About 20 percent of women experience pain when they make love to their partner. This pain during sexual intercourse of the woman can have different causes. They are not only very unpleasant for those affected, there can also be serious diseases behind it.
What are pains during sexual intercourse of the woman?
Dyspareunia – with this word medicine refers to the pain during sexual intercourse in women. Dyspareunia – with this word medicine refers to the pain during sexual intercourse in women. This pain can occur after, during and before intercourse. If the pain during sexual intercourse of the woman occurs at the entrance of the vagina as well as at the labia, it is external pain. Internal pain is felt by the affected person at the uterus, rectum or ovaries. Pain during sexual intercourse in women can occur when the penis irritates a certain spot. Orgasm is often not possible with pain during female intercourse. Each woman perceives the discomfort differently. Pain during female sexual intercourse can be burning, stabbing or dull. Other sufferers feel itching or cramping. Vaginismus is only one form of dyspareunia. Some pain during female sexual intercourse also does not occur until orgasm.
Causes
The causes of pain during sexual intercourse in women are varied. Acute or chronic infections of the urinary tract are often found. Inflammation of the fallopian tubes and ovaries are also causative. If pain occurs during sexual intercourse in women, genital warts, tuberculosis or sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea or syphilis should also be considered. Other causes of pain during sexual intercourse in women can be malformations or scars after childbirth. Reactions to chemical contraceptives are also increasingly common. A vagina that is too dry can also play a role. Sometimes no physical cause can be found for pain during sexual intercourse in women. Then stress or emotional conflicts should be considered. Likewise, pain during sex can occur during defloration, i.e. the first time. Also, an internal tension during sexual intercourse, which can often occur due to high expectations or aversion to the partner, sometimes lead to painful sensations.
Diseases with this symptom
- Vaginismus
- Vaginitis
- Vulvitis
- Genital warts
- Gonorrhea
- Tubal inflammation and ovarian inflammation
- Tuberculosis
- Syphilis
- Vaginal fungus
Diagnosis
Recurrent pain during sexual intercourse in women must be clarified. After a conversation, the gynecologist examines the affected. A smear test is used to look for abnormal pathogens. An ultrasound examination should rule out physical causes. If no cause for the pain during sexual intercourse is found, further examinations are required (urine, blood, tissue sample). Since the psyche can always play a role in pain during sexual intercourse in women, the doctor also takes care of this side in an intensive discussion. It is important not to remain silent out of shame. Research into the cause should be started quickly. So that the pain during sexual intercourse of the woman does not take on a life of its own. If the cause and correct therapy are found, the prognosis for the course of pain during sexual intercourse of the woman is very favorable.
Complications
Pain during sexual intercourse in women can have a wide variety of causes, which can be accompanied by a wide variety of complications. An example of this is a vaginal fungus (vaginal mycosis). This normally heals without complications, but occurs again and again, especially in immunocompromised persons. It is also characterized by severe itching. In the rarest cases, the fungus can penetrate into deeper skin layers and thus enter the bloodstream. This can cause the pathogen to spread systemically and damage the entire body, resulting in sepsis. This can degenerate into septic shock, resulting in failure of multiple organs. Ovarian cysts also cause severe pain during sexual intercourse.If these burst, they can affect blood vessels, causing severe internal bleeding. This should be treated immediately by surgery. Rather rarely, the ovary may also rotate on its own axis. This cuts off the ovary from the blood supply, it can cause dizziness and also menstrual disorders. In the rarest cases, an ovarian cyst can degenerate and end up in ovarian cancer (ovarian carcinoma). Endometriosis can cause bleeding, which can irritate the surrounding tissues. In addition, scarring may occur in these areas. One of the most common consequences of endometriosis is female infertility (infertility).
When should you see a doctor?
