Medics urged to ask about sex and not rely on Viagra

The question could give clinicians an early warning of other health problems and help to tackle social issues like relationship breakdown, they said.

A Yorkshire expert who has drawn up a new set of guidelines for medical staff, Professor Kevan Wylie, a urology lecturer at the University of Sheffield, stressed that diagnosis was not just about restoring sexual function: "If people have the opportunity to talk about this, they may say this is affecting my relationship, that's a huge issue for society as a whole, the break-up of relationships."

He added: "During medical consultations, both patients and doctors shy away from discussing sexual symptoms and this leads to an incomplete assessment of patients' sex lives and a failure to legitimise their needs and requests for healthy sex lives."

Prof Wylie said it was "important to open the channel for communication" even if people did not ask for help immediately.

Asking questions about sex should not even increase financial pressure on health services and correct diagnosis could even save money long-term, the society claimed.

Dr Geoff Hackett, a sexual health specialist at Good Hope Hospital, Birmingham, said savings could be made where patients are inappropriately prescribed sometimes expensive drugs which do not effectively tackle their problem.

More than half of patients taking Viagra found it did not solve their problems, adding that low testosterone was the main problem for one in 10 men suffering erectile dysfunction.

"The biggest waste (of money) is a tablet that doesn't work," he said.

Dr Hackett tests the testosterone levels of all men who visit his clinic and some react angrily to being told they have wasted years and lots of money taking the pills. "I have had some people say I'm going back to that surgery and asking for my money back," he said.

The doctor said low testosterone is a contributory factor for a further one in five of men suffering sexual problems.

Dr Hackett said erectile dysfunction can be an early warning of coronary artery issues and routinely asking men about it could help to identify people with potential heart problems.

Low testosterone also increases the risk of developing type II diabetes.

The BSSM also stressed that sexual function is important for general well-being and mental health.