Vaginal Pain

 

Women need to go through so many critical phases in their lifetime and they face several troubles with their health during this span. One of the commonly heard issues is vaginal pain that can add discomfort to your life at different moments, during periods, after having sex and even during the most beautiful phase of your life that is pregnancy.

Yeah! This pain in vaginal area will go on with you in whole life but it is not good to ignore it always by considering it just a common pain. Sometimes it becomes essential to consult doctors about your health and have an open talk about your vaginal pain.

If you are facing this trouble so long and have not yet booked your appointment with doctor then it is good to go through the article below. Here you will find detailed information about this vaginal pain, its causes, symptoms and available treatments.

Vaginal Pain during Menstruation Cycles

This is a common trouble faced by most of women. Menstruation actually occurs every month when uterus use to outhouse the lining. This lining finds its way to the cervix via a small opening and then comes out through vaginal canal. We have always heard that some pain, discomfort and cramping is common during menstrual periods. Many times girls also miss their school or work hours due to this pain.

Note that, painful menstruation period is well known as Dysmenorrhea and it can be of two types: Primary and Secondary. Studies reveal that women that experience little pain during their routine menstrual cycle use to have primary dysmenorrhea whereas women that face the pain at later stages of their life are believed to have secondary dysmenorrhea.

What are the major causes behind Vaginal Pain during periods?

However, it is not easy to identify reason behind painful menstrual cycles but still some women who face too much pain during this cycle must be facing these risks:

1. If a girl reaches puberty age even before crossing the age group of 11.
2. Women who never had a baby may face more trouble during periods.
3. It can be caused by irregular routines of menstrual cycles.
4. Females facing heavy bleeding during their menstrual periods.
5. Those who smoke more may have more troubles during menstruation.
6. Women having painful history of period in their family.
7. Most often, girls below age group of 20 face heavy vaginal pain before periods.

There is a hormone named as prostaglandin in female uterus that causes muscle contractions so that lining can be expelled out. Such type of contractions leads to inflammation and pain. In female body, level of prostaglandin hormone uses to rise at beginning of menstruation cycle.

Other than this, there are few medical conditions that can cause heavy vaginal pain during menstruation cycles:

1. Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS): This medical condition of vaginal pain and bleeding is simply defined by various symptoms that are caused with few hormonal changes inside body. It happens almost before one or two weeks of menstruation period and its effect gets automatically removed when bleeding starts.
2. Endometriosis: It is a painful medical condition where cells from lining present in uterus starts growing in several different parts of body as like ovaries, fallopian tubes or tissue lining in the pelvis.
3. Fibroids in Uterus: Fibroids are known as noncancerous tumours which causes pressure on uterus that ultimately leads to abnormal or painful menstruation cycle.
4. Pelvic Inflammatory Disease: It is an infection caused in Uterus, ovaries or fallopian tubes due to sexually transmitted bacteria. It often leads to inflammation in reproductive organs and causes pain.
5. Adenomyosis: This is a rare medical condition where urine lining starts growing over the muscular walls of uterus. It can also cause lots of pain in vaginal wall due to pressure and inflammation in the affected area.
6. Cervical Stenosis: Here is another rare condition the smaller size of cervix leads to slowdown in menstrual flow. This process leads to more pressure in the uterus area and also causes pain.

Best Home Based Treatments

There are several home based successful remedies that you can apply for getting relief from menstrual periods:

1. Raise your legs or simply sit while keeping your knees bent.
2. Prefer to consume sugar, caffeine, alcohol, omega 3 fatty acids, vitamin E, vitamin B-1, and vitamin B-6 to prevent the bloating.
3. One can also prefer to consume an anti-inflammatory medication as like ibuprofen many days before the estimated dates of monthly menstrual period.
4. It is good to practice Yoga and other relaxing techniques.
5. Consuming nutritious and light meals.
6. Prefer to do some physical exercises on regular basis.
7. It is good to take warm bath to get some from pain in vaginal canal.
8. Gently massage the abdomen area.
9. Sometimes it is also good to use heating pad on back or on pelvic area.

When to consult a doctor?

If your menstrual pains have increased too much and they have started disturbing your routine work performance then it is good to consult a trustworthy gynaecologist. Let your doctor know about all related symptoms if you are facing troubles like:

• Severe vaginal pain even when menstruation cycle is not active.
• Some cramping sensation followed by nausea and diarrhea.
• If you have observed blood clots.
• Having three heavily painful menstruation cycles in continuation.
• If pain continues even after IUD placement.

Note that sudden pelvic pain or cramping can be sign of infection and if it is ignored so long then it may lead to heavy damage to the tissue. It is important to move to the doctor immediately if you are facing symptoms such as:

• Vaginal discharge with foul smelling.
• Sudden vaginal pain and burning during pregnancy.
• Severe vaginal pain.
• Fever.

