If one of your worst nightmares as a guy is privates damage, you might think it’s nothing more than a bad dream. Unfortunately, not only is experiencing tissue damage very possible, but the damage can have a severe impact.
Injuring your privates is painful enough. But knowing you’ve potentially done permanent damage to the tissue inside doesn’t only hurt physically — it can significantly affect intimate activity and your quality of life.
While the tissue damage isn’t common, the long-term effects of damage to your tissue can be substantial, affecting everything from your ability to perceive intimate stimulation to the blood flow needed to maintain normal hardness function.
Below, we’ll explain the signs of tissue damage to look out for. We’ll also discuss factors that can cause tissue to become damaged and go over options for treating tissue damage to maintain optimal health.
What Are the Signs of Tissue Damage?
Tissue damage can cause numerous issues, from preventing you from developing and maintaining hardness to causing pain and discomfort during intimate activities (possibly the worst time to experience discomfort).
Harm to healthy tissue in and around the privates can vary in type and severity. So there’s no one-size-fits-all list of symptoms you may notice if you have privates trauma or damage.
However, many men notice a handful of common issues after damaging their privates due to injury or a chronic health condition. These include:
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ED. Since tissue damage can weaken the tissue and blood vessels in your privates, it can affect your ability to develop and maintain being hard when you feel aroused. If you have ED, you may find it difficult to get and keep being hard or simply notice that you aren’t as firm as needed to be for satisfying intimacy.
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Reduced sensitivity. When the nerves near your privates become damaged, you might notice that it has a reduced level of sensitivity. It could feel less responsive or even numb to touch and other forms of physical stimulation.
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Privates curvature. When the fibrous tissue around your privates is damaged, it can cause your privates to bend as plaques develop in specific areas. This condition is referred to as Peyronie’s disease.
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Getting hard is Painful. Sometimes, privates damage can make getting hard uncomfortable or even painful. Pain during intimacy or when getting hard is a common sign of Peyronie’s disease.
Although most signs of tissue damage are physical, having a damaged privates can also impact your mental well-being.
For example, ED— a common issue that can develop as a result of privates tissue damage — is associated with depression, anxiety and low self-esteem.
When damage to your tissue prevents you from being able to have intimate activities normally, it may also cause or contribute to emotional distress, a loss of intimacy between you and your partner, frustration and other intimacy and relationship issues.
How Does Tissue Damage Happen?
To understand how tissue damage can occur on your privates, it’s helpful to know how your privates function — at least beyond the basics of what happens when you’re aroused.
Your privates contains three main areas (or chambers) of tissue:
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Corpora cavernosa. These two tube-like chambers run along each side of your privates (each tube is called a corpus cavernosum).
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Corpus spongiosum. This chamber runs the entire length of your privates and houses your urethra (the tube that passes urine and semen).
When you become aroused — whether from touch or visual stimulation — nerves in your privates react, causing the tissue inside your privates to relax and allowing for improved blood flow.
As blood flows into your tissue, your privates becomes larger and firmer, resulting in a firm hardness that allows you to have intimate activities
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When your privates are aroused, a type of fibrous tissue called the tunica albuginea traps blood inside. This allows you to successfully maintain being hard while engaging in intimate activity.
After you reach satisfaction, blood flows out from your privates, causing it to shrink back to its normal, flaccid size as you enter your refractory period.
Tissue damage occurs when any part of the privates involved in getting or maintaining being hard — from the nervous system to blood vessels and internal tissue — stops functioning normally.
This can occur as a result of an injury. For instance, privates fractures may cause scar tissue, or you could experience damage from surgical treatments. Privates injury can also result from diseases and conditions that damage blood vessels and nerves, such as diabetes or hypertension (high blood pressure).
(Related: Does Metformin Cause Hair Loss?)
Privates Injuries
Physical injuries can damage the tunica albuginea, resulting in the formation of plaque that bends the privates and causes discomfort.
