Taking Care of Your Sexual Health

Taking Care of Your Sexual Health
Sexual health, like emotional, mental, and physical health, is one important dimension of overall health.
By Madeline R. Vann, MPH
Medically Reviewed by Lindsey Marcellin, MD, MPH

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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.