"I can't make love, I have a terrible headache." This phrase has become well-recognized, and even a subject of humor to epitomize a popular belief that women may often need an excuse to avoid love-making with a man whose sexual appetite is much more insistent that hers. In recent years, however, we have been hearing increasingly about men who are intimidated by women, or for one reason or another, cannot perform--"performance anxiety." Do women or men have a higher incidence of inhibited sexual desire to the point where it becomes a problem in their life? Perhaps it is much more equal than is popularly thought, but men are more reticent to talk about it.
Man who suffered from Impotence
In no other area of human health does the mind enter in more thoroughly than in human sexuality--an ironic statement, because most of us realize that this is precisely one area of human activity where the mind can often do more harm than good. But in fact, statistics show that for both men and women, up to 80% of sexual dysfunction and inhibited sexual desire are of mental or emotional origin.
Impotence refers to the inability to have an erection or maintain an erection until ejaculation, which is often seen in sexual neurastenia and some chronic diseases.
Impotence can be classified as primary or secondary. A man with primary impotence has never had successful intercourse with a partner but may achieve normal erections in other situations. This rare condition is difficult to treat.
Treatment of secondary impotence is more successful than that of primary impotence because, despite current impotence problems, there is some history of success with completing intercourse in the past.
In TCM, impotence is usually caused by the decline of fire from the gate of life and exhaustion of essence and blood as a result of early marriage, indulgence in sexual activity or frequent masturbation, damage to the kidney by fright, damage to the heart and spleen and further the Stomach Meridian of Foot-Yangming and Chong Meridian by worries. There are also some cases caused by the downward flow of dampness-heat.
The syndrome differentiation is failure to have an erection or inability to maintain a satisfactory erection, premature ejaculation. The accompanying symptoms are dizziness, blurred vision, tinnitus, insomnia, pale complexion, lassitude, soreness and weakness in the loin and knees, thready and weak pulse.
Treatment of the disease is to invigorate kidney qi and benefit the heart and spleen.
