In this video we asked Dr Tom Walsh, the director of the University of Washington Men’s Health Center, what the difference is between impotence and erectile dysfunction.
The term ‘impotence’and ‘erectile dysfunction’ mean the same thing. Erectile Dysfunction, or ED, is the new terminology used.
A man has erectile dysfunction when his penis has regularly failed to give an erection that has been good enough to achieve or maintain sexual penetration.
Many different reasons for ED issues – many different options.
**Below is the transcript of the video**
Is there a difference between erectile dysfunction and impotence? They’re meant to denote the same disease, but impotence is a very old word and one that has really been replaced with a more accurate terminology which is erectile dysfunction. Impotence is not a word that makes a lot of sense.
We actually have our colleagues in the pharmaceutical industry to thank for this. Back when the type 5 selective phosphodiesterase inhibitors like Sildenafil or Viagra, they realized that they needed to explain disease better to men and that the word “impotence” had very negative connotations to it and it wasn’t really accurate. So a term that we really prefer that describes what’s going on and what’s not going on is “erectile dysfunction.”
What’s really important for men to realize is that most all men in their lifetime, if they’re fortunate to live long enough, will experience E.D. and every man can find a treatment that works to restore their erections.