The male ego is tightly tied to his sexual performance so the occurrence of any lack in this area is real cause for concern. The most common male sexual dysfunction is premature ejaculation. It happens in 30% of all American men at some point in their sexual lifetime. Premature ejaculation occurs more often in younger men than it does in older males mostly due to the fact that younger males tend to hurry through the sexual act so as not to get caught doing it. Once they become old enough to be in a serious sexual relationship and can have the luxury of being able to slow down, the habit of having to hurry through the act is difficult to break.

Premature ejaculation is basically when a male will ejaculate prematurely (before either of the sex partners are ready) for him to. It is often a habit that he has developed in his youth that is difficult to break and therefore the problem is usually one of having to retrain his ability to control his release. There are some cases in which the cause may also be biological as well as psychological in nature.

Premature ejaculation can also be related to another sexual dysfunction called erectile dysfunction. Erectile dysfunction is the inability of a male to achieve an erection or to maintain one long enough to perform the sexual act.

There are several treatments that can improve premature ejaculation.

Symptoms of premature ejaculation:

There is no medically documented standard for how long it should take to achieve an ejaculation, as this is basically dependant on the two individuals involved in the sexual encounter so the symptom is really something that is defined by the sexual couple involved in the situation.

Premature ejaculation can happen in all types of sexual encounters including masturbation or situations involving another individual.

There are two types of classifications for premature ejaculation primary and secondary.

Primary premature ejaculation is when the problem has been in existence for as long as you have been sexually active.

Secondary premature ejaculation is when the problem is a condition that is new and that there has been a previous experience of having normal sexual relations without premature ejaculation.

Causes:

Causes of premature ejaculation can be attributed to early sexual experience where the male was forced to hurry through his sexual act usually in order not to be caught. Other causes may be anxiety or depression.

Another possible cause is that some males may be oversensitive in the genitalia.

Risk:

Those males who are at greatest risk for premature ejaculation are those who are experiencing episodes of impotence, have other health problems that may make them feel anxious about sex (cardiac)

Stress can be a factor for premature ejaculation as a male's emotional state is often times connected to his physical ability to perform.

Another factor in premature ejaculation can be the medications that the male is taking. Certain medications can have an influence over the chemical messengers in the brain (psychotropics).