What Is Premature Ejaculation?
The embarrassment of talking about premature ejaculation keeps many men from seeking medical help. However, premature ejaculation is a very common men's health condition with a number of treatment options; the first step is simply discussing the condition with your physician.
Many men occasionally ejaculate prematurely, but when it occurs regularly, it may be diagnosed as premature ejaculation. The Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV) defines premature ejaculation as a recurrent ejaculation with minimal sexual stimulation before, on or shortly after penetration.
“Rapid or premature ejaculation is a condition where men ejaculate much sooner than they wish,” says Dr. Stacy Elliott, Chair of the Canadian Male Sexual Health Council and a Sexual Medicine Physician active in The Men's Health Initiative of BC. “It's defined by three things: one is that the time it takes to ejaculate is very short, probably under a minute. The second thing is that there isn't a sense of control, and the third thing is it causes distress to either a man or his partner.”
There are both psychological and biological factors that can contribute to premature ejaculation, including:
- Anxiety or stress
- Feelings of guilt or shame around sexual intercourse
- Abnormal hormone levels or brain chemicals
- Prostate inflammation or infection
“The prevalence of premature ejaculation is about 30% across the board, across the ages,” says Dr. Elliott. “I look at it as a sort of very hyperactive reflex, and it's normal. That's the way that men are made, and how they're defined as men: that you should ejaculate fast, so it's not an abnormality. The problem is that it doesn't work in your relationship, and you want to extend that time.”
There are a number of techniques a man and his partner can use to delay ejaculation during intercourse. Other treatments include topical anesthetic creams that contain lidocaine or prilocaine to dull the sensation on the penis, psychotherapy, and medication.
Patients need to understand that there is no “magic pill” to cure premature ejaculation. “No pill is going to get rid of this,” says Dr. Elliott. “You need to really spend the time to learn how to slow down that reflex through behavioural methods.”