Pain during sexual intercourse in women is normal during the first sexual intercourse and is not a reason to see a doctor, unless it makes it impossible. On the other hand, if it is not possible to insert the penis into the vagina at all, even after several attempts, the affected woman should see the doctor, because she may be suffering from disorders such as vaginismus or an overly developed hymen that needs to be removed through a small incision. If pain during sexual intercourse occurs in a woman who is already sexually active, it is a case for the doctor if it is observed repeatedly or becomes more intense. It may be that they are simply due to the position, which can be easily found out by the couple adopting a different position. Burning, pulling or tearing pain, on the other hand, is more likely to indicate an infection of the reproductive organs or an STD. Only a gynecologist can make the diagnosis. With the right treatment, the pain during sexual intercourse quickly disappears. If a sexually transmitted disease is out of the question, but pain still occurs, a change in the internal sex organs may be behind it. An examination by a gynecologist will provide clarification. This is especially true if the complaints occur in conjunction with bleeding or occur for the first time after an event such as childbirth or surgery.
Treatment and therapy
Treatment or research into the cause of the pain during sexual intercourse in women should be carried out in any case. Otherwise, intimacy may be increasingly avoided or eventually stopped altogether. Especially since the cycle of expecting the pain must be broken. In case of pain during sexual intercourse of the woman, the gynecologist should be consulted first. Once the cause of the pain during female sexual intercourse is found, individualized treatment can begin. If chemical contraceptives lead to the pain, they should be avoided. A lubricant, which is available in pharmacies or drugstores, helps a vagina that is too dry. If inflammation is the cause of pain during sexual intercourse in women, an antibiotic will help. Genital warts can be removed. Sometimes a change of position also helps if pain during female sexual intercourse only occurs in a certain position. Training the pelvic floor muscles can be supportive. Learning a relaxation technique (yoga, autogenic training) should also be considered.
Outlook and prognosis
The prognosis for pain during female sexual intercourse depends on the causes. In women who are already in menopause, the body often no longer produces enough vaginal secretions. This problem can be circumvented by using lubricants that perform the same function during intercourse as natural vaginal secretions. In young women, lack of sexual stimulation is usually the cause of pain during intercourse resulting from a vagina that is too dry. This problem can also be solved with stimulating foreplay. Fungal infections often cause burning pain in the intimate area, making sexual intercourse impossible. In this case, the underlying disease must first be treated. Antimycotics in the form of ointments or suppositories are available for this purpose. The therapy usually lasts at least one week. Since the partner is usually also infected, he or she must also be treated, otherwise a recurring mutual infection (poin-pong effect) is to be expected. If the pain during sexual intercourse is due to acute inflammation of the bladder and the laxative urinary tract, the underlying disease must also be treated.
Prevention
Pain during sexual intercourse in women cannot be specifically prevented. However, it is possible to prevent already irritation of the vagina. This includes omitting soap from the intimate area and wearing cotton underwear. Since pain can occur in the head during sexual intercourse of the woman, the sexual act should be performed only if the woman really wants it.
This is what you can do yourself
Pain during sexual intercourse of the woman often, although not always, have mental backgrounds. Affected women can start by observing when exactly the pain occurs. This often already allows clues to the cause. An unpleasant rubbing, dry feeling indicates vaginal dryness. Pain on penetration suggests a problem with the vaginal muscles, such as vaginismus or mental anxiety. A burning pain could indicate irritated mucous membranes, such as those associated with venereal disease. This observation will also help the gynecologist later in the diagnosis. In cases of vaginal dryness, a vaginal cream or simple lubricating cream may be the solution to the problem. In mild cases, even extra moist condoms can be a solution. Many women are also helped by consciously relaxing or finding a way to put aside fears and anxieties when having intercourse. The more frequent the pain during intercourse, the more it eventually becomes a psychological problem, as the woman then expects it and stiffens and anticipates the pain in addition to the original problem. During the first sexual intercourse, pain is normal for women, even if it does not occur in all cases and varies in intensity. Also in these cases help a lot of patience, lubricating cream or wet condoms or a warm bath beforehand, which relaxes and also has a loosening effect on the vaginal muscles.
