At the present day, p eople think that sexuality only refers to the act of sexual intercourse. But frankly speaking, s exuality includes many factors, one of those most important is how people feel about themselves, how they communicate with others and how willing they are to build good relationship s . I would alsolike to mention that sexuality involves a wide range of pleasurable sexual activities that , in their turn, may or may not include intercourse, such as touching, hugging and kissing. First of all, b eing a sexual person is healthy. The process of making love may provide a way of feeling "normal" for people who are ill.
We must ask eackother a question about h ow can kidney disease affect sex life .It can cause a lot of physical and emotional changes that may affect your sex life. All chemical changes that occur in your body with kidney disease affect hormones, circulation, nerve function and your energy level. That'sa pity, but all t hese changes usually lower either sexual interest or sexual ability. People with kidney disease may also fell less attractive sexuality because of dangerousphysical changesthat may cause them to it. Everybody knows, that m any of the medicines used to treat high blood pressure may affect sexual functioning. But atthe same time, u se of steroids may cause weight gain, acne, and unwanted hair growth or loss. Patients usualy feel unattractive in surgical cars . But all the m edical changes and changes in self-image must affect sexual interest and functioning. Now we have a question whether sexual intercourse safe for kidney patients . As a rule, p atients and their partners may worry that sexual activity could cause the patient's death or harm the dialysis access or transplanted kidney. It would also be correctly to mention that no limitations need to be placed on kidney patients sexually. In case of sexual activity does not place pressure or tension on the access site, it will surely not cause damage.
You have also to remember that a fter receiving a transplant, it is very important to wait until the scar has begun to heal. As soon as your ppersonal doctor says it is all right to resume sexual activity, there is no reason to worry about damaging the transplant ant . Simple f ear can cause people to avoid sexual activity when itis needless . But the home truth is that for some couple , sexual intercourse is not possible. Some young couples may feel that sex is not as important as it once was. Everybody knows, that all a ctivities like touching, hugging, and kissing provide feelings of warmth and body closeness even if intercourse is not involved. Some sex therapists can recommend alternative methods. But you can still havea very important question about whether child's sexual development may be affected by kidney failure .The answer is that t his depends on the child's age when kidney failure occurs. C hildren with kidney disease are much smaller than other children their age. In most cases t hey are also slower to develop sexually. Some little c hildren who are on dialysis may have slower growth and sexual development in future, than children who have kidney transplants. But the most awful thing is that if a teenager has kidney disease, sexual development may quickly slow down or even stop. In this case, teenage girls may not have periods.
All these c hanges due to kidney failure and treatment may make the teenager feel different from his or her mates or friends . All p arents must express their concerns about growth and sexual development to the personal doctor. Parents of a young child or teenager who is ill must fight the impulse for protecting their child from the pain of growing up. There is large number of things that are very important for teenagers, such as s elf-worth, independence, and sexual identity. Especially parents need to talk more openly with their children about physical, emotional, and sexual issues. There's an existing oppinion that s upport groups for children and teenagers with kidney disease can be helpful. If you would like to help your children, you have to c ontact a renal social worker or the National Kidney Foundation to find out if support groups are available near you r place . There's also one of the most important questions about c an you get AIDS from a transplant and risk giving AIDS to your sex partners? It is widely known that all k idneys for transplantation and blood transfusions are now tested for the AIDS virus. Scientists found out that t he risk of getting AIDS from a transplant or transfusion in the last few years is very small. Therefore, the risk of giving AIDS to a sex partner is very small as a result of a transplant. Nowadays, some health departments and health clinics can do a simple confidential blood test for HIV.
Until you know the results of this test , use of a condom lowers the risk of passing the AIDS virus to your sex partner. So, now you are sure that p racticing safe sex is important for everyone. Some people wonder whether a kidney transplant from someone of the opposite sex can affect them sexually . The answer is n o. The reason is that t he sex of the kidney donor has no physical effect on the recipient's ability to function sexually or on sexual preference (heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual). And how do you think,do transplant patients have fewer sexual problems than dialysis patients? Generally i.e. in most cases , transplant patients have fewer sexual problems than dialysis patients because they may have fewer physical problems that affect their sex life like fatigue or anemia. But at the same time , having a transplant does not make them less prone to sexual concerns. The level of interest in and ability to have sex varies with different and important things like the quality of the relationship, age, stress level, and physical conditions. You also may have a question about w ill sexual problems get worse the longer dialysis continues? This depends only on the person. When someone has kidney failure , like any other chronic diseases, means that the body is in a weaker overall state of health.
