Scary Symptoms in Intimate Areas: 7 Vaginal Conditions

Not only does the odd twinge or sudden onslaught of vaginal pain hurt; it can cause you to be concerned for your overall wellbeing. Your vagina is your most intimate space, so it’s really scary when something might be going awry. Therefore, it’s good to know the main conditions that affect vaginal wellness, so that you know what symptoms to look out for. If any of the following sounds familiar, you should talk to your doctor.

 

1. Vagititus: According to sexual health and wellness writer Natasha Burton, author of The Little Black Book of Big Red Flags, vagititus ‘is a catchall medical term to describe vaginal pain, burning and itching that coincides with an infection or inflammation happening between your legs. The discomfort can be caused by an influx of bacteria, irritation from creams, or a sexual partner.’

 

2. Dyspareunia: ‘One-fifth of women experience this condition of painful sexual intercourse, which can happen before, during, or even after sex,’ Burton explains. ‘Dyspareunia is most common in menopausal women due to their reduced oestrogen levels, which lead to thinner vaginal walls, lower levels of lubrication and reduced sexual sensation.’ Sara Gottfried, MD, OB/GYN, author of The Hormone Cure, adds, ‘Up to 25% of the Pill users have vaginal dryness and pain with sex, which totally defeats the purpose of going on these puppies. Other causes include infections of the vagina, cervix, fallopian tubes or lower urinary tract, scarring from childbirth, a prolapsed womb, endometriosis, radiotherapy, allergies, and stress.’

 

3. Vaginismus: Burton notes that, similar to dyspareunia, vaginismus ‘is more specific to pain that happens during penetration. Basically, the pubococcygeus muscle reflexes in a way that makes the vagina tense suddenly, making it nearly impossible to have sex or even insert a tampon without your vagina hurting really, really badly. Causes can include stress, fear, partner issues, trauma, childbirth, menopause, and certain medications.’

 

4. Vulvodynia: Vulvodynia ‘is characterised by burning, stinging or sharp pangs at the vaginal entrance, labia and vulva,’ says Burton. ‘The condition can flare up once in a while or happen constantly, but either way, this condition can last for years.’ Gottfried points out, ‘Women of any age can contract vulvodynia, and scientists are still trying to determine exact causes. Causes may include nerve injuries, trauma, genetic factors, inflammation, hypersensitivity to yeast infections, allergies, history of sexual abuse or frequent antibiotic use.’

 

5. Dysmenorrhea: Burton notes, ‘This intense pain before and/or during your period can include sharp pain, shooting pain or burning sensations. (Think of this condition as, like, the worst cramps ever.) Typically, this pain will ebb as your period slows down but if the pain is really intense, it could be a symptom of endometriosis, adenomyosis, pelvic inflammatory disease, cervical stenosis (narrowing of the opening to the uterus), a tumour, or even toxic shock syndrome.’

 

6. Menorrhagia: ‘This condition sometimes comes along with dysmenorrhea and is characterised by a super heavy—or super long—period, which could be caused by abnormal blood clotting or disruption in how your hormones regulate your cycle,’ Burton details. Gottfriend advises, ‘Any period lasting longer than seven days should be discussed with your friendly neighbourhood gynaecologist.’ While you’re waiting for your appointment, Gottfriend recommends noshing on kale (for the iron).

 

7. Adenomyosis: Burton outlines, ‘The pelvic pain you’d feel from this condition occurs when the cells that typically line your uterus grow into the muscular tissue of the wall of your uterus. Typically, there are no other symptoms except your cramps getting worse with every period you have (the condition can also cause both dysmenorrhea and menorrhagia)…The cause of this condition is still unknown and while there are treatments available to ease the discomfort, sometimes a full hysterectomy is the only cure.’

Categories: burton, burton notes, condition, Dyspareunia, nbsp, Pain, vaginal, vaginal pain, vaginismus, Vagititus

Study Finds Link Between Vaginismus and Feelings of Disgust

No one loves sexual health by-products (aka semen) but if you feel utterly disgusted by the gentleman juice, your wellbeing may be at risk to an underlying condition; vaginismus. According to a recent study, published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, disgust may play a role in your sexual wellness, causing a dysfunction that often renders penetration impossible. The results of the research may reveal a psychological component to physical sexual complaints.

 

If you have a disorder known as vaginismus, you are more likely than healthy women or women who have other sexual disorders to feel disgust in response to sexual by-products. When you have vaginismus, this means that your pelvic muscles involuntarily contract when penetrated, often preventing penis-in-vagina intercourse entirely. The National Institutes of Health note that the condition isn’t common, but your involuntary disgust at things of a sexual nature could cause this contraction as a defence mechanism. Mark van Overveld, a postdoctoral researcher at Erasmus University Rotterdam, explains, ‘In this sense, disgust acts as an emotional equivalent to a cold shower.’

