Vaginal dryness may be one of the most common causes of pain during sex and it can easily lead to a decrease in interest in sex for women. The good news is that vaginal dryness is a problem that is usually very easy to resolve.

Some of the prescription treatments for vaginal dryness include:

• Topical creams
• Oral medications
• Rings and patches

There are also non-prescription estrogen creams, foams, suppositories, and "film", all of which are inserted in the vagina and usually work by providing added lubrication. These are usually kept near the "family planning" section in your pharmacy (near the condoms and lubricants).

However, if you're only complaint is vaginal dryness, often the least expensive, least invasive, and quickest solution is the use of a personal lubricant.

There are dozens of different lubricants available at drugstores and online pharmacies that are safe, easy to use, and will provide immediate relief from vaginal dryness.

There are a variety of medications that can cause vaginal dryness.

Some medications lead to vaginal dryness by altering estrogen levels, while others can directly dry out the mucous membranes. Some types of medications that can lead to vaginal dryness include:

• Cancer treatments (e.g. Tamoxifen)
• Treatments for Vaginosis (e.g. Metrogel)
• Antihistamines (which dry out the mucous membranes)
• Treatments for Urinary Tract Infections
• Anti-depressants (e.g. Effexor)
• Medications for ulcers and high blood pressure

There are several possible causes for experiencing vaginal dryness. Figuring out what is causing vaginal dryness is a good first step to finding a solution.

A decrease in estrogen is probably the main reason for vaginal dryness, a decrease in estrogen levels will reduce the amount of vaginal lubrication, as well as a thinning out of the vaginal lining, making it less elastic. Decreases in estrogen can be caused by a number of factors, including:

• After childbirth and while breast feeding
• Menopause and perimenopause
• Radiation and chemotherapy
• Surgical removal of ovaries
• Cigarette smoking
• Decreased sexual activity

• Chemical allergies
• Prescription medications
• Pregnancy
• Diabetes
• Pelvic surgery
• Stress
• Decreased arousal
• Chronic yeast infection
• Vaginal bacterial infection
• Sexually transmitted diseases
• Vaginal trauma
• Benign or malignant tumor

There are lots of ways that health care services for U.S. military members fail service members when it comes to sexual health. While efforts like this one are making progress in putting sexual health on the DoD and VA agenda, there’s still a long way to go. I’ve always been disturbed by the fact that currently TRICARE, the military health insurance, doesn’t cover forensic exams (also called “rape kits”) used for examinations following sexual assaults. So if you’re assaulted you may have to pay out of your own pocket for the exam that can assist you not only in recovery but also in documenting the assault needed to press charges.

Cara over at the Reproductive Rights blog recently pointed us to a proposed change to the rules that would allow coverage for such exams. You can read the proposal here and if you want to support it you can register a comment about the proposed change here.

Read more – Reproductive Rights Blog: Military Insurance (TRICARE) proposes to cover post-assault exams

Related – Post-Combat Soldiers and Sex

_{Photo credit: American Images Inc./Getty Images}

By Cory Silverberg, About.com Guide to Sexuality since 2005

This question, whether or not its possible through natural or artificial means to change the way semen tastes, is a funny one. Often when we talk about male sexuality in our society we separate the genitals from the man. Men do this a lot as well. They talk about penises, erections, and ejaculation as if these body parts and events exist apart from their bodies and outside of time (kind of an extension of the cliché that the penis has a mind of its own).

So it can seem odd for men to take such a particular interest not only in their semen (or, to share my favorite medical term, their “emissions”) but also in the taste of it. To be fair it isn’t only men who email me asking this question, often it’s female partners.

There isn’t any good research on this question, but we can benefit from the many years of painstaking personal research men and women have undertaken in their search for a slightly less bitter pill to swallow. Below you’ll find suggestions on things you can do that may alter the taste of semen.

If you’re reading this because you happen to be the owner of bitter tasting semen keep in mind that while a bitter taste is a common complaint, it may also be a sign of a urinary or prostate infection. Particularly if the taste of your semen has changed all of a sudden, this may be something worth talking with your doctor about.

Foods that May Alter Semen Taste

One of the few educational references I found to semen taste in a human sexuality textbook called Our Sexuality by Robert Crooks and Karla Baur. There the authors suggest what foods may have an influence on semen taste. Below are some of their suggestions along with other ideas that are common across anecdotal accounts.

Bitter taste: coffee, alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana (of course there are other sexual reasons to consider cutting out those drugs)

Sharp taste: red meat, greasy foods, dairy products, chocolate, asparagus, broccoli, spinach, garlic, onions.