Common Diagnosis Options

When you move to doctor regarding your vaginal pain then he will first collect all the details about your painful menstrual periods. Some physical examinations will also be accompanies in the diagnosis process. The professional may prefer to examine pelvic system for any kind of abnormalities in the reproductive system and he will also look for the signs related to infection.

The diagnosis will be often carried out with imaging tests such as MRI, CT scan and Ultrasound.

Vaginal Pain during Sexual Intercourse

Many women face pain in sexual intercourse and even few men are also observed to be affected with this kind of pain. Such type of pain in women is well known by the term Dyspareunia. Females that are suffering with dyspareunia may be having pain in labia, clitoris or vagina.

Causes for vaginal pain during intercourse

There are so many causes behind this vaginal pain after sex; some of the most common roots are described as:

1. Some kind of skin diseases as like lichen sclerosus and lichen planus that have major impact on vaginal area.
2. It can be due to inflammation in the vaginal area that is well known as vulvar vestibulitis.
3. Endometriosis is also a painful state where a tissue gets migrated from uterine lining and starts growing abnormally in the pelvis.
4. This pain can also arise due to some kind of psychological trauma that can be related to some old history of sexual abuse.
5. Such painful conditions can also be caused by sexually transmitted diseases, vaginal yeast infections or due to urinary tract infections.
6. This trouble can also arise due to allergic reaction to douches, spermicides and clothing.
7. Can be caused due to side effects of drugs like tamoxifen and antihistamines etc.
8. Atrophic Vaginitis that is a common trouble leading to unwanted thinning of vaginal lining in a postmenopausal female.
9. Shooting vaginal pain can happen due to vaginal dryness.

Symptoms associated with vaginal pain during sex

Symptoms of painful sexual intercourse may be observed when just the entry is attempted, can happen during or even after the sex.

• Some of the most commonly observed symptoms include pain on entry and this sharp vaginal pain can also lead to a burning sensation.
• Another symptom is deep pain.
• Few other symptoms involve feeling of muscle tightness, pelvic cramping and muscle spasms.

Note that, this pain during or after sexual intercourse can be categorised into two parts as primary or secondary, situational or conditional, and deep thrust or superficial entrance type.

• The primary pain is one that stays for entire sexual lifetime of a woman.
• Secondary pain is observed to develop after the symptom free duration of time.
• Complete pain category defines the pain that women face during complete intercourse duration.
• The Situational pain in vaginal opening use to arise with some specific type of stimulations or with specific partner.
• Superficial entrance pain is usually noticed at the time of penetration.
• The deep thrust pain arrives at cervix or can even rise at lower abdominal area either during or after penetration.

Sometimes women face pain even without any specific cause during sex and this type of pain is usually related to psychological origin.

Possible Diagnosis for vaginal pain after sex

The vaginal pain caused at the time or after sex can be treated on basis of symptoms associated with it. Doctors use to focus on sexual or medical history of the person along with certain physical examination that can help them to determine actual symptoms. You may also have to define the exact duration, timing and location of pain for diagnosis.

Here are few common questions that your medical professional will ask you:

• Whether you always had such painful sexual intercourse or sometimes it passes without any pain.
• Do you have required amount of lubrication naturally or have you tried the commercially available products for lubrication.
• They may also ask about the sexual history of the person so that details about sexually transmitted infections can be obtained.
• If you ever had some kind of injury in your genitals or faced any sexual abuse.

Also:

• Those who are in middle age may be asked about whether they are having normal periods in routine, face any vaginal dryness issue or hot flashes etc.
• In case if you are a mother to newborn child then your medical expert may ask you about the breastfeeding details because sometimes it can lead to vaginal dryness, vaginal pain and itching.

Prevention for throbbing vaginal pain

However, few causes of vaginal pain during sexual intercourse such as sexual trauma etc cannot be avoided so easily but most of other causes one can take preventive actions:

1. In order to reduce the yeast infection risks, it is good to avoid wearing tight clothing, practice healthy hygiene and wear underpants that are made up of cotton material.
2. Prefer to change your underclothes right after too much sweating.
3. It is good to take bath daily and never forget to change your cloths right after swimming.
4. Bladder infections can be avoided if you always wipe from front portion towards back right after using toilet and having urine discharge after sex.
5. Sexually transmitted disease can be avoided by practicing safe sex and by maintaining partnership with only one person. Professionals advise using condom for having safe sexual intercourse and to avoid transmission of harmful diseases.
6. In order to stay safe from vaginal dryness, always prefer to use lubricant. If this trouble goes beyond control then go for treatment.
7. In case if you are suffering with endometriosis then it is good to avoid deep penetration; also prefer to have sex only at least after two weeks of monthly menstruation.

