Quick summary
- Penis pumps are clinically recommended, non-invasive devices used to treat erectile dysfunction, offering a simple and effective solution with minimal risks compared to drug therapies and surgeries.
- These devices create a vacuum that induces a temporary erection by drawing blood into the penis, with manual and automatic versions available to suit users’ preferences.
- Proper usage and monitoring of the penis pump can ensure a safe and satisfying experience, helping individuals with ED maintain a healthy sex life.
Internet market for men’s wellness segment gets an addition every single day, and it’s no surprise that people are spending more on self-care products.
A penis pump is a skeptical device in the men’s wellness/care segment that you might have come across while browsing the internet.
Judging by its looks; a person will find it odd and wouldn’t mind giving some time to learn more about it.
Even though people don’t care much about it, this beasty pump is actually one of the most used male-care product out there in the market.
Penis pumps are clinically recommended solution for treating erectile dysfunction (ED)1 in males.
They have many benefits over other treatment regimens because of their simplicity and underlying physics.
In this article, we shall explore the ‘a to z’ regarding a top rated penis pumps to blow the clouds of skepticism from your mind.
So without adding further, let’s move into the details of penis pumps.
Read more: Penis Pumps Benefits: Should You Buy One?
What is a penis pump?
A penis pump2 is a device that is used to create an artificial erection in males suffering from erectile dysfunction (ED).
There are hundreds of brands in the market sporting a penis pump of different specification and features.
The basic parts include a cylindrical chamber, a bellow gaiter at one mouth and a pressure release valve on the other mouth.
Comfort pads made from silicone are present on the gaiter mouth to reduce the discomfort while using a pump.
Usually, the chamber is made using high-quality polycarbonate plastic with a transparent body, and the gaiters are made using skin-friendly silicone.
The vacuum is created by the ‘to and fro’ motion of the chamber, which ejects air or water out of the chamber.
Some pumps come equipped with a handball which reduces the effort of pumping.
There are electronic pumps which operate on battery and sucks the air out of the chamber using an electric pump.
Automatic penis pumps are faster and more precise in creating a vacuum, while the manual version gives the user more control to the user.
Other accessories with penis pumps include a shower strap to secure the pump on hip, a penis ring to sustain an erection3, pressure gauges to check the vacuum inside the chamber and lubricants to avoid irritation to the penis skin.
How to use a penis pump?
There might be slight changes in the usage pattern for various pumps, but the basic instructions are always the same.
For more clarification, always use the pump only after carefully reading through the user manual.
The basic steps are as follows:
- Clean the foreskin with warm water and get yourself relaxed in a cozy ambiance. The mood you create matters for a good result.
- For water-based pumps, fill the chamber with clean water till the indication mark, whereas for air pumps slide the chamber over the penis.
- Make sure that the bellow gaiter creates an airtight seal with the pubic bone. To ensure this always trim the pubic hair, which otherwise would prevent an airtight seal.
- Push the chamber towards the pubic bone and allow it to release back on its own.
- Make sure that the safety pressure valve is in the right position so that in each stroke, a little amount of water/air is pushed out.
- Continue this for 10 ~ 15 minutes and watch the penis growing inside the chamber.
- Pull down the penis ring towards the root and remove the chamber by opening the valve to let air in. The user can engage in sexual activities for a short duration until the penis goes flaccid.
How does it work?
The physics behind the penis pump is very simple, but materializing it into a device to be used for human benefit was the real challenging task.
The fluids inside the body and atmosphere outside are in equilibrium, which is by default optimized by nature through evolution.
In the existing fluid pressure, the body is struggling to pump enough blood into the penis tissue to make it erect.
What a penis pump does is to create a region of lower pressure (vacuum) such that fluid in higher pressure will form a gradient.
This pressure gradient acts from inside out of the blood vessels over the penis region, and as a result the blood vessels are opened up and widened.
This creates a pressure channel for blood flow from the circulatory system into the penis and thus fils up the penis sac to artificially induce an erection.
Once the blood flows back into the system, the penis would relax and go flaccid, which is sometimes delayed by using a penis ring.
The science of erection
Erection is a biological process which starts in the brain, where specific neurotransmitter release will signal the penis to erect.
Penis has a dual-chamber called ‘corpus cavernosa,’ a.k.a. ‘penis sacs’ and when the brain signals, blood gets filled into these sacs.
The arteries carrying blood into the penis sacs are relaxed, which would result in dilation of the blood vessels, and at the same time, the veins draining blood from the penis would constrict and close.
This creates a temporary blood trap which fills up the corpus cavernosa to create an erection.
When the blood inflow is stopped, the veins slowly starts to open up, which drains the blood out of sacs and results in flaccidity.
When the body is unable to perform this process of erection, it is called as ‘erectile dysfunction.’
Improper brain signaling due to conditions like Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s or high blood pressure, cholesterol, obesity, and erectile tissue damage are some of the reasons which cause ED.
Benefits of penis pumps
Penis pumps are often used when a person suffers from mild to moderate ED. But compared to the alternative treatment choices, these pumps have lots of benefits, and some of them are:
- Less risky treatment choice compared to drugs because the penis pumps are mechanical device and don’t require any medications.
- The cost incurred is comparatively low; however, the capital cost is higher.
- Most effective and safest choice to repair ED when used correctly.
- No surgery or invasive procedures are involved making it a patient-friendly device.
- The penis pump is the best choice to be used in a combination treatment strategy.
- After prostate surgery or radiation therapy penis pumps are used to regain the erection.
- Less frequent hospital visits required once the device usage is on track.
- Endorsed by the medical community and there is even FDA approved penis pumps.
- Can be used as an exercising tool to strengthen the penis tissue.
Is the erection created by penis pump safe?
Yes, the erection created with the aid of penis pumps is mostly much stronger than natural erection and thus tends to sustain longer.
However, if the sexual vigor doesn’t show up after erection, it will result in a failed erection.
This usually happens with people suffering from the pituitary disorder.
Always make sure that you don’t over pump using these devices because the erections often created artificially are not controlled by bodies natural fail-safe.
Due to this reason, if one overdo the pumping, it might create some internal bleeding.
Apart from that, the erection using a penis pump feels good and helps hundreds of thousands of male with ED to have a good healthy sex life.
Nowadays most of the penis pumps come with a transparent body for the user to closely monitor the penis to spot any discoloration or blisters, thus making it a safe choice.
Conclusion
Penis pumps are vacuum devices that can draw blood into the penis shaft in people suffering from ED, thus creating a temporary erection.
In a healthy penis, the vasodilation of arteries, constriction of veins, and associated parasympathetic signaling, etc. work in harmony to create an erection.
While the erection created by the penis pump is due to the vasodilation of arteries and the resulting pressure gradient created by the vacuum.
Most of the penis pumps use water to create the vacuum which is more tameable compared to air.
Penis pumps are clinical treatment choices, which are often suggested in the early stages of ED and posesses very few risks compared to drug therapy.
References
- Lue, Tom F. “Erectile dysfunction.” New England journal of medicine 342.24 (2000): 1802-1813. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM200006153422407
- Lewis, Ronald W., and R. Witherington. “External vacuum therapy for erectile dysfunction: use and results.” World journal of urology 15.1 (1997): 78-82. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF01275162
- Andersson, Karl-Erik, and Gorm Wagner. “Physiology of penile erection.” Physiological reviews 75.1 (1995): 191-236. https://www.physiology.org/doi/abs/10.1152/physrev.1995.75.1.191