The tunica albuginea can withstand considerable pressure — it’s one of the strongest structures in the male body. But it’s also vulnerable.
When your privates are aroused, the tunica albuginea thins from two millimeters to as little as a quarter millimeter, all while pressure rises from the increase in blood flow to your privates.
As you may well imagine, injury to tissue most likely occurs when the privates are hard, usually during intimacy. However, it can also happen during solo time, especially if you’re prone to “death grip syndrome” — otherwise known as gripping your privates too hard.
While all intimate positions can potentially result in an injury, research suggests that damaging your privates is most common with “doggy-style” . This position accounted for upwards of 40 percent of privates fractures in an analysis published in 2020.
When an injury like this occurs, you might notice a sharp bend in your privates, accompanied by a “pop” sound and an immediate loss of hardness. Unsurprisingly, this is typically followed by immense pain and discomfort.
The “pop” and the pain are both very reliable signals that a tear in the tunica albuginea tissue has occurred — an injury urology professionals call privates fracture.
Besides injuries that happen during intimacy, injuries to your privates can be caused by various sports injuries, bites, cuts, friction burns and damage from machinery.
Health Conditions
Your physical health and any health conditions you’re dealing with can sometimes affect your intimate health, potentially resulting in tissue damage symptoms.
Medical conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure can often be the cause of ED or privates damage, thanks to their effect on blood vessels.
Conditions affecting blood flow can also cause a condition called priapism, a longer-than-normal and pain when getting hard.
Other Causes of Privates Damage
In addition to privates injuries caused by love-making or health issues, tissue damage can happen because of medical treatments or unhealthy habits.
Treatments for prostate and bladder cancer — such as surgery or radiation therapy — may damage the tissue in or around your genitals and contribute to performance issues such as ED.
All kinds of vaping is also associated with damage to blood vessels in the privates. As a result, it could increase your risk of developing ED and other intimacy performance issues.
But what do you do if you have a damage? Can the tunica albuginea, tissue, nerves or blood vessels heal themselves? Keep reading for insight.
How to Treat Tissue Damage
Can tissue heal on its own? If not, what does tissue damage treatment entail?
Although some forms of damage to your penile tissue may improve over time, injuries need urgent treatment. If left untreated, they can result in permanent damage to blood vessels, the urethra, the tunica albuginea and other areas of the privates.
Short-term outcomes of tissue damage can be pain and bruising that hamper your intimate life for a while. Privates injuries can even result in a condition known as hard flaccid syndrome, in which the privates is constantly hard without being aroused (not a good thing, despite how it sounds).
The long-term effects of the damage may cause disfiguration or difficulty with intimate function.
Any injury that causes serious pain and discomfort is a medical emergency. And it should be followed up by immediate medical advice from a healthcare professional or urologist.
The good news is that treatment options are available for most forms of injury — from surgical repair to restore blood flow and urethral function to medications for health issues such as ED.
Privates Surgery
In most cases, injuries and the damage they can cause, like curved privates , can be treated with surgical intervention.
Several types of surgery are used to treat Peyronie’s disease and other issues that may develop due to the injuries. These include removing plaques from the privates and replacing them with healthy tissue sourced from elsewhere on your body, such as a graft, or using a synthetic material.
Other surgical techniques include plication, which involves manipulating tissue from the other side of your privates to even out curvature. Another option is an implant if tissue damage is preventing you from getting or maintaining hard.
When an injury damages blood vessels, surgery may be performed to rebuild arteries and improve internal blood flow.
(Related: 14 Ways to Last Longer In Bed)
Nonsurgical Treatments
Nonsurgical treatments include the use of injectable medications, oral medications, mechanical traction devices or vacuum devices (aka privates pumps) to improve blood circulation.
ED Medications
If you have ED caused by damage to your privates, your healthcare provider may suggest using medication to increase blood flow and boost your ability to getting or maintaining hard.
