---
title: "Premature ejaculation: symptoms, causes & treatment"
description: "Finishing sooner than you or your partner would like is common and treatable with prescription options and practical techniques."
url: "https://www.sanarahealth.co.uk/conditions/premature-ejaculation/"
source: "Sanara Health"
licence: "Quote with attribution and a link to the url above."
---
# Premature ejaculation: symptoms, causes & treatment

Finishing sooner than you or your partner would like is common and treatable with prescription options and practical techniques.

Editorial information by **Kaiser Khan**. Not clinically reviewed.

## Symptoms

- Ejaculation within about a minute of penetration
- Difficulty delaying ejaculation
- Distress or avoidance of intimacy

## Why it happens

Often a mix of sensitivity, anxiety and learned patterns. Sometimes associated with erectile difficulties.

## Treatment

On-demand or daily prescription tablets where suitable, combined with behavioural techniques. Assessment checks it is not a sign of another condition.

## Self-care that helps

Open communication with your partner, reducing performance pressure, and practising pause techniques can help alongside medical options.

## When to get help

Sudden change in ejaculation pattern or pain on ejaculation deserves assessment.

[See our premature ejaculation support →](https://www.sanarahealth.co.uk/medicines/premature-ejaculation/)

Go deeper

## Related guides

[Erectile dysfunction: causes, and why it's worth getting checked — ED affects millions of UK men and is highly treatable — but it can also be an early warning sign. A plain-English UK guide to causes and treatment.](https://www.sanarahealth.co.uk/guides/erectile-dysfunction-causes/)

Available without prescription

## Products that can help

[Men's health — Zinc and selenium supplements](https://www.sanarahealth.co.uk/supplements/mens-zinc-complex/)

[Men's health — Saw palmetto supplements](https://www.sanarahealth.co.uk/supplements/saw-palmetto-prostate/)

[Men's health — Hair nutrient supplements](https://www.sanarahealth.co.uk/supplements/daily-hair-nutrients/)