The Complete Herbal Guide: A Natural Approach to Healing the Body - Heal Your Body Naturally and Maintain Optimal Health Using Alternative Medicine, Herbals, Vitamins, Fruits and Vegetables (98 page)

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Thinning and decreased elasticity of its lining
: The vagina becomes narrower, particularly if you are not sexually active. The natural swelling and lubrication of the vagina occur more slowly during arousal. These factors can lead to uncomfortable or painful intercourse (dyspareunia), and achieving orgasm may take longer. Changes associated with the declining estrogen levels of menopause may affect sexual function. However, most women continue to have satisfying sexual intimacy during and after the menopausal transition.

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Psychological and social:
Psychological factors such as untreated anxiety, depression or stress, and a history of sexual abuse can cause this condition. During pregnancy, after childbirth or while breast-feeding, you may experience a decrease in sexual desire. You may find it difficult to fill multiple needs and roles, such as job demands, homemaking, being a mother and sometimes caring for aging parents. Your partner's age and health, your feelings toward your partner, and your view of your own body or that of your partner are additional factors that may combine to cause sexual problems. Cultural and religious issues also may be contributing factors.  Psychological factors may contribute to or result from sexual dysfunction. Regardless of the cause of sexual dysfunction, you usually need to address emotional and relationship issues for treatment to be effective.

Diagnosis

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Your doctor may engage a discussion about your sexual concerns during the course of a routine medical visit, or you can initiate the discussion if you have concerns that you'd like to address with your doctor. You and your doctor will talk about your sexual history, whether you're currently sexually active and what your sexual concerns are.

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Your doctor will likely review medications you're taking along with your medical history and perform a complete physical exam. During the pelvic exam, your doctor may check for signs of physical changes contributing to sexual concerns, such as thinning of your genital tissues, decreased skin elasticity, scarring, pain or pelvic organ prolapsed.

Your doctor may refer you to a specialized counselor or sex therapist to evaluate emotional and relationship factors as well as review your sexual identity, beliefs and attitudes.

Female sexual dysfunction is generally divided into four categories:

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Low sexual desire:
You have poor libido, or lack of sex drive. This is the most common type of sexual disorder among women.

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Sexual arousal disorder:
Your desire for sex might be intact, but you are unable to become aroused or maintain arousal during sexual activity.

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Orgasmic disorder:
You have persistent or recurrent difficulty in achieving orgasm after sufficient sexual arousal and ongoing stimulation.

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Sexual pain disorder:
You have pain associated with sexual stimulation or vaginal contact.

Treatment

Treatment may involve treating the underlying medical or hormonal condition contributing to sexual dysfunction, as well as addressing emotional and relationship issues that result or contribute to the dysfunction. In some cases, female sexual dysfunction can be treated by taking specially prescribed medications. Usually, successful treatment requires no medications.

Other Treatments

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Communicate with your partner:.
Open and honest communication with your partner can enhance your emotional and sexual intimacy. Some couples never talk about sex, while others are less inhibited. Even if you're not used to communicating about your likes and dislikes, learning to do so and providing feedback in an unthreatened manner can set the stage for greater sexual intimacy. There are good books to help you with this. Ask your doctor for recommendations. It can be difficult to resolve differences in sexual desire with your partner over a lifetime. Communicating your feelings can help.

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Make healthy lifestyle changes:
Avoid drinking excessive amounts of alcohol stop smoking, exercise regularly and make time for leisure and relaxation. All are as important for your sexual health as for your overall health.

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Strengthen pelvic muscles:
Pelvic floor exercises can help with some arousal and orgasm problems. Doing Kegel exercises strengthens the muscles involved in pleasurable sexual sensations. To perform these exercises, tighten your pelvic muscles as if you're stopping your stream of urine. Hold for a count of five, relax and repeat. Do these exercises several times a day.

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Exercising with vaginal weights:
By using a series of five weights, each increasingly heavier, that you hold in place in your vagina, you can strengthen pelvic floor muscles. You gradually work up to heavier weights as your muscle tone improves.

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Counseling:
Talking with a sex therapist or counselor skilled in addressing sexual concerns can benefit you whether your condition is due to emotional factors or not, since even sexual problems that are hormonal in origin can affect your emotional health and intimacy with your partner. Evaluation with a sex therapist typically includes a review of your sexual identity, beliefs and attitudes; relationship factors including intimacy and attachment; communication and coping styles; and your overall emotional health. Therapy often includes education about sexual response and techniques, ways to enhance intimacy with your partner, and recommendations for reading materials or couples exercises.

