F52.2: Failure of genital response

You are finding it hard to become physically excited and to have sex.

Sex involves different phases that lead to mental and physical changes. First of all there is excitement, at which point the person wants sex. Then, for example, one’s blood pressure rises and breathing gets faster. The external genital organs also swell up in both the man and the woman. When the excitement reaches a certain point, there is an orgasm. After the sexual high, one feels satisfied and the body relaxes. The blood pressure falls, for example, breathing returns to normal, and one may feel tired.

You are not physically excited enough to have satisfying sex.

Men are not able to have a proper erection, for which there is no physical cause. Normally, the penis stiffens up during arousal and orgasm. In women, the vagina is usually not moist enough. Normally, a woman’s vagina becomes moist during arousal. The penis can more easily penetrate the vagina if there is enough vaginal fluid during sex. The labia may also not swell up enough. The labia are visible from the outside and on both sides of the vagina.