Leveraging the Penis to Help Men's Health

Of note: I realize that the picture for this blog post generated by ChatGPT uses female anatomy with a phallic twist and labels it "Male Reproductive System." I was so tickled by this image that I had to use it. Please know that I do know the difference between male and female anatomy and that the above picture is not anatomically correct. Chalk it up to artistic license.

Now to the blog post:

Just as the quickest way to a man's heart is through his stomach, I think the quickest way to reach a male patient about their health is through their penis.

As discussed before, I often think of the penis as the best barometer of a man's health. To have a functioning penis it needs great blood flow (cardiovascular system), solid hormonal support (endocrine system), be well oxygenated (pulmonary system), intact nerve signaling (nervous system), and reasonably stable mental health. Penile performance issues are often the canary in the coal mine, with erection difficulties predictably proceeding cardiac disease by several years.

Men really really really care about their penis. You tell a young male patient that his HbA1c is high, he often doesn't really care. You tell him that given his high blood sugars he will likely be impotent by his late 40s, NOW you have his attention.

Many industries use enticing sexual advertisement strategies to drive customer behavior to sell their products... because it works. Capitalism BABY! I think medical professionals need to tap into this same primal drive to affect patient's decision making in a positive way. If being aware that taking a statin, changing ones diet, or exercising more actually changes something they care about, the patient will be more likely to do it and stick to it.

This is why I 'early and often' bring up sexual performance and erectile potency with my young male patients. I find that it almost always leads to investments in behaviors that drive an improvement in quality of life.