There are a lot of myths and truths about the human penis but it is a fact that erections are not as manageable as you would think, for anyone. 

 I was working happily in the store one afternoon when I get a phone call from a local nurse. She tells me that she works for a urologist and that she has a question. Intrigued, I ask what her question is. 

“The doctor that I work for has been telling men with premature ejaculation problems to hold the base of their penis while having sex to prevent it. I was wondering if that was maybe what a cockring is for?” 

 I let her know that yes, that is indeed what a cockring is for. We talked for a few minutes longer while I gave her a few insights into the mechanics of that form of ring use. After she hung up I had to chuckle, the image of someone trying to awkwardly perform intercourse while holding their penis was a bit much.

 Back to erections, there are two primary reasons why penises lose erections. These are not causes, there are many things that cause these problems, these are reasons that the penis is no longer hard. What are they? Premature ejaculation and premature deflation, and they are very different. 

 Note, if you are having either of these issues please remember that neither of these are likely to be your fault or your partner’s fault. These are legitimate problems that can be caused by a lot of different things, most of which nobody has any control over.

  Cockrings are not a magic solution to either of these problems but they can help and I’m going to explain how. I am going to start here with a bit of explanation of both erectile issues then in later segments I’ll cover the different ways that rings can help.

 I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice but many of these techniques have been used by my customers and many other folks successfully. Please be careful and pay attention to the warnings I have included.

 Let’s start with premature ejaculation because this is the issue we started with above. A medical case of premature ejaculation is when ejaculation occurs within seconds of penetration or just as the penis starts to penetrate. If you are coming off this fast it is actually worth talking to your doctor about it if you can. There are not a lot of medical treatments for it, as my story illustrates, but there are some.

 It is not premature ejaculation if activity lasts only three to five minutes before blast off as long as both partners are ready (foreplay is essential) when the main event begins. That may be disappointing but it is normal. If this is you or your partner and it would be awesome for things to last longer, a ring can absolutely help. Please be realistic though, 20 minutes or even longer is not the norm. There are some side effects of modern antidepressants that will make it possible to go that long but still it’s not ideal or recommended. Ask anyone dealing with anorgasmia due to antidepressants, it’s possible for things to go too long.

 Premature deflation is completely different. Most folks just call this losing your erection and it is exactly that, the penis simply deflates. This phenomenon is frequently blamed on partners or lack of interest in sex when the truth is that there are multiple causes of it and those are not the common ones. Penises during sexual activity are hydraulic, enough blood and you get an erection not enough and you don’t. This is a really delicate system that can be thrown off really easily. Even something as relatively simple as being a bit dehydrated can cause an issue, so can drinking too much, diabetes, getting older and low blood pressure. There are also problems caused by neurodivergence and depression because the brain is important too.  Just like before you should talk to your doctor, but depending on the problem they may not help much. I have had a lot of customers tell me that their doctor was not overly sympathetic, especially with the issues caused by antidepressants. If you can you should still talk to them about it though, since for some of the circulation issues they might be able to help. 

 Cockrings are not the ultimate answer to all erection problems but they are very helpful for many of them. If you have been or are now considering trying one then stay with me because that is what I’m going to explain next.