 

Let’s be honest, sex is – objectively speaking, a pretty disgusting pastime. The contact between body parts and the bodily fluids involved are often thought to be gross or even taboo. Van Overveld comments, ‘From that perspective, it is actually quite surprising that people even manage to engage in the act of sexual intercourse at all.’ It’s not easy to control such a strong emotion as disgust, as anyone who has ever vomited at the sight of someone else vomiting can attest. Until now, researchers haven’t really looked into the emotion as relates to sex, preferring instead the use of questionnaires that focus on more general questions, like how grossed out you’d be by eating soup that had been stirred by a flyswatter.

 

For this study, however, a sex-specific questionnaire was given to 762 students and university employees, and then 39 women with lifelong vaginismus, 45 women with dyspareunia, or pain during sexual intercourse, and 28 men with erectile dysfunction. The questionnaire focused on such hypotheticals as how disgusting it would be to handle someone else’s, or your own, sexual fluids. The questionnaire answers showed that the women with vaginismus were the most likely to report disgust for sexually contaminated items, suggesting that disgust has a part to play in either the origin or the continuation of the disorder.

 

Still, while there’s a link between disgust and vaginismus, what’s harder to discern is exactly how the emotion plays into the dysfunction. van Overveld surmises that either the disgust comes first and triggers the pelvic muscle clampdown, or else initial sexual problems perhaps contribute to disgust with the process. The key thing to take away is that disgust is an important defence mechanism, and so the tightening of the pelvic muscles could be a similar reflex to when you vomit at the sight of something disgusting. Previous research has pointed to the fact that disgust and arousal work in opposition to each other, with arousal dampening disgust and vice versa. In this study, even healthy women who had more feelings of disgust also had fewer feelings of sexual arousal.

 

If you have vaginismus, you shouldn’t now blame yourself or your feelings for your condition. van Overveld is quick to warn that disgust is not easy to control, and women with vaginismus have been shown in previous research to have normal sex drives. van Overveld commented, ‘An important next step would be to look at the relationship between disgust and sexual arousal more closely. Can sexual intercourse indeed perhaps be interpreted as a delicate balance between disgust on the one hand and a state of sexual arousal on the other? If so, can we help women with lifelong vaginismus to shift this balance?’

Categories: defence mechanism, disgust, healthy women, lifelong vaginismus, pelvic muscles, previous research, Research, sexual arousal, sexual intercourse, vaginismus, van overveld

What is Vaginismus and Could You be at Risk?

A condition that could be affecting a small number of women, vaginismus is an uncontrolled and involuntary spasm of the vaginal muscles. These spasms could lead to sex being painful, leading to both physical and psychological damage. It is an uncommon condition, but can be very damaging to both the individual and a relationship. It’s important that you speak to your GP if you think you may have the condition so that they can help you find a treatment that works for you. If it isn’t treated, vaginismus can become a natural response and as such can get worse over time. The condition is usually a response to previous trauma or sex-related emotional damage. The fear of the pain triggers a painful muscle spasm that means the brain then continues to link pain with sex. However, sometimes there is no cause and the condition simply occurs. There are two forms of vaginismus – primary and secondary. Primary vaginismus is connected with women who have never had a successful session of sexual intercourse due to the anticipation of the main event. Secondary vaginismus is diagnosed in women who have had successful intercourse in the past. There are known risk factors which include a history of sexual trauma or abuse, painful first intercourse, a frightening childhood medical procedure, sexual inhibition, a fear of getting pregnant and a memory of previous pain during sex, such as from surgery or infection.

 

The symptoms vary between women but tend to involve the inability to have sex without feeling some pain. Some women may also find that they experience pain when they insert a tampon or when performing pelvic exams. Your GP will ask about your symptoms and medical history, as well as performing a physical exam. This exam can be a great way to determine if you have the condition, as you may experience a spasm during the exam itself. The insertion of a speculum may even be impossible, or in severe cases local anesthesia may even be necessary. Sex is meant to be pleasurable and never painful. If you are experiencing pain during intercourse, you should seek medical advice as soon as possible as this may be a sign of an infection or another health problem. Early detection of the problem may help with the treatment, particularly with vaginismus – if you can resolve the issue early on, it may help to bridge the gap between you and your partner, as well as limit the amount of discomfort that you have to go through.

