Reason for Dip In Sex Drive

Many women experience at least one dip in their sex drive, often several. It could be short term or longer term, but either way it's an unfortunate occurrence. Don't you want to go back to the level of desire you had when you were in your twenties? There's no need to just accept that you're not interested in sex right now. Lack of sex affects intimacy between a couple, as well as affects mood. Research has been done over the years into improving women's libido, and with a little information you can go back to feeling like how you did, before work, family and age took too much out of you.

Thankfully, there are now multiple treatments available to women with low libidos. Finding out what is causing the dip in sex drive is important to figure out which form of treatment might be most effective. Treatments range from counselling to simple lifestyle changes, to estrogen patches and prescription drugs. The problem could either be physical or emotional. Finding out why you're experiencing a low sex drive is vital to finding out how to fix the problem.

Some physical factors include, but are not limited to: hormone deficiency, stress, childbirth, hyperthyroidism, low levels of testosterone, diabetes, and some forms of medication. Talking to your doctor may help to pinpoint the cause, and they can discuss solutions with you.

Fatigue, stress and health are three big factors that affect not only your libido but every aspect of your life.

Your doctor may suggest an estrogen patch or pill, which is used to treat the symptoms of menopause. Some doctors prescribe taking male virility drugs like Viagra as a means to increase sexual desire. While the drug may indeed increase sexual desire, there have been no official reports released yet on the results for women. There are also a number of side effects that may not be worth it. It's important to discuss options with your doctor. Thankfully, natural treatments such as HerSolution Gel™ offer a safe alternative to drugs or hormones. You can find out more about HerSolution Gel™ at HerSolutionGel.com.

If the problem isn't physical, then you have to ask yourself what is causing the problem. Negative feelings like stress, guilt, and worry may affect your desire to have sex. If the problem is emotional, then counselling or behavioural therapy is an option that works for many women.

Most importantly, don't put too much stress on yourself. If the worry from your day to day life is affecting your sex life, then worry about your sex life is going to affect your sex life even worse.

Smoking can Reduce The Male Sperm Count and Fertility

Men who smoke not only have poorer sperm quality than nonsmokers, but also have lower sex drives and less frequent sex, investigators reported at the joint annual meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and the Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society, held in Toronto.

Dr. Panayiotis Zavos, professor of reproductive physiology and andrology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, and colleagues at other centers recruited 290 couples undergoing evaluation for infertility at the Andrology Institute of America. On their initial visit, couples were asked to complete a questionnaire detailing their smoking habits, and their marital and sexual history, including how often they had sex and their level of sexual satisfaction.

"In all couples that participated in the study, the females were nonsmokers," the investigators note. In contrast, in 158 couples, the male partners smoked at least 30 cigarettes a day and had smoked for more than 7 years.

Results from the questionnaire revealed that where the male partner smoked, the couple had been trying to conceive for 3.1 years compared with 2.6 years for nonsmoking couples, an observation that researchers felt was "biologically significant."

Smokers also reported having sex only 5.7 times per month compared with nonsmokers who had sex 11.6 times per month. "This is a very dramatic effect," Zavos told Reuters Health.

Nonsmoking couples also reported significantly greater satisfaction with their sex life, giving it an 8.7 on a scale of 0 to 10, 10 being "extremely satisfactory." In contrast, smoking couples gave their sex life a 5.2 rating on the same scale, the researchers note.

Results from semen analyses also revealed the quality of spermatozoa from nonsmokers was superior to that of smokers both in terms of sperm viability and longevity.

Investigators do not yet understand how smoking affects both the quality of sperm and the male's sexual habits, but they postulate that smoking might impair spermatogenesis secondary to various hormonal alternations caused by smoking. Alternatively, toxic substances from cigarette smoke may end up in the seminal plasma.

"The irony here is that it costs up to $40,000 in the US for couples seeking infertility treatment and they still smoke," said Zavos. It also does not help if the woman herself is a nonsmoker, he added, because if she co-habits with a smoker, "she's a smoker, too."

"The cheapest and most efficient way of improving infertility difficulties is to quit smoking," affirmed Zavos. "And if (couples) stop smoking immediately, that would probably be the first gesture (they could take) towards treatment for infertility."

Source: Reuters Health, 29 September 1999

Vocal Sex: Communication as the Key to Better Sex

Communication with your partner is the key to enjoying better sex. This shouldn't be surprising, yet it is probably the most difficult part about being intimate with a partner. Many remain quietly dissatisfied, going so far as faking sexual satisfaction. You cannot expect your partner to know what feels good without as much as a cue, especially if you have never expressed any sort of dissatisfaction before.

