SEXUAL FUNCTION OF WOMEN AFTER SPINAL CORD INJURY: PRACTICAL PREPARATIONS FOR SEX
Posted: July 27th, 2011 | Author: admin | Filed under: Healthy bones Osteoporosis Rheumatic | Comments OffSexual activity after a spinal cord injury is usually more successful if you do some advanced planning. You need to consider mobility issues, such as transferring and positioning, and muscle spasms. More importantly, you probably want to minimize the risk of a bowel or bladder accident during sex. Emptying your bladder before sexual activity will help. If you are on a regular bowel program, the chance of a bowel accident is small. But if your bowels are not regular, you may want to empty them before sex. Protective pads on the bed make quick clean up easier in the event of an accident. Keeping towels on hand is also useful. Avoiding eating or drinking just before sex, or limiting your fluid intake for several hours before sex, can help minimize bladder and bowel accidents.If you use intermittent catheterization, you can catheterize just before sex to empty your bladder. Both men and women can have sex with an indwelling catheter in place. A woman should tape the catheter to her abdomen with surgical tape to avoid dislodging it during sex. A man can fold the catheter back along the side of his penis and cover both with a condom before intercourse. Of course, if you prefer, the catheter can be removed before sex and then reinserted.A woman using a diaphragm for birth control may need help from her partner to insert it. You may want to include this in your sexual encounter, or prepare ahead by inserting the diaphragm yourself or getting assistance.If you have any questions about how to make physical preparations for sex, how to minimize accidents, or how to avoid spasms during sex, ask your doctor. Once you are fully informed, communicate with your partner about the necessary preparations, who will perform them, and the possibility of accidents and how you’ll deal with them. The better you prepare your partner, the more relaxed both of you will be and the greater the likelihood of a pleasurable experience.
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