Right now, there are four FDA-approved medications for ED. These include sildenafil (the active ingredient in Viagra), tadalafil (Cialis), vardenafil (Levitra) and avanafil (Stendra).
These medications belong to a class of drugs called PDE5 inhibitors. They make getting and maintaining hard easier by relaxing the blood vessels that supply blood to your privates, which can increase total blood flow.
These medications usually have minimal side effects and are available as oral tablets and chewable hard mints for a more convenient option.
However, ED isn’t always the result of a physical issue. Sometimes, you might have trouble getting hard thanks to psychological problems, like anxiety or depression, also referred to as. In that case, therapy might be a critical part of your treatment plan.
The Bottom Line on Tissue Damage
While injuring your privates may be a joke amongst your friends and an absolute worst-case “this could never actually happen” scenario, tissue damage is a very real men’s health issue.
How do you know what damage looks like? Here’s what to remember:
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Depending on what caused the damage, potential signs of tissue damage can include a popping sound, loss of hardness, pain, curvature of the privates, swelling or bruising, ED or loss of sensitivity.
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The most common causes of penile damage are injuries during intimate activities. But it can also happen due to health conditions, medical treatments or unhealthy habits that affect cardiovascular health or impact blood flow to the privates.
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Fortunately, tissue damage can be treated, either via surgery involving implants or grafts or ED medications prescribed by a medical professional.
If you’re experiencing any signs of tissue damage, seek medical advice from a healthcare professional immediately. They can determine the cause and the best course of treatment, whether that’s surgery or medication.
This article originally appeared on Hims.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
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The 7 Best Vitamins & Supplements for ED
If you’ve been googling “what is the best vitamin for ED” or “supplements for ED” and coming up short on answers, there’s a reason for it: the “natural male enhancement” pills that you find online and in gas stations are released by brands that make dubious claims about what their products can do, and often, those claims aren’t backed by a lot of research. In fact, many of them are dangerous.
That said, certain vitamins and supplements (not the stuff you see at the gas station) — like vitamins B3 and D, or supplements like L-arginine, to name a few — may offer some erectile function benefits that are backed up by some science.
So, whether you came here in search of vitamins for erectile strength or supplements for ED, we’re happy to share what research shows about vitamins that help with ED…maybe. We’re going to go through all the vitamins you should look for, and the foods in which you can find them
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You’re probably aware of ED treatments like Viagra, which work by increasing blood flow to your privates when you’re in the mood for love-making. But what about the options available without a prescription?
Well, if you’ve been looking at the “natural male enhancement” stuff on gas station shelves, we have some bad news. As we’ve discussed in our guide to herbal supplements for ED, most non-prescription products for treating ED are, to put it lightly, lacking in scientific evidence (unless they are something specifically approved or authorized by the FDA for ED, like vacuum devices or the topical gel, Eroxon).
That said, as we mentioned above, some research shows that deficiencies of certain vitamins might contribute to ED. If you’re deficient, adding these vitamins to your diet might improve your overall health, including your ability to get and stay so.
To put things in perspective, here’s the current wisdom:
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Numerous factors can play a role in ED, including your cardiovascular health, psychological well-being and your level of interest in love-making.
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Currently, the most effective oral treatments for ED are PDE5 inhibitor medications, such as sildenafil (the active ingredient in Viagra).
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Vitamins B3, B9, C and D have been linked with blood flow, ED or testosterone levels in scientific studies. However, there’s very limited research on the link between vitamins and ED, meaning our understanding of this potential link isn’t very strong right now.
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To get reliable relief from ED, it’s best to talk to a licensed ED healthcare provider online to learn how you can improve blood flow to your privates and strengthen your erections.
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Depending on your medical history, they may check your blood pressure, cholesterol and other tests that can screen for health conditions like heart disease, type 2 diabetes and other things that are a risk factor for ED.
Okay, now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s talk vitamins.
