Vaginismus

For some women, the vaginal muscles persistently contract while attempting vaginal penetration. This is called vaginismus. These muscle contractions can make sexual intercourse very painful.

This can happen:

• Druring partner penetration attempt

• when a woman inserts a tampon

• when area near vaginal is touched

What are the signs and symptoms?

The first sign of vaginismus is Painful sex (dyspareunia). The pain happens only while penetrating and it usually goes away after withdrawal, but not always.

Some women describe it as a burning feeling.

Many women who have vaginismus also feel uncomfortable while inserting a tampon

Other symptoms of vaginismus include:

• Not being able to have penetrative sex

• Sex fear

• sexual desire loss

Causes of Vaginismus

Vaginismus is usually linked to fear of having sex or anxiety. Doctors don't know the exact reason of why it happens and also it's not clear which came first, the vaginismus or the anxiety.

Some women have feeling of vaginismus in all situations and with any object but others have it only in certain cases, like with one partner but not with others or they might have it while sexual intercourse but not with tampons.

There’s not always a reason for vaginismus but the condition can be linked to:

• past sexual abuse

• past painful intercourse

• emotional factors

When to call a professional

We can understand that you may feel uncomfortable while talking about this subject or sometimes embarrassing but we would suggest you to book a consultation call if you see any symptoms like loss in sex desire or fear of sex.