Medical treatment

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Adjusting or changing medications that have sexual side effects

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Treating thyroid problems or other hormonal conditions

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Treatment for depression or anxiety

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Strengthening pelvic floor muscles

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Trying strategies recommended by your doctor to help with pelvic pain or other pain problems

Hormonal treatment

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Estrogen therapy:
Estrogens are important in maintaining the health of vaginal and external genital tissues. Replacing estrogen can improve sexual function in a number of ways, including increasing the tone and elasticity of vaginal tissues, increasing vaginal blood flow, enhancing lubrication, and having a positive effect on brain function and mood factors that impact sexual response. Localized estrogen therapy in the form of a vaginal cream, gel or tablet can help with sexual changes due to menopause.

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Progestin therapy:
In some research studies, women taking progestins experienced a decrease in sexual desire and vaginal blood flow. However, in other studies, women experienced improvements in desire and arousal when they took a progestin in addition to estrogen. More studies are under way to see if different progestin regimens, alone or in combination with estrogen and other hormonal agents, may benefit sexual function. Progestins generally are prescribed to balance estrogen's effect on the uterus and not to treat sexual dysfunction.

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Androgen therapy:
Androgens include male hormones, such as testosterone. Testosterone is important for sexual function in women as well as men, although testosterone occurs in much lower amounts in a woman. Androgen therapy for sexual dysfunction is controversial. Some studies show a benefit for women who have low testosterone levels and develop sexual dysfunction, for instance after surgical menopause due to removal of the ovaries. In these women, testosterone therapy reportedly improved libido, arousal and sexual thoughts. Other studies show little or no benefit of testosterone therapy for women.

Other treatments

Researchers are evaluating the effectiveness of sildenafil (Viagra), tadalafil (Cialis) and other drugs approved for the treatment of erectile dysfunction in men in treating certain types of female sexual dysfunction. Early results from the studies are mixed. Most studies have shown little benefit for women, but some have reported a benefit for women with sexual dysfunction due to antidepressant or anti-anxiety medication side effects.

Tibolone is a drug currently used in Europe and Australia for treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis. In a small study, women taking the drug experienced an increase in vaginal lubrication, arousal and sexual desire. But Tibolone hasn't yet received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for use in the U.S.

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Symptoms of an insect bite result from the injection of venom or other substances into your skin. The venom triggers an allergic reaction. The severity of your reaction depends on your sensitivity to the insect venom or substance.

Most reactions to insect bites are minor, causing little more than an annoying itching or stinging sensation and minor swelling that go away within a day or so. A prolong reaction may cause fever, hives, painful joints and swollen glands. You might experience both the instant and the late reactions from the same insect bite or sting. Only a small amount of people develop harsh reactions (anaphylaxis) to insect venom. Symptoms of a severe reaction include facial swelling, difficulty breathing and shock.

Bites from bees, wasps, hornets, yellow jackets and fire ants are typically the most troublesome. Bites from mosquitoes, ticks, biting flies and some spiders also can cause reactions, but these are generally milder.

For mild reactions:

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Go to a safe area to avoid more stings.

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Scrape or brush off the stinger with a straight-edged object, such as a card or the back of a knife. Wash the affected area with soap and water. Don't try to pull out the stinger; doing so may release more venom.

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To decrease pain and swelling, apply a cold pack or cloth filled with ice.

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Apply hydrocortisone cream, calamine lotion or a baking soda paste with a ratio of 3 teaspoons baking soda to 1 teaspoon water to the bite or sting several times a day until your symptoms go away.

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Take an antihistamine containing diphenhydramine such as Benadryl, Tylenol Severe Allergy or chlorpheniramine maleate (Chlor-Trimeton, Teldrin).

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Allergic reactions may include mild nausea and intestinal cramps, diarrhea or swelling larger than 2 inches in diameter at the site. See your doctor promptly if you experience any of these signs and symptoms.

For severe reactions:

Severe reactions may progress rapidly. Dial 911 or call for emergency medical assistance if the following signs or symptoms occur:

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Difficulty breathing

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Swelling of your lips

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Swelling of the throat

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Faintness

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Dizziness

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Confusion

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Rapid heartbeat

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Hives

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Nausea

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Cramps

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Vomiting

Emergency Care:

Take these actions immediately while waiting with an affected person for medical help:

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Check for special medications that the person might be carrying to treat an allergic attack, such as an auto-injector of epinephrine. Use the drug as directed, usually by pressing the auto-injector against the person's thigh and holding it in place for several seconds. Massage the injection site for 10 seconds to enhance absorption.