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Vitamins are critical for the proper functioning of your body. They play vital roles in the development of your bones and organs. They also power essential biological processes that keep you alive, from your metabolism to the operation and function of your brain.
Because vitamins play such important roles in your health and survival, vitamin deficiencies can have serious negative effects on your well-being. What vitamins are good for erectile dysfunction, then, are the ones you don’t have enough of.
Some potential vitamins for ED include:
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Vitamin B3 (niacin)
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Vitamin B9 (folic acid)
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Vitamin C (ascorbic acid)
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Vitamin D
Let’s look into each one to learn more.
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Some scientific research suggests that vitamin B3, or niacin, may be helpful for managing ED.
For example, a study in 2011 found that adult men with ED and dyslipidemia (abnormal amounts of lipids in the blood) experienced improvements in erectile function after taking niacin for 12 weeks.
Vitamin B3 is an important vitamin for metabolic function. It’s linked to a reduced risk of certain types of cardiovascular disease thanks to its anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effects.
Niacin is widely available as a health supplement. It’s also found in a variety of foods, including:
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Red meat, poultry and fish
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Bran, yeast and whole-grain cereals
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Peanuts, legumes and seeds
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Eggs
(Related: The Best ED Pills for Men: Pros & Cons of ED Medication)
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Another vitamin that may be linked with ED is vitamin B9, or folic acid.
A study published in the Asian Journal of Andrology analyzed the folic acid levels of men with ED and found that men with ED typically had lower levels of folic acid than healthy, unaffected men.
Interestingly, low levels of vitamin B9 were also linked to PE — another common male performance issue.
A newer study from 2020 noted a more direct link between vitamin B9 and health. In this study, men with ED showed measurable improvements in erectile function after taking a vitamin B9 supplement on a daily basis for three months.
Vitamin B9 plays key roles in the synthesis of DNA and RNA — essential molecules for storing and reading genetic information. It’s also important for the production of healthy red blood cells.
You can purchase vitamin B9 as a health supplement, but it’s also found in a wide range of foods, like:
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Leafy green vegetables, such as broccoli, spinach, asparagus and lettuce
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Meats, including liver
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Fish and other seafood
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Peanuts, sunflower seeds and beans
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Milk and other dairy products
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Eggs
Folic acid is also commonly added to many breads, cereals, pastas and other grain products in order to prevent nutritional deficiencies.
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Vitamin C is one of the most important vitamins for our bodies. When it comes to erectile health, research suggests that it might play a role in certain biochemical pathways that allow you to get and stay hard during intimacy.
For example, a review published in the journal Fertility and Sterility noted that vitamin C is one of several vitamins and minerals that support the biochemical pathway that leads to the release of nitric oxide.
Nitric oxide, or NO, is generally viewed as the principal agent responsible for relaxing the tissues inside your privates and allowing blood to flow in and create arousal.
Beyond its potential role in your health, vitamin C plays a key role in the biosynthesis of several neurotransmitters, as well as important structural proteins — like collagen, for example.
It’s also essential for maintaining healthy teeth and gums, absorbing iron and promoting proper wound healing.
Good sources of vitamin C include:
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Citrus fruits, such as orange, grapefruit, lemon and lime
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Other fresh fruits, including kiwifruit, guava and papaya
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Strawberries, blackberries, raspberries and blueberries
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Red peppers, green peppers, broccoli and other vegetables
Many fruit and vegetable juices also contain plenty of vitamin C. You can also find it in most multivitamin supplements.
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Although research into the effects of vitamin D on performance is limited, some studies have found that vitamin D deficiency is linked to ED.
A small study published in the International Journal of Impotence Research found that men with vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency had lower levels of function than men with normal vitamin D levels.
However, it’s also worth noting that this study only investigated function and depression symptoms in young men with low vitamin D status.
A meta-analysis from 2020 also found that vitamin D deficiency may be associated with severe forms of ED.
