The Treatment of Sexual Dysfunctions - Sex Therapy

The “Classic” Dysfunctions - The Treatment of Female Sexual Dysfunctions

When the female becomes sexually excited, her sex organs become tumescent, i.e. engorged with blood. The vagina then begins to lubricate within 10-20 seconds.

Tumescence Problems -
Lack of Vaginal Lubrication
A healthy woman is not physically aroused if her sex organs do not show any tumescence, i.e there is no engorgement with blood. In females this results in a lack of vaginal lubrication.

This shows that  the woman’s sexual response has not begun, i.e. it has not entered the excitement phase. Therefore she is obviously not ready for coitus. In this case the couple is well advised to postpone it and/or move on to other forms of lovemaking. On the other hand, if the lack of excitement is related to problems in the relationship, or if it has other psychological causes, a more thorough diagnosis and some form of sex therapy may be indicated. The course of treatment will then depend on each individual case.

However, vaginal lubrication may also become inadequate in older women after the menopause. In any case, for a woman inadequate tumescence is not necessarily as upsetting as it would be for her partner. After all, unlike a man with a limp penis, a woman with an unlubricated vagina can still easily begin coitus, if she so chooses. There are two ways of improving the condition:

1. A woman can use artificial lubricants and thus make coitus still possible. Needless to say, such lubricants should always be water-soluble.
    
2. Recently, the pharmaceutical industry has begun looking for a drug that acts on the brain and stimulates sexual desire in both females and males. If needed, and in combination with other drugs, it then could also improve tumescence.