Sweet taste: fruits (pineapple, mango, grapes, apple), parsley, celery, spearmint, peppermint, naturally fermented drinks, cinnamon, lemon, cardamom, wheatgrass

Several sources suggest that vegetarians may have milder tasting semen, and that people who have diabetes will have sweeter tasting semen. Of course your overall health is of much greater importance to sexual health than the taste of your semen, so any changes in diet need to be done thoughtfully and with your own health in mind. So don’t start downing sugar drinks and candy just to improve the taste of your semen. I promise that improving your overall nutrition will have a greater impact on your sex life than sweetening up the taste of your ejaculate.

Other Methods

Using a condom during oral sex (flavored or unflavored) is a guaranteed way to keep semen well away from taste buds. It’s also a great way to make oral sex a bit safer.

Finally there are products currently available that come in pill or powder form that claim to change the taste of semen. Unless a product can produce clinical testing that was published in a reputable and preferably peer-reviewed journal, I wouldn’t recommend spending the money. Many of these products are scams that prey on embarrassment and sexual ignorance of consumers.

Source...

By Cory Silverberg, About.com

Updated: July 15, 2008

It is a sad but true fact that battery powered vibrators tend to be poorly thought out, and have a built in obsolescence. While there are always exceptions to the rule most battery powered sex toys will last between a couple weeks and a couple years. More reputable sex stores will offer some sort of warrantee with their products (the standard seems to be about 30 days).

In addition to some preventative measures there are a few common problems that can be easily checked that may bring your toy back to life. Most problems that can be fixed are related to the batteries and the connections inside the vibrator.

Index: Fix a Battery Powered Vibrator

1. Intro to Fixing Battery Powered Vibrators
2. Fixing the Spring
3. Check for Something Blocking the Connectors
4. Pulling up the connectors

Fixing the Spring

A common problem with older vibrators is that the spring in the cap becomes flattened and no longer keeps a tight connection between the batteries and the connectors at the top and bottom of the vibrator. You can open up your vibrator and gently pull the spring up to reestablish a snug connection.

Check for Something Blocking the Connectors

Many battery powered vibrators have a piece of plastic or paper inside the battery compartment. This is there to keep the vibrator quieter, by preventing extra noise of batteries rattling in the case. Over time this piece of paper can slide down and get lodged in front of the connectors. You can remove this paper or plastic entirely. If your toy begins to make a lot of noise you can replace it with a new rolled up piece of paper.

Pulling up the connectors

Battery powered vibrator caps that do not use a spring to make a connection often have two connectors at the top of the cap. Over time these connectors get depressed and no longer allow for a tight connection (which in turn, could depress the owner of the toy!) Gently lift the connectors up to ensure a snug connection when the cap is closed.

Sex Positions Game - Before You Begin

Before putting this game together you may want to read the sex position overview, it might help better understand the premise of the game.

The idea of this game is to get you thinking creatively about sexuality, and then taking that creativity and applying it to sex positions.

Part of the game is devising the raw materials for the game, which are six categories of “option cards”. You need to come up with these cards before you can play the game.

For an element of surprise you can get your partner to help you make the option cards without telling them what it is for. Just tell them it’s a craft project!

When you are making the cards DO NOT think about anything in terms of sex positions. Just try to come up with as many possibilities as you can, without imaging how it is going to turn out.

Making Option Cards for the Sex Position Game

• Six envelopes
• Paper to cut up into 40-50 smaller pieces (just large enough to write a few lines on each)

The six categories of option cards are:

• Physical Position
• Type of Movement
• Angle
• Limbs
• Speed
• Rhythm

For each of these categories you need to sit down and brainstorm as many options as you can. Every idea gets written down on a separate square of paper.

1. Start with “physical positions.” Describe as many physical positions you can think of that you can comfortably put your body into, for example:
   • Sitting cross-legged
   • Kneeling position
   • Fetal position (curled up)
   • Lying on your side
   • Sitting in a chair

   Try to come up with at least 10 different physical positions (more is better). Be as specific as you can. Then put all your position option cards in an envelope, and mark it #1

2. Next do “movement”. Putting one type of physical movement per square of paper, come up with as many different physical movements as possible. Don’t worry if you don’t think it would be good for sex, just make a list of different physical movements you like to do, and feel free to be as descriptive as you like, for example:
   • running
   • waving my arms
   • moving my hips side to side
   • etc…

   Try to come up with at least 6 different physical movements. Put all your movement option cards in another envelope and mark it #2