According to a review published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, around 24 percent of people in the United States have low vitamin D levels. Low vitamin D levels are even more common in Canada and Europe.
Your skin produces vitamin D when it’s exposed to sunlight, and it doesn’t take much to maintain healthy levels. Most people will be able to produce enough vitamin D to stay healthy with natural sun exposure from going for a daily walk or running errands.
If you live in an area with limited sunlight or prefer not to spend too much time outdoors, you can also take in vitamin D from food or vitamin D supplementation.
Foods that contain vitamin D include:
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Fish, including salmon, trout, tuna, sardines and many fish oils
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Cheese, milk and other dairy products
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Red meat and poultry
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Soy, almond and oat milks
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Mushrooms
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Apples, bananas and other fruits
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Rice, lentils, sunflower seeds and almonds
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Broccoli, carrots and other vegetables
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Research on other supplements for ED is often inconsistent or not very strong. Some men might see an effect, many might not.
ED supplements that may produce improvements in function and health include:
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L-arginine. This amino acid plays a key role in the production of nitric oxide, which is a molecule that relaxes your blood vessels and promotes healthy blood flow.
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Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). This hormone is a precursor to testosterone, which is important for regulating your drive.
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Ginseng. This herbal supplement might produce improvements in function and satisfaction, but the quality of research is low.
Just like with vitamins, it’s important to keep in mind that supplements aren’t subject to clinical trials like medications. This means that there’s a lot that we don’t know about them, including the safety and effectiveness of using them as ED treatments.
(Related: What Foods Help You Get Hard: 8 Foods For Erectile Dysfunction)
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None of the “vitamins for erection health” listed above — or anything else you can find in a multivitamin — are proven, evidence-based treatments for ED.
Currently, among the most effective options for treating ED are FDA-approved medications called PDE5 inhibitors. These treatments work by dilating the arteries that supply your privates, allowing for better blood flow to your tissues.
Unlike vitamins and natural remedies, they’re subject to large-scale clinical trials before they go onto pharmacy shelves, meaning we know that they’re safe and effective for most men.
If you find it difficult to get or maintain an erection, consider one of the following medications:
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Sildenafil. The active ingredient in Viagra, sildenafil provides relief from ED for around four hours per dose.
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Tadalafil. The active ingredient in Cialis, tadalafil is a long-lasting medication that can provide relief from ED for up to 36 hours.
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Vardenafil. The active ingredient in Levitra, vardenafil provides relief from ED for four to five hours.
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Avanafil. Sold as Stendra, avanafil is a newer treatment that provides relief from ED for up to six hours, with a lower risk of side effects than other oral ED medications.
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Chewable ED medications. These fast-acting chewable mints include ingredients like sildenafil, tadalafil and vardenafil to help you get and stay hard during intimacy.
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Although research is limited, some studies have shown a link between ED and certain vitamin deficiencies.
If you’re deficient in vitamins B3 (niacin), B9, C or D, increasing your consumption might improve your overall health, and maybe your ED symptoms. However, there are several things you’ll want to keep in mind before turning to vitamins as a “proven” ED treatment:
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Vitamins like B3, B9, C and D are important for your overall health and health, and may help in the management of ED. More research is needed to determine whether natural supplements containing L-arginine, ginseng and others are as effective as supplement makers claim.
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It isn’t clear if these vitamins help with function if you don’t have a vitamin deficiency. In other words, if you’re healthy, taking extra vitamin C may not have any impact on your performance in the bedroom.
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More isn’t always better when it comes to vitamins. Certain vitamins are toxic when consumed in excess, meaning you shouldn’t exceed the recommended intake if you choose to use a vitamin supplement.
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Vitamins aren’t a replacement for FDA-approved ED medication, or for healthy, natural habits and lifestyle changes that can make maintaining an arousal easier.
This article originally appeared on Hims.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
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Featured Image Credit: Jacob Wackerhausen/istockphoto.
