Category: Taste Me Tuesday

Mission: To provide generally available information as it relates to women’s vaginal and sexual health, thereby enabling and encouraging self care. To create a safe judgement free space to discuss, share, learn and grow. This segment is for basic educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended to treat, diagnose or to take the place of advice or care of a licensed professional. Please seek medical attention if you develop a concern while enjoying this segment.

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Honey I think I lost my libido

     

So its a regular day in your bedroom,  or wherever  you might feel led to get it popping and your vaginal engine just doesn’t want to seem to get revved up or worse it doesn’t even want to start.  You just may be dealing with female sexual dysfunction…

What Is It?

FSD or Female Sexual Dysfunction comes in many forms.  Decreased or low libido is characterized as; Low Sex drive or lack of sexual desire.

You may have found yourself wondering what’s wrong with me?

Absolutely nothing.  Decreased libido is a common among women of all ages.  It is estimated that as many as 43% of all women suffer from some form of sexual dysfunction.

What Causes Decreased or low libido?

There can be a number of causes, some of the most common are:

  • Hormonal

    • Birth control pills, menopause, etc

  • Psychological/emotional

    • Depression, stress, anxiety

    • History of sexual abuse

    • Partner/Relationship problems

  • Medical

    • Certain Prescription drugs

    • Major organ failure

    • High Blood pressure

  • Social

    • Religious or societal expectations

Diagnosis

Your doctor has many tools to assess your sexual desire, but here a few questions to help you get started*:

Rate your responses on a scale of 1-6 with: 1-greater, 2-normal, 3-minimally diminished, 4-moderately diminished, 5-markedly diminished, 6-totally absent

  1. How has your interest in sex been over the past month?

  2. How has your ability to get sexually aroused or excited been over the past month?

  3. How has your ability to achieve orgasm been over the past month?

  4. How has your ability to get and maintain an erection been over the past month?

  5. How would you rate your overall sexual satisfaction over the past month?

*2 or higher on any individual question or a total of ten or more overall may be indicative of some degree of sexual dysfunction but only your doctor can provide you with a diagnosis. 


What can you do about it?

One of the first important steps is talking to your doctor. He/she can help you determine the best first steps based on the most likely cause of your decreased libido.

Some of your options for treatment include:

  • Psychotherapy-both traditional and sexual

  • Exercise

  • Massage

  • Acupuncture

  • Meditation

    • traditional or sexual

      • orgasmic or tantric

  • Supplementation

    • L-arginine

    • Maca root

    • Yohimbe

    • Compound formulations

  • Clitoral/vaginal gels or creams


What does each of these options have to offer?

Psychotherapy: Can help teach coping techniques as well as resolve past or present issues related to sexual dysfunction. May be especially helpful for victims of sexual assault, and individuals suffering from depression or other psychological disorders.  


Exercise: research has shown that regular cardiovascular exercise can potentially increase libido by increasing blood flow to the genitalia


Massage: Can decrease stress and muscle tension that may be inhibiting sexual desire.


Acupuncture: The specific mode of action is unknown but research has shown it can increase blood flow to the genitals as well as decrease stress


Meditation: A regular practice of meditation can decrease stress, and also helps train the mind to focus so that one can learn to be in the moment in sexual situations.  Tantric or orgasmic meditation may increase one’s ability to not only be present during sex but also to enjoy a deeper connection with themselves and their partner enhancing the sexual experience.


Supplementation: Research has shown that Maca, Yohimbe, and L-arginine effectively increase sexual arousal and desire in men and women. The increase blood flow to the genitals as well. In addition to these individually there are various compound formulations that contain these and other Herbs as well. Vaginal gels or creams may also be helpful by increasing blood flow directly to the clitoris and thereby increasing desire.  For women with HSV creams with L-Arginine are not recommended as they can increase chances of an outbreak.

A benefit to each of these options listed above is they are of low risk.  Before beginning any new supplementation or exercise practices please take time to confer with your physician to ensure it is safe for you based on your medical history and risk factors. 

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Vaginal Health – Common non sexual infections

Last week we discussed the do’s and dont’s of cleaning your vagina. As important as hygiene is, knowing your body and is what is normal from a medical standpoint is also important. This week’s topic centers around a couple of  the most common non sexually transmitted, infections that can occur.  In an effort to keep this information concise and to the point once this will be a brief introduction into the basics.

