Female Sexual Dysfunction

Persistent, recurrent problems with sexual response, desire, orgasm or pain  that distress you or strain your relationship with your partner  are known medically as female sexual dysfunction. Many women experience problems with sexual function at some point. Female sexual dysfunction can occur at any stage of life. It can be lifelong or be acquired later in life. It can occur only in certain sexual situations or in all sexual situations.

Symptoms: Low sexual desire, sexual arousal disorder, orgasmic disorder, sexual pain disorder. The main feature of female sexual arousal disorder is an inability to achieve and progress through the stages of "typical" female arousal. Female orgasmic disorder is defined as the delay or absence of orgasm after "normal" arousal. Dyspareunia is marked by genital pain before, during, or after intercourse. Vaginismus is the involuntary contraction of the perineal muscles around the vagina as a response to attempted penetration.

Treament: To treat sexual dysfunction tied to a medical condition, your doctor might recommend that you: Adjust or change medication that has sexual side effects. Treat a thyroid problem or other hormonal condition. Optimize treatment for depression or anxiety. Try strategies for relieving pelvic pain or other pain problems. Treating female sexual dysfunction linked to a hormonal cause might include: Estrogen therapy. Localized estrogen therapy comes in the form of a vaginal ring, cream or tablet. This therapy benefits sexual function by improving vaginal tone and elasticity, increasing vaginal blood flow and enhancing lubrication. Androgen therapy. Androgens include testosterone. Testosterone plays a role in healthy sexual function in women as well as men, although women have much lower amounts of testosterone.

Epidemology: An increase in female sexual dysfunction (FSD), particularly loss of sexual desire, is directly correlated with increasing age. However, the distress associated with loss of sexual desire is inversely correlated with age. Cultural and context-dependent factors modulate the percentage of any FSD in the different European countries. This is exemplified in the significant intercountry variation observed in the percentage of low desire in women aged 20-49, with normal ovarian function.