnal erections or if the erection duration is below the normal range for their age group, it may indicate a medical cause, requiring further investigation. If an erectile dysfunction patient has normal nocturnal erections, it is unlikely to be caused by a medical condition but rather by psychological factors.
Here are some methods for self-assessing nocturnal penile erections:
(1) Stamp Test: Place four around the penis, overlapping the edges and sticking them together to form a ring. Sleep with this setup. In the morning, check if the has torn. If it has, it indicates nocturnal erections. If the overlapping part comes loose, it is not meaningful.
(2) Penile Circumference Measurement: There is a commercially available tape measure (usually paper-based) with one end attached to a square buckle. Before going to bed, wrap it around