The reluctance to talk comes from fear of rejection or that you will harm the other's feelings. But your partner may want to talk as well, but fears that they will be rejected or hurt you in turn. Even in a good and loving relationship where trust is important, sex is often a sensitive subject to most people. While difficult, creating an open dialogue about sex produces results that both can be happy about, resulting in a better relationship overall. Here are a few tips to keep in mind about talking to your partner.

Try writing down what it is that you want, whether it is in a letter to your partner or a list. You don't have to show it to them if you don't want to, but writing it out and seeing it on paper may clear up what you're thinking. It will force you to clear up any muddled thoughts. Ask yourself how your partner may interpret what you are trying to communicate - look at the points through their eyes. Broach the topic sensitively, and try not to simply communicate a list of complaints. Instead, phrase it as much as you can as suggestions you would like to try.

Decide when is the best moment for the talk, although keep in mind just before or after sex will probably not be the most desirable. Make sure you are alone, and that you have enough time to talk - don't just throw this out there ten minutes before either of you have to go out the door. Give your partner time to respond, or time to process if needed.

While you may still be shy about having a full-on discussion with your partner quite yet, you can give them some help by making indication during sex that you like something that they are doing, be it arching your back or a groan. Another exercise is to guide their hand with yours over it to show them something that you like.

Compromise is another important element of sexual communication, particularly in frequency of sex and particular acts that each partner finds satisfying. Remember that each party wants the other to enjoy themselves, and wants to know what is pleasing.

Don't expect instant results - sex is a process, as is good dialogue. But once dialogue is open, look forward to more frank discussions about what turns your partner on.

HerSolution is a safe and effective natural supplement for enhancing female libido. It works by increasing blood flow to the genitals and creating natural lubrication to avoid vaginal dryness. HerSolution also balances your hormone levels and increases sensations to touch to help you reach orgasm more easily.

Vaginal Dryness

It is extremely common for women in the perimenopause and menopause stages to experience vaginal dryness. In fact, more than half of women between the ages of 40 and 60 report vaginal dryness. Aside from a decrease in fluid, other symptoms include itching or burning, minor bleeding during or after sex, and causes discomfort and pain during sex and overall limiting your enjoyment.

Thankfully, there are a number of things to help ease dryness so you can continue a normal sex life. Talking to your doctor about the issue is advised, as they can help you determine the cause and offer some solutions, but we can offer you a few pieces of advice.

Vaginal dryness is caused by one of three things - a decline in estrogen levels, as a symptom of a medical condition or medication side effect, or unresolved emotional issues. Figuring out the cause is the most important step in how to best proceed.

A decline in estrogen levels may be triggered by a number of things. Because women are constantly fluctuating in hormone levels, in every way from menstrual cycles, to pregnancy and the menopausal stages, one of these is very likely. Cigarette smoking is another culprit, as well as decreased sexual activity.

There are many medical conditions in which vaginal dryness is a symptom. A few of these medical conditions include, but are not limited to: diabetes, sexually transmitted diseases, chemotherapy, yeast infection, and several kinds of bacterial infections. It may also be due to a medication side effect; ask your doctor if any medications you are on may be to blame.

Maybe you just aren't aroused the way you used to be. It's important to determine whether or not you're dryer than you used to be all the time, or just sometimes. Negative feelings like worry or stress make an impact, so take a minute to think about how what you're feeling may affect your desire.

Now that you know what may be causing the problem, see what you can do to solve it.

Staying healthy is something you can do on your own to help ease dryness. Make sure to drink enough water (the recommended eight glasses a day), and remember to exercise. Diets that are too low in fat aren't good for increasing mucosal tissues that your body needs, so try to keep that in mind. Regular intercourse, whether by yourself or with a partner, may also help.

Some doctors may recommend estrogen therapy if self-care doesn't fix the problem. It can come in three forms: oral medication, a ring or patch, or topical cream or tablet. The ring is inserted by your doctor and releases a consistent flow of estrogen. It is replaced every three months. Both the topical cream and tablet are inserted into the vagina with an applicator, usually two or three times a week at night. All of these methods are preferable to the pill taken orally because it does not have to be processed by the liver before entering the bloodstream.

Personal lubricant is the quickest and easiest method to ease vaginal dryness. A product like HerSolution Gel™ is sure to help. More than just a lube, this product increases blood flow, creating more sensation in the genitals, and is made from high quality, natural ingredients.