3. For the “angle” category, you can just name five or six angles. Just pick numbers of angles that strike your fancy, for example:
   • 90 degrees
   • 45 degrees
   • 180 degrees
4. For the “limbs” category, name your favorite limbs and if you want, name the position you like them to be in, for example:
   • legs crossed
   • feet
   • arms, straight out
   • etc…
5. Do the same for “speed”. Just name different kinds of speeds that come to mind, for example:
   • creepingly slow
   • galloping
   • running for dear life
   • etc…
6. Lastly do the same for “rhythm”, and again, be descriptive and personal, for example:
   • evenly paces, steady beat
   • jerky or jittery
   • pounding
   • samba
   • etc…
   
   

   Once you’ve got at least six different option cards in each envelope, you’re ready to play the game. I suggest you put the cards away at least for a few days before playing the game. Be sure to mix up the sheets of paper in the envelopes so they aren’t in the same order you wrote them down in.

   How to Play the Sex Positions Game

   This part is simple. There aren’t any hard and fast rules, and the key here is to have a great sense of humor and an equal sense of adventure. The game is as much about taking sex a bit less seriously as it is about finding some ideal sex position.

   Start by fooling around however you feel like it. Lots of kissing and touching, maybe in a hot bath, maybe as part of a sensual massage, but end up in a private and comfortable room, either on the bed or the floor, and preferably naked.

   One of you then takes an “option card” out of envelope #1, the other takes one out of envelope #2, and so on, until you have six pieces of paper, that give all the elements you need for trying a sexual position. So you might have:

7. Sitting cross-legged
8. Moving my hips side to side
9. 45 degrees
10. arms, straight out
11. running for dear life

The first thing you’ll probably do is laugh! This is very good! Then you should start to have intercourse in whatever position you are used to and is comfortable for both of you.

Once you’re both feeling into it, but before either of you climaxes, you need to try and work out a sexual position that includes all the elements you picked from the envelope. It won’t always make sense, but have fun and do your best. Even if it feels a bit silly at first, give it a try.

You might find that having your hands up in the air, or crossed across your chest, or having one knee up, actually changes the way that intercourse feels for the better.

If you’re really enterprising, you can try more than one position in a single sexual encounter. But pulling cards out of envelopes doesn’t always feel like the right thing to do in the middle of sex, so you might want to just try this now and again.

Hopefully you’ll have a bit of fun making the option cards, and then trying to figure out how to act them out in an actual sexual position. The important part of the game is to get you to try different things, and try to think about your body and movement not in terms of right and wrong, but in terms of options that will feel good, and ones that won’t.

Question: What is Coitus Interruptus

"My partner and I mostly use the withdrawal method for birth control. When I go to the doctor this is never mentioned as a form of birth control, and I never ask. It's worked for us so far, but does it always work?"

Answer:

Coitus interruptus is a Latin term meaning interrupted intercourse. It is the clinical term for the withdrawal method of contraception, which is when a male withdraws his penis from his female partner prior to ejaculating. It is sometimes referred to as "being careful".

It is true that doctors, nurses, and sexual health educators have not, in the past, talked much about withdrawal method. It is not a very effective form of birth control, and it does not protect against any STDs, so the inclination has been to focus on better, more effective types of contraception and STD prevention. However, it is likely that withdrawal is actually the most commonly used form of birth control, and for that reason sexual health professionals have begun, slowly, to talk about it more.

Does it work? It does work, some of the time. The generally regarded failure rate for withdrawal is 19 percent, meaning if 100 women used withdrawal as their only method of birth control for one year, 19 of them would get pregnant. Keep in mind though that statistics on withdrawal are only as good as the method and people who report them.

The two main disadvantages to withdrawal are that it does not protect from STDs, including HIV, and the failure rate is very high compared to other methods. One of the reasons for this is that prior to ejaculating, a small amount of pre-ejaculate (also called pre-cum) will come out of the penis. There is sperm in pre-ejaculate, and it is possible that this could cause a pregnancy.

There is no question that withdrawal is not a very good form of birth control, and it is not safer sex at all. But it might be considered better than nothing.

Some of the most commonly prescribed medications to treat depression are belong to a group of drugs referred to as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). These medications work by increasing the levels of a neurotransmitter, serotonin, in the brain.

Unfortunately, serotonin has been found to have a negative impact on sexual arousal, desire, and orgasm, and many of the medications themselves--including Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil-- commonly come with sexual dysfunction side effects, including:

• Decreased libido in men and women
• Erectile difficulties in men
• Inability to ejaculate
• Delayed or completely absent orgasms in men and women

Some physicians (and researchers) have examined the use of medications designed to enhance sexual performance (such as Viagra) in combination with SSRIs. While this might be a solution for you, it is probably a good first step to talk with your doctor and see if there are other possibilities before adding a new medication.

