A little known about condition that can cause erectile dysfunction as well as a great deal of stress worry for a man is Peyronie’s disease. This unusual problem disfigures the male penis and thus a man is left with a curved or irregular penis that can make it impossible for him to have normal sexual relations with a woman. Sometimes it is nicknamed the ‘corkscrew Charlie effect’. Peyronie’s disease happens when plaques or hard bits of skin start to form around the loose tissue that covers the blood vessels in the penis. This means that some of the corpora cavernosa (that are the chambers that blood goes into when a man gets an erection) are no longer able to fill up with blood and thus the erection formed is irregular in shape and can even be as much as 90 degrees out of the line of a normal erection.

Peyronie’s disease comes in different forms and affects different parts of the penis and thus men are affected in many different ways by it. Some men suffer from it in a way that gives them a hard penis at the base but the tip remains soft as the plaque build up prevents the blood from reaching the end of the penis.

Peyronie’s disease has obviously been around for a long time and it was first documented in the 1500’s. Roughly speaking it effects between 60 and 70 men per 100,000. It used to be thought that a penile infection caused the problem by now it is been established the cause of the disease is that an auto immune response to a slight damage to the penis that can be the result of abrasion during sexual intercourse is the likely cause of Peyronie’s. The small injury over time is substituted by fibrous tissue that later on hardens into fibrous plaque that causes the curvature if the penis.

Peyronie’s disease also causes very painful erections and makes it very difficult for a man to have sex normally. Erectile dysfunction is also another problem that occurs with Peyronie’s.

Ukmedix doctors can’t prescribe erectile dysfunction drugs to men with any abnormalities of the penis or Peyronie’s disease and if you start to notice that you have an irregularly shaped penis it is important that you see a doctor sooner rather than later. The good news is that Peyronie’s disease can be cured with surgery and there are doctors that specialise in dealing with the condition.