In most cases, after the body adjusts to the treatment, the kidney patient must feel better physically and emotionally, and sexual interest may return to its earlier level. Anyway, it is very important to be as patient as possible and you also should allow time to get used to the kidney disease and treatment. Also you should follow the advise to be flexible and to have a positive attitude about yourself and about sex, then you will lowed the chances of having severe sexual problems. You also may have a question whether sexual problems are due to physical or emotional causes. The answer is that it is due to both causes. This requires a complete medical, psychological and sexual history of the patient and his/her partner. Medicines should be reviewed for sexual side effects and changed if possible. Blood tests should include hormone levels and blood sugar levels to check for diabetes. Men can be checked to see if nerve and blood supply to the penis are good and if they can have an erection. If no physical problem is found, the emotional cause must be considered. Another, no less important question arises:
what can be done if the problem has physical basis? Most doctors are sure that several options are available for men whose penis will not get or stay hard. As we know, that the penile implant surgery places inflatable or semi-rigid rods into the penis. Sometimes, surgery can improve blood flow to the penis. I case of the man does not want surgery, male hormones may be given. The matter is that oral and injectable medications can also cause an erection. There’s also another way to cause the erection-it is External suction devices, that can make the penis hard enough for intercourse, but they usually require time and hand strength. Some doctors can give information on all options as well as their advantages, disadvantages, and side effects. According to their information, women usually have less vaginal wetness and also can have pain during sexual activity. They also ensure that lower hormone levels can cause vaginal dryness.
The most effective way they can help them is use of a water-soluble vaginal lubricant, which can lower or stop pain associated with intercourse. Doctors often warn you not to use petroleum jelly because it can increase the risk of infection. But sometimes, women may be unable to have a climax or may need more time to get "turned on" because of a large number of reasons: loss of energy, hormone changes, or medications for high blood pressure. Your personal doctor must provide you with information about change in blood pressure. Because either medicine or extra hormones may be needed in this case. The answer to the question about what can be done when the problem is psychological is that feeling worried, anxious and depressed is normal when faced with a serious loss such as kidney failure. But the most terrible thing is that these emotions can cause loss of energy and lower interest in a large number of activities including sex. Because as we know, in case sexual problem occur, embarrassment and guilt often follow. Simple fear that the problem may happen again often causes the person to shy away from sexual situations. But relaxation exercises are to help to control these fears. Any physical exercise and all kinds of activity help keep the mind busy and can improve physical condition and body image. Sometimes, when sexual problems continue, sex therapy can also help. And even when the problem is only psychological, some of the mentioned treatment options may be very helpful.
If you have a question whether sex therapy can help you, a lot of doctors can help you with such a kind off useful advice: the matter is that sex therapy deals with the sexual problems of couples and individuals. According to them, the first step in sex therapy may be sexual education for the individual or couple. The therapist may classify and provide you with activities that can be done at home. These usually include stress reduction activities and practicing ways of improving skills in giving and receiving different enjoyable touches. Present day sex therapy often can help with problems connected with low sexual interest, trouble in reaching climax or reaching climax too soon, pain during sexual activity, and erection difficulties. But the most important and useful thing is that therapy can help a person work through the effects of chronic illness on sexual functioning. A common sex therapist is often a psychiatrist, psychologist, physician, or social worker. We can give you a piece of advice to look for someone who is licensed and who has advanced training and experience in sexuality and sexual problems. Charges often vary and can be covered partly only by insurance. And the last question is what can kidney patients do to help themselves. If you try to take an active role in learning about kidney disease and treatment, you have to follow the prescribed diet and fluid limits. You should take all medications properly and always tell the doctor of any side effects. You’d also ask for an exercise program to help muscle tone, strength, and endurance. And therefore, your doctor can suggest a weight gain or loss program, if you need it. Try to lead as healthy lifestyle as it is possible. You should also be aware of any other things that could affect your sexual functioning, like drinking too much alcohol and smoking.
|
Sexuality
