Overview of Reduced Penile Sensitivity

Reduced Penile Sensitivity

If you have significant libido (desire for sex), have the capability of an erection (even if it takes some help from pornographic media), but you have difficulty in gaining sufficient physical arousal of your penis to reach orgasm, you very likely have reduced penile sensitivity.

Reduced penile sensitivity (from here, referred to as RPS) may be severe enough to cause erectile dysfunction (ED), and will almost certainly result in delayed/retarded orgasm (delayed ejaculation), or possibly even in anejaculation (inability to ejaculate).

Most research and methods of treatment on delayed/retarded ejaculation or anejaculation, (from here on referred to as delayed ejaculation) have focused on psychological effects rather than physical effects.

It is true that psychological effects are often the dominant reason for delayed ejaculation, and frequently there are no distinct physical reasons, so sexual therapy and treatments detailed elsewhere on this website should be thoroughly explored.

If you actually have physical reasons for RPS and/or ED, you will probably be well aware of symptoms which persist over time in all situations.

Unfortunately, the only medical approaches historically provided for physical RPS are to evaluate and modify unrelated medication use, and recommend steps to improve physical conditioning. Otherwise, the medical profession has provided few definitive approaches to the problem.

The email above is a good example of one man’s quest to overcome his reduced penile sensitivity. It is not a clear-cut problem where you go to the doctor and receive medication to alleviate it. In the several years since the letter was written, new medications and methods of treatment have evolved for a host of sexual problems.

Unfortunately, there are still no specific medications and no prescribed methods of treatment for RPS. There are only a few legitimate studies on penile sensitivity. The database on this subject is primarily anecdotal, and treatments are based on individual experimentation. The medical profession is only beginning to recognize RPS as a significant problem.

However, there are ways to treat RPS and some medications for other problems do also have the side effect of improving penile sensitivity. Since there are different causes for RPS, these medications and methods of treatment may not be universally helpful, but in some combination will almost certainly improve penile sensitivity.

In dealing with problems of RPS / ED / delayed ejaculation, it is always important to include your partner in dealing with the problem and how you work together to promote the best possible solution.

There also may be ways to improve penile response or reduce the impact of RPS without medications. Before applying the information in this webpage, you should optimize all other factors in your life:

  • Take steps to optimize your health, by quitting smoking, reducing alcohol and drug usage, starting an exercise program, and losing weight, as applicable.
  • Evaluate medications taken for other conditions to see if substitutions with fewer side effects are available.
  • Try one or more of the following exercises (which you can do without any outside help):
  • Kegel exercises – up to a couple of hundred contractions performed several times per day to strengthen the pubococcygeus muscles of the pelvic floor. (You contract the muscles with an action like stopping the flow of urine during urination.)
  • Stimulation to the penis and genital areas to create an erection several times a day. Such stimulation helps increase the natural testosterone level, and may also help sexual response.
  • Visualization of your most exciting and forbidden sexual fantasies during sex, which may enhance your ability to reach climax.
  • Work with your partner to enhance your mutual experience, and develop understanding of how the problem affects you, as covered in other pages of this website.