subject: How to Reduce Painful Intercourse [print this page] Painful intercourse is a fact of life for some women. It may feel like the vagina is just too small to handle penetration. In reality, it is extremely rare for a woman to have a vagina that is too small for intercourse. If you experience pain during penetration or if your partner cannot enter your vagina at all, don't write the problem off as impossible to fix. By uncovering the cause of your pain during sex, you can begin to treat it and sex can become more pleasurable.
Intercourse occurs when a man inserts his penis into a woman's vagina. Having intercourse is supposed to feel pleasurable. It should not hurt. Unfortunately, more than half of all women will find intercourse hurtful, even if only occasionally. If the sex act causes pain, there may be medical or psychological causes.
These symptoms can cause sex to be unpleasant, and reduce your desire to engage in sex. According to The Health Guide, some women find sex so painful that even thinking about sex becomes frustrating.
Why Intercourse is Painful: -
Intercourse is painful as a result of reduced hormones in the body. When you enter into menopause, your body stops producing as much estrogen. Estrogen, among other things, helps with sexual response. A decreased level of estrogen in the body can also lead to a thinning of the protective vaginal lining. The thinning of the lining can make sex painful, and can also make you more prone to vaginal infections which make sex painful.
Diagnosis: -
Your doctor can help you to diagnose the cause of painful intercourse, and help you to determine whether the pain during sex is caused by the reduced hormone levels, or by secondary vaginal infections which are common during menopause. If the painful intercourse is caused by an infection, a prescription antibiotic can resolve the problem. However, if the painful intercourse is a result of menopause itself, other treatment options may be necessary.
Medical Treatment: -
Doctors may prescribe an estrogen cream for patients who have thin vaginal linings or other irritation of the vagina not caused by infection. These estrogen creams can be applied daily, right to the vagina. The creams help to reduce itching and burning, which can make sex painful. A lubricant may also be helpful during sex, and various lubricants are available in nonprescription forms in drugstores.
Hormone Therapy: -
Doctors may put menopausal women who are experiencing painful sex on an oral estrogen supplement. These hormonal supplements can relieve many of the symptoms associated with menopause, including painful intercourse, hot flashes and moodiness. However, there is an increased risk of certain cancers (primarily breast cancer and uterine cancer) associated with estrogen supplements. Often, a progesterone supplement is also prescribed in conjunction with the estrogen therapy. Irregular vaginal bleeding is common in women prescribed hormone therapy and usually resolves itself within 6 months.
