Erectile dysfunction may be a modern term, but men have been experiencing erectile problems for millennia. Treatments for the problem have come on leaps and bounds in recent years, but treatments for ED have existed for at least hundreds of years.
Frog and Alligator Treatments of the 8th Century
Today, treatments for erectile dysfunction work better than ever before. Modern drugs like Viagra and Cialis are effective in eight out of ten men. But, of course, modern medicine did not exist centuries ago. So, the physicians of the time were forced to use more inventive methods. The earliest record of a treatment for erection problems dates back to 8th century India. The doctors of the time believed that men’s erectile dysfunctions were due to having sexual intercourse with undesirable women. The prescribed treatments included a variety of herbal medicines and additives from animals. Additives from creatures like mice, sparrows, frogs and alligators were used as they were believed to increase sexual arousal and desire.
Drug and Diet Treatments of the 9th Century
ED treatments are also recorded from the 9th century. Muslim doctors would prescribe natural drugs and a change of diet in the hope of curing erectile dysfunction. Up until the 16th century, oral medication was used by Muslim communities, and so was the application of drugs via the urethra.
Treatments of the 19th and 20th Centuries
Fast forward to the 1800s, and sheep testes extract was commonly being used to treat impotence. The testosterone extract was injected. The method remained popular until as recent as the 1940s, but it changed when testosterone was purified. But the sheep testes extract method was dismissed earlier, in the 1920s and 1930s, by American doctor John R. Brinkley. He recommended the use of costly goat gland implants. However, Dr Brinkley’s procedures were not regulated or approved and the Kansas State Medical Board ended up revoking his medical license.
The 1970s Saw the Introduction of Penile Implants and Vacuum Pumps
By the 1970s, new methods of treating ED had been invented. Penile implants were being used, as were penile vacuum pumps. The latter especially became popular thanks to Geddings Osbon’s mass-marketed Youth Equivalence Device, which paved the way for today’s modern penile vacuum pumps.
New Oral Treatments Developed in the 1980s
In 1983, the British physiologist Giles Brindley demonstrated the effects of phentolamine on inducing an erection. His discovery laid the path for the later development of oral treatments that could create muscle relaxation to help a penis become erect. Dr Brindley’s treatments involved vasodilators and alpha-blocking agents.
The Modern-day Game Changers
The game-changer came in the early 1990s when sildenafil was approved as a heart medication. It was soon discovered that patients taking the medication were experiencing firmer and longer-lasting erections. After more research was conducted, pharmaceutical company Pfizer unveiled its new sildenafil drug, Viagra.
Around the same time, in 1991, Glaxo Wellcome discovered tadalafil. The FDA approved the oral medication in 2003. It is now sold under the brand name of Cialis. Along with Viagra, the medication helps men all over the world to get and maintain an erection. Things have certainly come a long way since the use of frogs and alligators for treating erectile dysfunction!