Vaginitis:

Vaginitis is a swelling or inflammation of the vagina. While it is often associated with a variety of other infections, it can also be caused by non infectious means. Because vaginitis has multiple associations and a few different causes I will only mention it briefly. Some non infectious causes of vaginitis are:

  • Allergic reaction
  • Estrogen Deficiencies
  • Exposure to irritants
    • sand
    • depilatories (hair removal creams)
    • waxing
    • shaving

Because vaginitis can also be related to a sexually transmitted or other infection you should be diagnosed by a medical provider.  Symptoms can include:

  • Swelling
  • itching
  • burning

Vulvovaginal Candidiasis (Yeast Infection):

Candidiasis is caused by what is more commonly known as yeast, hence the term yeast infection.  They are extremely common among women and about 75% of women will have at least one in her lifetime.  There is a wide range of things that can lead to and/or increase your risk for this type of infection such as:

  • Wearing non cotton underwear (see In Defense of No Panties)
  • Diabetes
  • Antibiotics
  • Coriticosteriods (not generally inhaled corticosteroids)
  • Pregnancy

Any woman who has never had a yeast infection I strongly advise be seen by a doctor for a confirmatory diagnosis.  Symptoms of yeast infection include

  • thick white discharge
  • itching
  • burning sensation
  • swelling of the vagina
  • swelling of the vulva(external female genitalia)

Treatment of a yeast infection can be given orally or as a vaginal suppository. Symptoms generally improve quite rapidly with treatment. If you find that your symptoms do not resolve with treatment or get worse it is important to seek medical attention.

Bacterial Vaginosis (BV)

Bacterial Vaginosis is caused by an overgrowth of the bacteria that normally reside inside of the vagina.  Generally a shift in pH is all it may  take to cause bacteria that are normally present in smaller numbers to grow in excess. Many things can lead to a BV infection.  Some of examples are:

  • Intercourse
    • multiple partners increases this risk
  • Menstruation
  • Douching
  • Excessive or improper cleansing
  • Scented soaps/cleansing wipes

Many women and their partners have mistaken BV for a sexually transmitted infection.  BV can be easily diagnosed by your physician in during an office visit with a simple gynecological exam. Generally they will check the pH of your vaginal discharge and also verify the diagnosis by making a slide to view with a microscope.  If you are sexually active it is also advisable to have STI testing done at the same time since they are in there already.

While it is possible to be asymptomatic, the most common symptoms of BV include:

  • foul or fishy odor
  • increased discharge
  • yellowish discharge

BV can be treated orally or with vaginal suppositories.  it is important to be diagnosed by a medical provider as these medications are prescription only.  It is also necessary to take all of the medication as prescribed.  Because BV is treated with an antibiotic, treatment can occasionally lead to yeast infection as well.

 

 

Check back next month for more tips to keep your 

 

 

 

 

 

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Vaginal Health – Cleansing

Keisha D

For a woman taking care of your vagina is a simple task wrought with all kinds of mediocre to terrible advice.  There are many a manufacturer ready to play on your insecurities and force you and your vagina into societal norms that aren’t quite that normal. Every woman has her own taste and smell. There is no standard form.  The health, taste and smell of the vagina can be affected by the things you eat, drink, smoke and wear to name a few. It can also be affected by your hygiene and sexual habits.  

Things that are normal for the vagina are often portrayed as abnormal.  One of those is discharge.  Discharge can vary in amount, consistency, and frequency.  Ovulation, menstruation, pregnancy and intercourse can cause changes in discharge as well. Today I’m going to discuss the common, but not so common sense world of vaginal hygiene.

Cleansing

Keeping your vagina clean is one of the simplest tasks.  The vagina is the home of various types of bacteria and even yeast.  The yeast are generally kept at bay by the bacteria but we’ll discuss that in another blog. Those bacteria help maintain the vagina but also live in a very delicate balance at a specific pH. For this reason it is never a wise idea to wash inside of the vagina.  When washing the outer regions of the vagina, lips, clitoris etc, it is best to use an unscented, non antibacterial mild/gentle soap.  Simply cleansing the area in the shower with a towel and no soap at all is just as effective. Despite conventional teachings it is ill advised to wash the vagina with scented soaps. These especially can lead to Bacterial Vaginosis(BV).  Bacterial vaginosis is an overgrowth of bacteria already naturally in the vagina which can result in a fishy, foul smelling odor and discharge. Washing the vagina regularly is highly recommended to help avoid feelings of self consciousness related to how it may smell or taste. Always make sure to thoroughly dry the outskirts of your vagina as well to ensure you aren’t giving yeast a chance to start growing rapidly.  They love warm, moist environments.

Douching

Douching is an unfortunately common practice.  Douching consists of ‘rinsing’ the vagina with various mixtures, vinegar and water being the most common.  While a commercial(store bought) douche may be balanced to the natural pH within the vagina, the process itself washes away the bacteria naturally present.  Most women douche because the notice or are told they have unpleasant vaginal odor.  There are a small subset that do so regularly as a common practice.  Douching can lead to BV as well yeast.  Unless advised to do so by a medical professional don’t do it!  

Something’s not right?

If it anytime you notice any changes in your vagina, it is best to seek the care of a health professional.  While discharge from the vagina is normal; colored and/or odorous discharge are not. If you find that you have an increase in the amount or change in smell and color call your doctor.  Because most sexually transmitted diseases or infections can be present without causing symptoms speaking with your doctor or nurse can save you time and heartache.  Untreated std/sti’s can lead to pelvic inflammation, sterility and other complications.

So to recap:

  1. Shower?  Yes

    1. Scented soap? No (feel free to use it on the rest of your body though 😉)

  2. Douche? HELL NO

    1. Just don’t save yourself

  3. Stinks? Call a doctor

  4. Weird discharge? Call a doctor

  5. Other concerns? You guessed it Call a doctor