Confusion still reigns about when a man is considered to be impotent or to have erectile dysfunction, as doctors refer to it.
Although not being able to stay erect long enough to complete sexual intercourse is a problem, some men suspect one such occurrence means they are impotent.
'A number of healthy males think they are impotent. Usually, if the problem has been there for more than six months and attempts to have intercourse have failed more than 50 per cent of the time, then you are impotent,' says Dr Andrew Yip Wai-chun, a urologist who runs a male clinic at Kwong Wah Hospital.
He says consultations are often spent debunking myths and misconceptions about erectile dysfunction, which many men consider an embarrassing affliction.
'Every man is bound to fail a few times because of anxiety, fatigue, alcohol and so on. Impotence has nothing to do with sexual desire, orgasm or ejaculation. It has mainly to do with maintaining an erection. It is a failure to get enough blood into the male part and hold it there for enough rigidity to achieve mutually satisfying sexual intercourse,' says Dr Yip.
Urologists report cases in which men refuse to seek treatment for almost their entire lives, while others pretend to have mistresses as an excuse to their wives. Dr Yip says it is common for men to resort to gimmicks, drugs or alcohol in the hope of improving their sexual ability.