Taking Care of Your Sexual Health

Sexual health, like emotional, mental, and physical health, is one important dimension of overall health.

Sexual health. For some people any sex topic is off-limits. But others, including the World Health Organization, consider sexual health an essential dimension of human health and well-being. From concern over how to have comfortable, enjoyable sex to questions about testing for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and their prevention, many important topics come under the broad umbrella of sexual health.

“Sexual health is an essential and beneficial dimension of being human,” emphasizes Michael McGee, MEd, a certified sexual health educator and adjunct professor at Montclair State University in Montclair, N.J. “People have a right to sexual health, sexual health information including public policy that supports sexual health, and the right to pleasure.”

In addition to teaching and advocating about sexual health, McGee counsels individuals and couples on sexual health issues. He says the most common, fundamental question he encounters is, “Am I normal?”

This, he argues, is the best reason to be educated about sexual health: to have a realistic understanding of what sexual health is — what the wide range of “normal” is — as well as being better able to take care of your own health and pleasure and that of your partner.

Increase Your Sexual Health Awareness

Premature ejaculation and a woman’s ability to achieve orgasm are topics that McGee says his clients often worry about — and appreciate learning how to manage. Other aspects of sexual health that people should be educated about include:

    Sex basics. Understanding the cycle of desire, stimulation, and response improves sexual health, says McGee.
    Reproductive issues. Sexual health is intimately related to reproduction. Birth control choices to prevent pregnancy and the steps couples need to take to have a healthy pregnancy are all aspects of sexual health.
    Vaginal dryness. As women go through changes in their lives, such as pregnancy and childbirth or menopause, they may experience a lack of vagina lubrication. This makes sexual intercourse unpleasant, but there are solutions to this problem.
    Lack of desire. A frequent source of conflict between couples, says McGee, is a “discrepancy in desire — one partner wants sex more often than the other.”
    Erectile dysfunction. There are various physical and emotional reasons why men may not be able to achieve an erection for the duration of sexual intercourse.
    Physical challenges. Physical impairment, health concerns, and other conditions may require creative problem solving in order to have sexual intercourse.

Sexual Health: Guarding Against Infection

Sex can be pleasurable, but it can also be risky. Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) can be uncomfortable or painful; they can have severe, long-term effects that include the loss of fertility and have the potential to be life-threatening. Learning about sexual health means learning about STDs:

    STD identification. Learn about the signs and symptoms of STDs as well as the consequences of infection.
    Prevention. Taking steps to prevent the spread of STDs protects your health and the health of others.
    STD testing. STD testing is a crucial part of your sexual health plan. Finding out whether you have an STD enables you to start treating the infection and protecting your sexual partners.
    Living with an STD. Some STDs will be with you for life, such as hepatitis, herpes, and HIV/AIDS. For people living with STDs, sexual health encompasses coping with these infections over the long term.
    Intimate partner violence. Safety within sexual relationships continues to be a concern. Women may be particularly at risk for sexual violence.

Steroids and Penis Sensitivity: An Unhappy Combination

While men might choose to pump iron and get buff for all sorts of reasons, many people do so because they'd like to attract a mate. Rippling muscles are generally considered attractive, so it's reasonable to expect that an exercise routine could have a positive impact on a man's sex life. If that man enhances his weight workouts with steroids, however, he might experience some nasty side effects that impact his sexual performance. In fact, he might find that his penis is less sensitive than it's been in the past. Recovering might mean putting down the steroids and attending to good penis care moving forward.

Steroid Basics

The steroids that weightlifters use to enhance their muscles are typically made with synthetic forms of male hormones. Pumping the body full of these chemicals can cause the muscles to swell and a feeling of power to increase, but the body might interpret all of these signals with alarm and it might begin to work hard to correct what it sees as an imbalance.

For some men, this might mean that

    the body begins to produce low levels of male hormones;
    hormone receptors that are involved in regulating male function are turned off;
    The cells might also release compensatory chemicals, including chemicals associated with feminine characteristics, as it attempts to re-regulate the body's systems.

These additions and modulations can wreak havoc on a man's sex drive, and it's not uncommon for men who are abusing steroids to experience periods in which they have no interest in sex or who cannot achieve a climax when they do have sex. Some men even experience reduced sensitivity while they're taking high levels of specific steroid medications. The additional hormones and the body's corrective cycles are to blame, but it can be disaster for a man.

Bad Choices

Some men who have steroid sensitivity problems react by engaging in extremely long sexual episodes that might seem fun but that can leave penile tissue:

    Red
    Raw
    Chafed
    Blistered

The recipient of these marathon sessions of attention might be similarly injured and uninterested in a repeat performance.

Some men who have reduced sensitivity respond by taking yet higher doses of their drugs or looking for new combinations of drugs that could restore their health and vigor. While this might be helpful in the short term, again, the body tends to adjust when presented with this kind of chemical stimulus. DIY solutions aren't helpful as a result, as the body will always look for ways to create equilibrium.

Good Options

Since steroids can and do cause such nasty side effects, men who buy steroids might need to work with experts in order to conquer their dependence and move forward with life in a more healthful manner. For some, this might mean tapering off to smaller doses until they're taking none at all. For others, this might mean a cold-turkey approach followed by talk therapy. For yet others, working with a community of former addicts might be key to stopping the steroid cycle. No matter the path the man takes, however, he might need to do a little work in order to get penis sensitivity rates back to normal.

Focusing on sensational mapping can be very helpful for men with low sensitivity rates. Men can ask their partners to assist, and in each session, the man can try to map where a partner's touch lands on the penis. Each touch and each thought reminds the brain to map the penis and stay attuned to its signals. In time, a man might have all the feelings back he thought he'd lost, as long as the steroids are gone.

A penis health creme (health professionals recommend Man 1 Man Oil) may also be helpful. These products can soothe the damage caused by long sex sessions, and the emollients and vitamins can help to nourish the skin and ensure that touch and pressure receptors are working as they should. When the man is ready for sex once more, his equipment will also be up to the task.