Painful Intercourse (Dyspareunia)

Painful Intercourse: Understanding Dyspareunia 

Dyspareunia refers to the medical condition where women experience pain during sexual intercourse. It is a common issue, affecting almost 10% of females at some point in their lives. Fortunately, in most cases, there is a straightforward solution available to help alleviate the pain and improve the sexual experience.Causes of Painful Intercourse

• Lack of lubrication
• Positioning
• Vaginismus (where your vaginal muscles clench involuntarily)
• Infection such as thrush
• Vulvodynia (where your whole intimate area is painful)
• Endometriosis (where the womb lining cells grow outside the womb)
• Fibroids (benign tumours that grow in and around the womb)
• A sensitive cervix
• Injury
• Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)

This list is not complete, so if you are suffering from pain during intercourse, it’s good to see either your GP for advice

Treatment for Painful Intercourse

Depending on the pain, the treatment given for dyspareunia or painful intercourse varies. One of the first things that you will be recommended to do is to go slow and try using plenty of water-based, body-friendly lubricant such as Clear Lubricating Jelly 

Painful intercourse after menopause is common due to the walls of the vagina can become thinner in what’s called vaginal atrophy. This is easily solved with an oestrogen cream from your doctor.

If it’s vaginismus that’s causing painful intercourse, there are things that can help. Vaginal dilators, can help you to learn to relax your muscles during penetration, and when used with lots of lubricant, they are a simple and effective, drug-free vaginismus treatment.

The new Kegel8 Ultra features a pain relief programme designed to relax your muscles, and on the new unit, this can be used in conjunction with skin electrodes if using a probe would just be too painful.

If you’re suffering from dyspareunia or pain during intercourse, it’s important to see your doctor, there are simple solutions that can really help you to live your life and enjoy your relationship again.

Back >