Painful intercourse, something that definitely takes the pleasure out of love making, a large number of women suffer from mild to severe pain during intercourse, what are the causes and when to seek help?

Al of us might have experienced an isolated case of pain while having sex, this is nothing to worry about, you might have been a little to enthousiastic making love or your partner accidently hit a sensitive part. When to worry? If you can't have sex without feeling pain, and the pain makes you avoid having sex, then it's time to visit a health professional.

What causes painful intercourse or dyspareunia?

There are many possible causes for painful intercourse, most aren't serious, some are. First to find out is, the exact location of the pain. Is the pain near the entrance or deep inside the vagina?

The causes of deep pain in the vagina.

Vaginismus: this is one of the most common causes of painful intercourse, vaginismus is a painful spasm of the vaginal muscles and can cause both a deep and superficial (entrance) pain. Vaginismus is often caused by emotional trauma and is being fed by the fear of being hurt. It can be extremely severe, to the point that it is impossible to enter the vagina at all, those women are unable to use tampons or to have a pap smear.

Causes of vaginismus:

Sexual trauma like rape or incest
Painful or traumatic delivery
Restrictive upbringing, sex is dirty and not to enjoy for girls
Disliking the partner, sometimes even without consciously knowing it
Injuries, painful infections or surgery to the vagina
Abortion

It is often thought that women who suffer from vaginismus don't like sex, this is a misconception. Many women do enjoy having an intimate relationship with their partner, they do have sex and can have orgasms only without vaginal penetration.

Endometriosis: a common medical condition in which endometrial cell material (these are cells that line the inside of the uterus) grows outside the uterus, mostly on the ovaries and the fallopian tubes. Endometriosis can be very painful especially near period times, also a high percentage of women suffering from infertility have endometriosis. Estimations say that endometriosis affects between 5 and 10% of women in their reproductive age.

PID (Pelvic inflammatory disease): infection of the pelvis caused by the Chlamidiya bug, if left untreated the deep tissues of the vagina will become inflamed, making intercourse a very painful activity. Chlamidiya can also cause infertility and should be treated with antibiotics.

Cervix problems: Also called collision dyspareunis, this happens as the man's penis hits the cervix when he thrusts deep inside the vagina. It can make the cervix tender and can even cause infections of the cervix. Changing sexual positions might help, try the cowgirl position, this is where you sit on top of his penis, it gives you better control over the depth of penetration.

Womb problems: a number of disorders like fibroids can result in deep vaginal pain during intercourse.

Ovary cysts: These can be very painful, especially if the penis hits a tender ovary.

Ectopic pregnancy: This is when a pregnancy develops outside the womb, mostly in a fallopian tube. The pain caused by an ectopic pregnancy is 9 on a 10 scale. An ectopic pregnancy can be life threatening, the fallopian tube can rupture because of the growing embryo and cause an internal bleeding.


Causes of superficial pain during intercourse.

Vaginal dryness: this causes friction pain and a burning sensation. Causes for lack of lubrication are: no or poor foreplay, men listen to this, if it's shorter than 30 minutes it isn't foreplay! Other causes are failure to relax and hormonal dryness caused by menopause (use a waterbased lubricant or talk to your doctor about hormone replacement therapy)

Fear: for a penis thats too big (no need to worry about that, the vagina is very flexible and can accommodate almost any seize penis, as long as the woman is sexually excited and relaxed)

Vaginal infections: Infections like thrush, trichomonas or the blisters of a herpes infection can make intercourse very painful.

Genital warts: Infected warts can cause a lot of pain.

Injuries: Rape, abortion or the use of sextoys can cause injury to the entrance and the vulva of the vagina.

Vulvitis: Infection to the vulva (entrance of the vagina), can be caused by soaps, spa baths and vaginal sprays.

Childbirth injuries: Tears, episiotomies, and tender stitches are all known to make intercourse the same fun as having a rootcanal treatment.

Urethral caruncle: an infection that causes pain near the urinary opening.

Vulvodynia: A very painful condition that makes the vulva extremely sensitive.

Foreign body: In 90% of the cases a forgotten tampon or a lost condom, if infected it can cause pain.     

Cancer: This is a very rare cause of painful intercourse, but must be kept in mind especially if the woman is over fourty when she first experiences this pain.   


If you experience pain during intercourse, you should go and see a health professional as you shouldn't have to put op with it. Pain can kill all the joy of  having sex and can put a strain on your relationship. If you feel uncomfortable talking about painful intercourse to you general practicioner, then there are special clinics with female doctors. They are specialised in the female body and experienced in the technique of vaginal examination. Search the internet for a clinic in your area.

 

♥ Make love no pain ♥