Causes

Physical

Anxious woman sitting on bedThe four main areas of sexuality that women with FSD experience difficulty with are desire, arousal, dyspareunia (pain with intercourse) and orgasm.

Although taking certain medication and psychological factors can contribute to these processes, the cause may be physical.

Here we look at the possible physical causes of female sexual dysfunction (FSD).

 

Desire: Lack of desire may be caused by a range of factors. The physical causes include: medical or surgical interventions, hormone disorders, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, heart disease (people with diabetes are up to four times more likely to develop heart disease), changes in contraception and alcohol or drug abuse.

Having diabetes can also affect lack of desire. Damage to blood vessels caused by poorly-controlled diabetes, restricts the blood flow to the vagina, which can cause  vaginal dryness and interfere with arousal.

Arousal: Problems with arousal can be rooted in physical causes including diabetes, heart disease, atherosclerosis (furred-up arteries), spinal cord damage (which interferes with messages between the brain, the vagina and the clitoris).

Low levels of the hormone oestrogen are common in women with diabetes. This is because diabetes can affect the parts of the body responsible for producing hormones,  thereby impacting upon the amount of lubrication produced during arousal.

Pain: Painful intercourse is usually described as either deep dyspareunia or superficial dyspareunia (pain in the external genital area, also known as vulval pain).

Deep dyspareunia, experienced during deep intercourse, may be caused by a number of physical factors including pelvic inflammatory disease, gynaecological, pelvic or abdominal surgery, radiotherapy for gynaecological cancers, uterine or vaginal tumours including fibroids; endometriosis (where the tissue of the uterus grows in other areas of the body); urinary tract infections; ovarian cysts; irritable bowel disease; untreated sexually transmitted infections and lack of lubrication.

Low levels of the hormone oestrogen are common in women with diabetes. This is because diabetes can affect the parts of the body responsible for producing hormones,  thereby impacting upon the amount of lubrication produced during arousal.

Vulval pain can be caused by nerve fibres, eczema, warts, psoriasis, thrush, herpes, vaginal ulcers and inflammatory skin diseases. Toiletries, spermicide and latex condoms may also cause irritation. 

High blood glucose levels in women with diabetes can lead to infections developing more easily and also inhibit response to treatment.

Orgasm: Difficulties with orgasm can have a variety of psychological causes, but medical conditions, such as diabetes, which interferes with blood or nerve supply to the clitoris, can also be to blame.