There are several ways to treat the condition, including kegel exercising. Because they involve a repetitive contraction movement and then a relaxation of the pelvic muscles, the exercises can help to improve the control of the muscles. You can also try vaginal dilation exercises which involve using your fingers or a plastic instrument known as a dilator to gradually increase the size and flexibility of your vagina. Once you’ve reached a certain tolerance, you can attempt sexual intercourse. The programme is observed by a healthcare provider so that there is no risk of injury. Educational treatment is a great way of dealing with this problem, as fear of sex is often a large part of the disorder. During this form of treatment, women are taught about sex and how it works, including common sex myths and the sexual response cycle. Lastly, counselling may prove to be effective for some women. Depending on what is causing your problem, you may find it useful to speak to a therapist about your issues.

Categories: condition, intercourse, Pain, Sex, sexual intercourse, vaginismus, Women

Why Do Married Couples Need to Talk About Vaginismus?

Waiting until you’re married is a fairly rare concept these days but many couples still choose to save it until the wedding night. Imagine that you’ve waited your whole life to experience your sexual wellbeing but, now you’re here, it doesn’t happen. According to Australian sex therapist Matty Silver, the reason is a condition called vaginismus, a sexual health problem that you rarely talk about.

 

‘As a sex therapist I see many women who come from a cultural or religious background where sex before marriage is not allowed or frowned upon,’ Silver comments. ‘They sometimes end up with this condition, which can result in unconsummated marriages. Women who suffer from vaginismus find that attempts at sexual intercourse are unsuccessful or very painful. The condition is caused by the involuntary contraction of the muscles around the entrance to the vagina. The spasm constricts the vaginal opening, making it virtually impossible to have intercourse. The man cannot penetrate, it feels like he has hit a brick wall. As this is often experienced on, or after, the wedding night you can imagine how distressing this is for a couple who can’t understand what is happening. They have waited so long and now having intercourse is impossible.’

 

Silver explains that the condition can impact other elements of your wellness. ‘Women with vaginismus may feel sexually inadequate and can experience feelings of intense shame and failure,’ he says. ‘The male partner may experience loss of desire and problems with erection. The combination of erectile difficulties and vaginismus is not uncommon. He fears hurting his partner and loses his erection whenever he tries to penetrate. Or he may ejaculate before he can penetrate. It is such a taboo that couples are often too embarrassed to discuss the issue with family or friends and so suffer in silence. They avoid questions from the family about why they don’t have children yet and feel extremely sad when their friends tell them what a great sex life they have.’

 

So what can be done to tackle the health concern? ‘Vaginismus is easily treated by counselling, education, anxiety reduction and retraining of the pelvic floor muscles,’ Silver notes. ‘Psychosexual education is important as it is essential the woman gains knowledge of her sexual anatomy. Through counselling she can free herself of the moral beliefs that can contribute to her condition. Post-counselling I refer my clients to a pelvic floor physiotherapist who specialises in this area. The treatment of vaginismus involves unlearning the fear-contraction reflex and being taught to keep the pelvic floor muscles relaxed during intercourse. Successful treatment does not require drugs, surgery, Botox injections, hypnosis or any complex invasive techniques, and a full recovery is possible.’

Categories: Marriage, Symptoms, vaginismus

How Vaginismus Affects The Lives Of Many Women

You may never have heard of vaginismus but is a psychological condition that causes sexual problems for a large number of women across the UK. The condition is characterised by a powerful physical response. Whenever there’s an attempt to penetrate the vagina, the muscles surrounding the entrance go into an involuntary spasm.

Vaginismus doesn’t affect everyone in the same way. Some women who suffer with the condition may be easily aroused and enjoy orgasms – but for some reason, intercourse isn’t possible. For others, however, there may be very little sexual interest and it can often lead to developing a lot of fears and anxieties about penetration.

Some women will have suffered with the condition for all of their adult lives, but for others it may have occurred after a specific trauma or in a particular relationship. Either way, vaginismus can have a devastating effect on quality of life. Not only do women with the condition find it more difficult to enjoy having sex, but the inability to be penetrated makes the decision to start a family very difficult.

There are many causes for vaginismus, but none of them are physical. If you’ve suffered painful intercourse in the past, it could be that the condition is an unconscious response to avoid more pain. Generally the causes can be broken down into three specific categories: personal issues about sex, previous traumatic experiences or relationship issues.

Fortunately, vaginismus is an entirely treatable condition. You should speak to your doctor about the condition and they will be able to recommend an appropriate course of action. The most important thing is to avoid keeping your problems quiet, because there is no way to help you if doctors don’t know about it.

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How Vaginismus Affects The Lives Of Many Women

Categories: Sex, vaginismus, women's health