GUARDIAN - These sexual disorders are so unusual, one might wonder the purpose of their existence, but like most disorders, their purpose is irrelevant, they just do exist.

Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder
People with persistent genital arousal disorder, PGAD, are constantly in a state of sexual arousal. Actual symptoms of PGAD can vary.

They can also have such sensitive genital areas that some activities like driving or wearing certain types of clothing can cause arousal. People with PGAD can have orgasms throughout the day even when they are not doing anything sexual in nature.

It might seem like an enjoyable trait to have, but people who live it with, consider it an obstruction, it stops you from doing things like sleeping and visiting friends.

Doctors are unsure of its cause but some patients have been successfully treated with medication such as antidepressants.

Priapism
Priapism involves one basic symptom: a painful engorgement of erectile tissues that lasts for more than four hours. It occurs when blood becomes trapped in the genital area and does not circulate back into the rest of the body. While women can have priapism, it’s more common in men, and men and women require different treatments for the condition.

Priapism can happen spontaneously, but it can also be caused by some medications, diseases, cancers or an as a side effect of some drugs like antidepressants.

Priapism in males is a medical emergency due to a large amount of blood trapped in the genitals. It can cause vessel damage, scarring, a loss of function or even gangrene if left untreated. Erections that laster for longer than four hours may need a surgical shunt to redirect blood flow or have the blood removed from the penis with a needle.

While priapism isn’t an emergency in women, it’s still very painful. Treatments include ice packs and anti-inflammatory medication, which usually relieves the tenderness and swelling.

Hypersexuality
Hypersexuality means having an excessively overactive sex drive, and it is classified as a mental disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). People with this diagnosis also have lowered sexual inhibitions and are generally obsessed with sex to the point that their lives are deeply affected.

What this does is that people with this disorder will be pushed to seek sex from anywhere, which is very dangerous.

Disorders such as bipolar or schizoaffective disorder sometimes experience hypersexuality, Alzheimer’s disease or traumatic brain injuries may cause this.

Treatment for hypersexuality varies depending on whether it’s tied to another disorder. Mood-stabilizing drugs like lithium can lower sex drives overall, and drugs that reduce testosterone levels have been helpful for some patients.

Sexsomnia
Sexsomnia is a disorder of having sex in when sleeping. Usually, they have no idea what they’ve done until confronted by evidence or by another person.

Behaviours may range from masturbation to having sexual intercourse while sleeping. Sexsomniacs have been known to sleepwalk from their homes and have sex with strangers. There have even been cases in which a person with sexsomnia committed a sexual assault or rape while asleep.

Other disorders in this category include sleepwalking, sleep eating, sleep talking, night terrors and teeth grinding. People with sexsomnia typically have one or more of these other parasomnias as well.

Causes include stress, sleep deprivation, apnea, or drug and alcohol use.

Treating sexsomnia can be as simple as treating the underlying cause. For example, use of a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine to treat sleep apnea has also reduced or eliminated sexsomniac behaviours in people with both conditions. Other sexsomniacs have been successfully treated with Klonopin (clonazepam), an anti-anxiety drug that has also been used to treat other parasomnias.

Asexual
Asexuals have no sex drive or sexual attraction to others. This is different from celibacy, in which people choose not to engage in sexual activities.

Asexuals aren’t sexually dysfunctional. They’re physically able to have sex but prefer not to.

People who are asexual can have romantic relationships and may get married. They often describe their sexual orientation in terms of the people they are attracted to emotionally rather than physically. Asexuals’ attitudes towards sex may also range from complete repulsion to willing participation for the benefit of another person. Some asexual says that they masturbate but consider it a part of their bodily functions, not part of their sexuality.