One of the most unpleasant sexual wellness problems is when there is pain associated with intercourse. This can affect both your physical and emotional wellbeing and lead to a lack of interest in sexual activity. This is particularly common in women, although it is not uncommon for men to experience pain during sex.
If you are experiencing pain during sex, it is essential that you visit a doctor. Whilst relatively common, you should still not experience pain and there is lots that can be done about it to make sex a comfortable and enjoyable experience for you again.
One of the reasons for pain during sex is Dyspareunia, which refers to persistent or recurrent pain in the genitals which is related to penetration during sex. The pain can be felt either in the vaginal area or further in, deep within the pelvis. Dyspareunia can either appear following a vaginal infection or following on from vaginal or vulvular surgery. It can also be related to the vaginal thinning that occurs during the menopause. Infections of the vagina usually cause itching, redness, stinging and burning on the outside part of the vagina, and this is referred to as vulvitis.
Vaginismus can also cause pain during sexual intercourse. This condition occurs when the muscles of the outer third of the vagina involuntarily contract, and this makes it very difficult for penetration to occur, and can cause pain during any attempts at intercourse.
Most problems are a mixture of emotional and physical factors and can be treated in various ways. If the problem is related to the menopause then hormone replacement therapy may be used. If it has been caused by an infection in the vaginal tract then it may be that a course of antibiotics helps to clear up the problems and restore things to the way that they should be.
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