Premature Ejaculation Finally Defined

What's the definition of "premature ejaculation?" Glad you asked. There's never really been one, until now.

You need to last one minute to avoid the label, experts now say.

The International Society for Sexual Medicine (ISSM) gathered the world's leading sexual health experts to develop an evidence-based definition for the dreaded quick ending. They'll present the details of their conclusions May 19 at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association.

The researchers considered these factors: time to ejaculation, inability to delay ejaculation and negative consequences from premature ejaculation, or what they like to call PE.

In short, here's the new definition: "A male sexual dysfunction characterized by ejaculation which always or nearly always occurs prior to or within about one minute of vaginal penetration; and, inability to delay ejaculation on all or nearly all vaginal penetrations; and, negative personal consequences, such as distress, bother, frustration and/or the avoidance of sexual intimacy."

"For something that has such a profound effect on men young and old, there needs to be a definitive measure to diagnose premature ejaculation," said Dr. Ira D. Sharlip, the study's main author. "The hope is that more people with these symptoms will understand this is an actual health condition and seek treatment. They no longer need to suffer in silence."

The definition is also published in the Journal of Urology.

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