Other antidepressant medications that don’t belong to the SSRI family may have fewer sexual side effects. One study found that Wellbutrin, for example, has significantly fewer sexual side effects. The study was funded by the makers of Wellbutrin, although it's generally accepted amongst medical professionals that the drug has no significant sexual side effects. The drug may not, however, treat the same spectrum of mental health conditions as SSRIs--particularly primary anxiety disorders. Remeron, another antidepressant, also carries little in the way of sexual side effects.

If your body isn’t producing enough natural vaginal lubrication you may experience vaginal dryness. Vaginal dryness can feel different for different women but generally feels like itching and irritation. It can make sex painful or impossible, and can even make other activities difficult.

Many women experience vaginal dryness and even live with the irritation and/or pain for many years without speaking to a doctor. Because vaginal dryness may be a sign of some underlying health concern, it's a good idea to talk to your doctor or health care practitioner about it, even if it's something that doesn't happen very often. Below you'll find more information about vaginal dryness.

Causes of vaginal dryness

Medications that cause vaginal dryness

Treatments for vaginal dryness

What sex positions are okay during pregnancy is one of the most common questions people ask about pregnant sex. This question exposes two problems with the way we think about pregnancy and sex.

First, we tend to still view pregnancy as a medical condition, and pregnant women as extremely fragile. While there may be health issues and complications with the pregnancy that make certain kinds of sex difficult, for the most part there is no need to treat sex during pregnancy with anything other than common sense, and no reason to treat a healthy pregnant woman as if she were weak or ill.

Second, we still tend to think about sex as if there is a right way and a wrong way to do it. In this case many of us have this idea that there is one right (or safe) way to have sex during pregnancy. This is not true. There are infinite safe ways to have sex during pregnancy, depending on what kind of sex you want to have. Another problem with this line of thinking is that it is very rigid (no pun intended). Great sex requires a flexibility of thought, and a willingness to try new things when the old ones aren’t working anymore.

As a general rule, a good sex position for pregnant sex is one where:

• both partners are physically comfortable
• the position allows for the kind of sex and physical contact you want to have
• both partners avoid putting pressure on the uterus, or a partner’s full weight on a pregnant belly.

Experts say that women should avoid lying on their back or right side for long periods of time after four months into the pregnancy.

Beyond this, figuring out pregnancy sex positions requires some creativity, a sense of humor, and often lots of pillows. It may also mean abandoning penetration if it isn’t working, and finding other ways to please each other and please yourself.

If you’re looking for some ideas to jumpstart all that creativity, you might want to develop your own sex positions by exploring the sex positions game. If that seems like too much work, the following sex positions are generally considered to be more comfortable as your (or your partners) body changes during pregnancy:

• The spooning sex position can be very comfortable as there is no pressure on your abdomen and you have lots of movement. Your partner can position themselves behind you at different angles to allow for penetration. Avoid lying on your right side in this position.
• The side by side sex position allows for more equal physical contact than spooning, but penetration can be a bit trickier. You can cross your legs over each others and this may help. As with spooning, this position can be very comfortable as no one is feeling the weight of the other partner’s body.
• The woman on top sex position offers the benefit of you being in control of the depth and angle of penetration. Later in the pregnancy you may find this position more tiring, and if balance is a concern you may prefer a lying down position, but others find this the ideal position.
• The rear entry sex position is said to be good for g-spot stimulation and can be a comfortable change as it’s a position you aren’t in that often, unless you’re doing yoga. This position can either be done on a bed, or modified as a version of the next sex position.
• The edge of the bed sex position offers many possibilities for greater comfort during pregnancy. You can lie on the bed (on your side, or briefly on your back) at the edge of the bed and your partner can be off the bed, either on their knees or standing up. Combined with the rear entry position, you can be off the bed on your knees (with a pillow underneath them) and rest your upper torso on the bed, with your belly off the bed.

• The position requires much more energy and strength for the partner being penetrated, it isn’t a “lazy” sex position at all.
• This position also requires a lot of balance as less of your body is on the bed.
• This position doesn’t allow you to be face to face with your partner.

Photo courtesy of Come As You Are

Photo courtesy of Come As You Are

Photo courtesy of Come As You Are

Photo courtesy of Come As You Are

Photo courtesy of Come As You Are

Photo courtesy of Come As You Are

Photo courtesy of Come As You Are

Photo courtesy of Come As You Are

Photo courtesy of Come As You Are