Painful Sex

Painful sex is known as dyspareunia and related to vaginismus in women, occurring when someone suffers pain during sexual intercourse due to medical or psychological causes. This pain can be felt even after the original physical cause has been removed and is experienced by women, although men can suffer from pain also.

Common physical causes of dyspareunia are infections of the vagina, lower urinary tract, cervix or fallopian tubes, endometriosis, surgical scar tissue, herpes or due to undergoing radiotherapy. Localised painful vaginal, vulvic and pelvic areas can be a symptom of dyspareunia and vaginismus.

Using lubricants prior to sexual intercourse can help lessen painful vaginal symptoms, in particular water-soluble varieties such as KY Jelly.