Premature ejaculation refers to the condition where, after the penis enters the vagina, the man ejaculates within a short period of time (about 2 minutes) before the woman reaches orgasm, leading to sexual intercourse dysfunction. This issue affects about 30% of men, and although it may seem minor, it can significantly reduce the quality of sexual life and potentially lead to other sexual dysfunctions such as erectile dysfunction, with serious consequences that necessitate early treatment. Generally speaking, premature ejaculation involves situations where a man ejaculates either before the penis enters the vagina or shortly after penetration, leading to a weak erection and a natural refractory period for the penis.
**Case:**
The patient is a teacher nearing middle age who has been selected for a professorship. His wife works at a bank, and their son attends a key high school in the city, making their family happy overall. However, there is one regrettable aspect of his life: the disharmony in their sexual relationship, as he ejaculates upon mere contact of his penis with his wife's vagina.
Due to this, he often receives complaints from his wife and feels quite frustrated himself. After thorough examination by a doctor, it was found that his focus was entirely on work, leading to a lack of exercise and a preference for spicy food, resulting in bowel movements only once every three days.
After ruling out other diseases, the doctor determined that his premature ejaculation and constipation were related.
Another case involves an engineer whose body is well-proportioned, with slightly reddish hair and fair skin, not looking like someone in their forties at first glance. However, she also experiences confusion, lacking interest in sexual activity. Sexual encounters occur only every ten to fifteen days, and she always hastily accommodates her husband, who jokingly mentions the insufficient warmth in their relationship. Upon visiting a sexual medicine consultation clinic, she learned about medical research and dietary adjustments, realizing that her once-a-week bowel movements were linked to both her lack of sexual behavior and constipation.
Why does constipation affect sexuality?
In fact, the human body controls the "defecation center" within the spinal cord. When feces reach the rectum, they stimulate the nerves connected to the defecation center, causing the pelvic parasympathetic nerve fibers to activate. This leads to rectal contraction and relaxation of the anal sphincter muscles, resulting in the spinal reflex for defecation.
However, in some cases of chronic constipation, there is a "malfunction" in the neural reflex arc, causing the commands from the defecation center to be ineffective. Not only does the rectum suffer, but the muscle groups in the pelvis are also stimulated, leading to poor function of the deep transverse perineal muscles, urethral sphincter spasm, and vaginal spasm. These muscles experience relative insufficient blood supply and relaxation issues. Since these muscle groups are involved in penile erection, ejaculation, and vaginal function through normal neural innervation of the pudendal nerve, the result can include difficulty in achieving ejaculation for men (leading to premature ejaculation), absence of orgasm, painful intercourse, vaginal spasm, and sexual indifference in women.