Female Impotence

Overview
Female impotence, or female sexual dysfunction, is a catchall term used to describe difficulties in having sexual desire, enjoying sex, being adequately aroused or achieving an orgasm. A woman may experience decreased sexual desire ranging from causes such as hormonal changes to emotional stress. In other words, there are physical as well as emotional factors that can contribute to female sexual dysfunction.
Causes
As women enter menopause, levels of estrogen drop and many women may experience vaginal dryness and a thinning of the vaginal walls and urethra. This can lead to pain with intercourse, and may also increase a woman's risk of urinary tract infections. If a woman experiences recurrent pain or recurrent urinary tract infections from intercourse, this may cause fear or apprehension surrounding intercourse.
Certain medications can also have an impact on sexual arousal and ability to achieve orgasm. Some well-known culprits include certain anti-depressants, but also may include anti-histamines as well as some medications used to treat high blood pressure.
Many women may only be able to have an orgasm through clitoral stimulation, but gender roles and other barriers may get in the way of a woman expressing her needs to her partner. Mental stimulation plays a major part of sexual arousal, and if a woman is dissatisfied with her sex partner for other reasons, this may translate into decreased libido with that partner. In this particular situation, the woman may experience no problems with another partner whom she considers more appealing. This is called situational sexual dysfunction. Psychosocial factors such as previous or ongoing sexual or physical abuse or an unresolved conflict over sexual identity may also play a role in female sexual dysfunction.
Treatment
To provide appropriate treatment to a woman suffering from sexual dysfunction, her physician first has to overcome the challenge of separating intrinsic from extrinsic reasons for such dysfunction. Besides pain during sex or the presence of an obvious underlying disorder, it may be difficult to distinguish between a woman's inability to become aroused and have an orgasm from the technique used by her partner to stimulate her. If you are post-menopausal and experience vaginal dryness or pain with intercourse, this may be easily treated with a vaginal estrogen preparation. You may also want to bring a list of all of your medications to your doctor to review and have your physician identify any drugs that may be contributing to your symptoms. Where an underlying reason can be identified, female sexual dysfunction is treatable. In many cases, a doctor may recommend counseling for a woman and possibly her partner.