This is something that many men have been told countless times but which still bears repeating: Penis health can be impacted by issues that don’t originate in the penis – and that applies to penis function as well. While some penis function issues have a clear link to the penis, such as a line drive baseball smacking solidly against the penis, other penis function issues may have origins that are less clear. In some cases, anemia may be a big contributing factor to some penis function issues.

A blood issue

When a person has anemia, they lack a lot of energy. Just engaging in simple physical tasks may make them feel tired – sometimes a little tired, sometimes a lot, depending upon both the severity of the anemia and the physical demands of the task. But what is anemia, and why does it make a person feel tired and/or listless?

Basically, when a person has anemia, it means that their blood isn’t able to take enough oxygen around the body. There’s a protein in blood, called hemoglobin, which is largely responsible for transporting the oxygen. If there is a problem with the hemoglobin, or if there are not enough red blood cells (and therefore not enough hemoglobin), anemia results.

In addition to fatigue, anemia can have other symptoms as well, such as pale or yellowish skin, cold hands and feet, dizziness, headaches, or an irregular heartbeat. There can be several causes of anemia, but the most common is caused by a lack of iron.

Penis function

So anemia is not a good thing – but how does it affect penis function? Basically it causes or contributes to erectile dysfunction.

When the penis gets erect, the blood vessels in the penis open up so that more oxygen-rich blood can come into the penis and fill up the spongy tissue there. Blood volume is essential, but the more oxygenated the blood is, the stronger the erection can be.

Second, when there’s less oxygen in the blood, it means that more pressure is put on the heart. It’s forced to pump faster, and when this goes on for too long a period of time, the heart gets weaker. And when the heart gets weaker, it has a harder time pumping blood forcefully around – which in turn means there’s less blood volume to flow into the penis to create or sustain the erection.

Even when a man has a successful erection, anemia can still cause some performance issues. Less available oxygen means a man tires more quickly, reducing the stamina that he may need for engaging in sex. This can translate into either a weakening of the erection itself or the body becoming too tired to perform sexual maneuvers at its best.

What to do

A doctor should be consulted in order to determine the cause of the anemia. As mentioned, very often the cause is lack of iron, and the treatment then may largely consist of adding more iron, both in the diet itself and through dietary supplements. When the reason for the anemia goes beyond a simple iron deficiency, the doctor will need to determine the appropriate way to treat it.

Treating anemia can help improve penis function, and it also can be helpful to maintain general penis health at the highest possible level. This latter goal can more readily be achieved if a man daily applies a first rate penis health oil (health professionals recommend Man 1 Man Oil, which is clinically proven mild and safe for skin). A man should for an oil with L-arginine, an amino acid which helps boost nitric oxide production, which in turn enables penile blood vessels to expand as needed. In addition, the oil should include vitamin C, which is necessary for proper blood flow, which is essential for maintaining erectile function.