Male sex problems

Almost everyone who is sexually intimate with another person sooner or later experiences some sex problems, often resolved by better communication and closer sharing of likes and dislikes. Some people define a satisfying sexual encounter solely in terms of intercourse, even though sexual pleasure can be achieved in countless other ways.

- Genital pain before, during and after intercourse - may be due to penile vascular problems or a tight foreskin that won't retract during intercourse

- Early or premature ejaculation, afflicting 30 per cent of men at some time or other, is an orgasmic disorder where men ejaculate sooner than they wish to. One sex therapist explains that it often happens if men "lose touch with their orgasmic sensations" and is a common problem. She adds that: "Timing ejaculation is a learned an and takes practice." The dysfunction is often remedied by more frequent ejaculation (whether by intercourse or masturbation) and appropriate individual or couple therapy.

- Inhibited male orgasm (IMO) is the inability to achieve orgasm during intercourse. Men with IMO often manage to ejaculate and reach orgasm by masturbation but not with vaginal intercourse.

- Erectile dysfunction -a common male sex problem Erectile dysfunction - previously called impotence - is a droopy denouement to many an otherwise happy relationship. Defined as the "inability or waning inability to achieve and sustain an erection for the purpose of sexual intercourse," it afflicts many men at some time or other.