Do you feel pain during sexual intercourse? Understand the problem and know when to seek help

Pain during intercourse, which can occur before, during or after sex, can be misdiagnosed as dyspareunia.

This is a complex condition, with varied causes and that, according to research published by the American portal “ABC”, affects 20% of women against 2% of men.

To understand more about these pains in the sexual act and how you can overcome it, CNN talked to experts.

Sex is still taboo

“There are many women who feel pain during sexual intercourse and do not seek help,” he told CNN Claudia Petry, pedagogue specializing in clinical sexology.

“It has been brought up a lot that the first sexual intercourse for a woman will bring bleeding, which is a painful thing. That young woman who initiates sexual activities has heard this many times, so she understands that it will really hurt and that’s how sex works. There are people who think that hurting is normal their whole lives”, added the specialist.

The gynecologist at Hospital Edmundo Vasconcelos, Luana Gomes, reports that the complaint of pain during sexual intercourse is very common in her appointments.

“The vast majority think that it is common to feel pain and often end up not seeking help out of shame.”

“Sex is still taboo. Many women continue to deprive themselves of talking about the subject, for fear of exposure when saying they have a problem, religious belief and even identification and openness during the medical consultation”, added the doctor.

Mental health also in focus

When not investigated and treated, the pain caused by sex can have serious consequences for the woman’s mental health, in addition to the strain on the relationship . “It can lead to depression and guilt for not reaching orgasm”, explains Luana.

“Women can suffer for many years because of the pain”, emphasizes Claudia.

“The relationship is very damaged. Sexual intercourse instead of bringing pleasure brings pain. And then the impact is mainly on the human partnership, she can even avoid being in a relationship precisely because she wants to avoid sexual intercourse”, completed the specialist.

what is dyspareunia

Dyspareunia, pain in the sexual act, has many layers and its investigation needs to happen beyond the improvement in sexual performance.

“Not only does it make sexual intercourse difficult, it also compromises the woman’s routine because it prevents any type of penetration, including the placement of a tampon and gynecological exams,” explains Luana Gomes.

She explains that dyspareunia can be classified into two types: superficial, when it occurs around the opening of the vagina, usually at the time of penetration, or deep, when pain is felt inside the pelvis, usually during movement during penetration.

“In both cases, the characteristics of the pain are the same and manifest themselves in the form of burning, stabbing pain or a very strong cramp”, says the gynecologist.

Superficial pains

Some possible causes, explained by Luana, are genital infections such as herpes and candidiasis, which usually cause a lot of burning, as the vulva area becomes inflamed.

“Women with such pathologies end up with small cuts in the genital region, which causes a lot of discomfort during the sexual act, some even report bleeding, so at the slightest signs of such diagnoses, immediate treatment is necessary”, said the specialist.

There is also vaginismus, which can also cause pain.

“Due to the fear of pain during penetration, the woman becomes tense and generates muscle contractions in the external part of the vagina, sometimes in the entire pelvic area, causing pain. Vaginismus is defined as recurrent or persistent involuntary spasm of the vagina muscles and the treatment is based on the help of physiotherapy and psychological support”.

The complaint of pain in the vulva, outside the vagina, spontaneous or triggered by touch, is also a symptom.

“Whether during intercourse or when washing, it is called vulvodynia. This burning pain persisting for more than 3 months still has no known origin. It can be triggered, like dyspareunia, by infections or by psychological factors”, explained Luana.

The specialist explains that deeper pains can still have other causes, such as endometriosis.

“It is usually one of the main causes of pain during sexual intercourse due to the inflammation it causes in the pelvis”, said Luana.

Menopause is also a period in a woman’s health life that can cause pain in relationships.

“At this stage, there may be vaginal dryness due to the decrease in the level of estrogen, what we recommend is to use topical estrogen, in those women who have no contraindication to replacement, in addition to lubricants and moisturizers based on hyaluronic acid”, recalled the specialist, who also remembered another possible cause.

“Ovarian cysts and scars in the pelvic region from an infection, surgery or radiotherapy can also manifest with pain during sex”, says Luana.

When the woman has already been a victim of sexual violence, suffers from socioeconomic problems, sexual repression, lack of knowledge of her body and previous sexual dysfunction are psychological factors called psychological dyspareunia in psychology and are also factors that must be taken into account when there is pain in sex .

“When dyspareunia has an unknown cause or a psychological origin, it can often require multidisciplinary treatment with a gynecologist, physiotherapist, psychologist and psychiatrist”, advises Luana.

attention to woman

It is important to understand that the woman needs lubrication to have the sexual act in a more pleasurable way and, for that, adequate stimuli are needed for the moment.

Carlos Moraes, gynecologist and physician at Hospital Albert Einstein, highlights the problem with this situation.

“Women get a little drier vagina, there is not a good lubrication and then when that happens and she has intercourse, she feels pain and makes her less willing to have sex”.

Educator Claudia Petry clarifies why this happens.

“This lack of stimuli that can get in the way also comes from the couple’s lack of sexual education, from knowing how to work with sexuality, from the woman knowing that before she is penetrated she needs to have this excitement movement”.

Pain during sexual intercourse is not uncommon, but it cannot be normalized.

“The first step to seek help is to understand that this situation is not normal and that there is treatment, it can make your life better. Sexual activity can and should be pleasurable”, says Carlos Moraes.

“The ideal is to seek help in the first sensations of pain, help in the medical field, help in education and sexuality, seeking a professional within clinical sexology makes a lot of difference”, concluded the doctor.

Source: CNN Brasil

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