Vaginal pain during intercourse(Vaginismus)
There are numerous potential causes of vaginal pain during intercourse. Vaginismus is one of them. Many of you might not be familiar with the word vaginismus. Thus, to make it familiar let’s get into this blog.
What is vaginismus
To know better about the vaginismus let’s see what is vagina. In simpler terms, a woman’s uterus opens to the exterior via the vagina. The vagina is a flexible muscular organ that acts as a passage during childbirth. It can stretch to such an extent to allow the baby to deliver but sometimes few women suffer from extreme pain even for an attempted digital pelvic examination or sexual intercourse. This condition is called vaginismus.
Vaginismus is where a woman is not able to tolerate vaginal penetration. The vaginal penetration can be either inserting tampons, pelvic examination, or sexual intercourse. When something, such as a tampon or a penis, is inserted into a woman’s vagina, the pelvic floor muscles and the muscles surrounding the vagina contract or spasm.
Types of vaginismus
Vaginismus can be categorized into two types
Primary
When a woman experiences pain whenever something is inserted into her vagina then it is called primary vaginismus. Additionally, it is known as a lifetime vaginismus.
Secondary
When a woman had experienced pain-free intercourse but later she found it difficult or impossible then it is called secondary vaginismus. It’s also referred to as acquired vaginismus.
How do I know that I might have vaginismus
The main sign of vaginismus is an involuntary tightening of the vaginal muscles, but each woman will experience the problem differently. If you have any of the following symptoms, you may have vaginismus.
- Painful intercourse
- Anxiety about penetration sex
- Difficulty in inserting a tampon
- Burning or stingy pain with vaginal penetration
- Feeling that there is a block during vaginal penetration
- Discomfort or difficulty while having vaginal examination or smear test(a method to examine a sample of cervix cells for abnormalities that might be signs of cervical cancer)
How common is vaginismus
The precise occurrence of vaginismus is not known since many women feel embarrassed to discuss it. But in clinical settings, it is between 5% to 17%.
What is the impact of vaginismus on the woman
Some of the risk factors for women who are having vaginismus
- It can cause increased anxiety
- It may make it challenging for a woman to get pregnant
- She can have physical, psychological, and sexual issues
- It can sometimes affect your relationship with your partner.
Is there a way to solve the vaginismus problem
If you discover that you have vaginismus, you don’t have to experience discomfort. Consult your cosmetic gynecologist who can help you with an appropriate solution
To Conclude
Thus, vaginismus is considered to be one of the unspoken problems among many women. If you found any difficulty then you can just open up with your gynecologist. Based on your health status treatment will be given.
