Dyspareunia is genital pain during or after sexual intercourse. Internally in the vagina, uterus, or pelvis as well as outwardly on the vulva, painful sex can be felt. Sexual activity can be uncomfortable due to things like infections or underlying medical issues. Usually, the underlying source of the discomfort is found and treated.

Dyspareunia (dis-puh-ROO-nee-uh) is the medical name for painful sex and is characterized as persistent or recurrent genital pain that happens just before, during, or after sex. If you’re having painful sex, consult your doctor. Treatments minimize or decrease this widespread issue by concentrating on the underlying cause.

Women are more likely than men to have dyspareunia. Although there are numerous potential causes, it is treatable. It’s a widespread disorder that may have detrimental psychological and emotional implications. Couples may experience pressure in their relationship or loss of intimacy in addition to physical suffering.

Based on your symptoms, your healthcare practitioner can suggest the best course of action and identify the underlying cause of your discomfort.

Symptoms of Dyspareunia

If you have painful sex, you might experience:

• Deep pain when thrusting
• Burning pain or hurting pain
• Throbbing pain, lasting hours after sexual contact
• Pain with a feeling of stabbing pain, similar to menstruation cramps
• Pain with tampon use
• Pain exclusively with specific partners or circumstances
• Pain only at sexual entry (penetration)

Causes of Dyspareunia

Depending on whether the pain is felt at entry or with deep thrusting, there are different physical causes of painful intercourse. Many different kinds of uncomfortable sexual encounters may be influenced by emotional considerations.

Entry pain

There are many potential causes of pain during penetration, including:

• Inadequate lubrication. This frequently happens when there isn’t enough foreplay. Drops in estrogen levels following menopause, childbirth, or breastfeeding are further potential causes.
  Certain drugs are known to alter arousal or sexual desire, which can reduce lubrication and make sex uncomfortable. These include birth control drugs, sedatives, antihistamines, high blood pressure meds, and antidepressants.
• Ailment, trauma, or injury. This includes wounds or irritation from accidents, pelvic surgery, female circumcision, or a birth canal-enlarging cut (episiotomy).
• Skin disease, infection, or inflammation. A painful genital infection or urinary tract infection might affect how you have sex. Your vaginal area’s eczema or other skin conditions may possibly be the issue.
• Vaginismus. These uncontrollable contractions of the vaginal wall’s muscles can make penetration uncomfortable.
• An issue that exists from birth. Dyspareunia may result from the absence of a completely formed vagina (vaginal agenesis) or the growth of a membrane that closes the vaginal opening (imperforate hymen).

Deep pain

Deep penetration frequently results in severe agony. In some positions, it might be worse. Some of the causes are:

• A few diseases and disorders. Endometriosis, pelvic inflammatory disease, retroverted uterus, uterine prolapse, uterine fibroids, cystitis, irritable bowel syndrome, pelvic floor dysfunction, adenomyosis, hemorrhoids, and ovarian cysts are among the conditions on the list.
• Operations or other medical procedures. Hysterectomy scarring and another pelvic surgery scarring can make sexual activity uncomfortable. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy for cancer can alter the body in ways that make sex difficult.

Emotional factors

Emotions may contribute to sexual pain since they are intricately linked to sexual behavior. Emotional factors include:

• Psychological concerns. These are an example of emotional factors. A low level of arousal and the ensuing discomfort or suffering can be attributed to anxiety, melancholy, worries about your physical attractiveness, fear of intimacy, or relationship issues.
• Stress. When you’re under stress in your life, your pelvic floor muscles usually become more rigid. This could make it more painful when having sex.
• Past sexual assault. Although not every person with dyspareunia has experienced sexual abuse, it can be a factor.

It can be challenging to determine whether emotional factors contribute to dyspareunia. Initial discomfort might cause dread of future discomfort, which makes it challenging to relax, which can result in further discomfort. If you start to equate sex with pain, you can begin to avoid it.

Risk Factors of Dyspareunia