Available Treatments

Note that, treatment of vaginal pain during sexual intercourse completely depends upon the type of causes and symptoms that individual faces:

1. In case if you are facing trouble like vaginal dryness then it is possible to improve performance for sexual intercourse with increase in clitoral stimulation right before having sex. One can also prefer to apply lubricants such as Astroglide, Replens and K-Y jelly.
2. For some vaginal yeast infections, doctors will prescribe antifungal medications.
3. Those who are suffering with urinary tract infections or facing trouble due to sexually transmitted disease will have to consume antibiotics.
4. If you want to get rid of painful inflammation then it is good to try sitz baths that are a special kind of warn water baths taken by person in sitting position.
5. If you are suffering with skin diseases of vaginal area then medical professionals will prescribe medications as per specific disease. For instance, lichen planus and licjen sclerosus can be easily improved with specially designed steroid creams.
6. For troubles like vulvar vestibulitis, medical science has invented few special therapies that make use of several low dose type pain relief medications, estrogen cream or some kind of physical therapy that is followed by biofeedback in the pelvic floor.
7. In case of atrophic vaginitis, medical professionals often recommend vaginal estrogen but if your body is still not able to improve then some oral estrogens are recommended or you may also have to follow the drug ospemifene. But there are more chances of facing more side effects with oral drugs.
8. For vaginal pain that does not have any potential cause or is occurring like this for several years, it is essential to go for psychological counselling that can help you to get relief from anxiety or stress.

When to see a Doctor?

It is well considered that sexual intercourse often appears uncomfortable for first time but still it is not assumed to be painful. In case if you suddenly face severe pain while having sex or even after that then it becomes essential to meet a doctor.

Vaginal Pain during Pregnancy

There is no doubt to say that pregnancy is one of the most exciting phase of life for every women but sometimes it brings some discomfort to life. Ranging from morning sickness, sleep deprivation, aching back to constant tiredness, pregnancy has a lot to do with your health. But still, a new mother always stays curious to feel that how a little body inside her is continuously growing.

Some women face few side effects during this period and one of these is vaginal pain and pelvic pressure. Most of the females start facing this pelvic pressure and burning vaginal pain probably during last trimester of their pregnancy. Sometimes this symptom can be just a mild issue but there are few cases when you have to give it major consideration.

What is pelvic pressure?

During last few months of pregnancy, your body starts releasing a specific type of hormone with very high amount, it is well known as relaxin. The major application of relaxin is to simply loosen all the associated ligaments in pelvis so that they can get separated slightly. With this added flexibility, head of the little baby passes easily during birth. At the same time, weight of child’s body causes some weakening and stretching of muscles residing in pelvic floor. All these factors contribute to some pelvic pressure specifically during late pregnancy.

What causes the vaginal pain during Pregnancy?

Measured growth of the fetus naturally increases pressure and this leads to sharp pain in vaginal area during pregnancy. Most of ladies face this pain during second trimester of their pregnancy as at this time baby slowly starts applying pressure to the pelvic zone. Even during the last trimester, this pain and pressure leads to vaginal pain.

Here are three major causes of vaginal pain during pregnancy:

1. Due to Cervix Dilation: In case if you are feeling sharp vaginal muscle pain during third trimester probably it could be due to cervix dilation. Even just a few weeks before labor pain, you can face sharp/deep vaginal pain. But it is always essential to look after the additional symptoms accompanied by this vaginal pain and seek medical help if something goes serious.
2. Due to rare Infection: Sometimes, vaginal pain after birth or during pregnancy is caused by infection issues. Generally, the fungal infection in vaginal area leads to trouble like itching associated with pain. Note that, this vaginal pain can also be caused by inner infection. Most of the pelvic pressures lead to direct effect on reproductive system and the symptoms come into effect in form of vomiting, nausea, backache and vaginal discharge etc. It is good to follow medical opinion to avoid complications in this condition.
3. Due to Ectopic Pregnancy: Such kind of pregnancy is usually difficult to diagnose but still if you notice missing periods along with sharp vaginal pain and sore breasts then medical advice becomes must.

How to treat Vaginal Pain during Pregnancy?

During several stages of pregnancy, women may feel deep vaginal pain along with certain discomfort. This vaginal opening pain often increases as birth of child comes closer. For most of the cases pain relieving medications are proven to be effective enough to manage this condition but they must be taken only after proper guidance from medical experts.

Here are few tips for modification in lifestyle to get rid of this sharp pain in vaginal area during pregnancy:

1. Prefer to lie down to left side to avail relief as it helps to improve blood circulation.
2. Warm bath can provide relief to your body from sharp vaginal pain.
3. Sit straight with elevated foot position as this posture assist to improve blood circulation in body and pressure gets reduced naturally.
4. Keep your hips little elevated while lying down.
5. It is good to have some pelvic massage but it should be followed as per medical advice so that it extends support to pelvis and can help to reduce vaginal pain.
6. I most of cases, simple relaxing exercises like swimming and yoga are proven to be beneficial for complete vaginal pain relief. You can also prefer to walk for some time in order to provide more strength to your muscles.
7. In few critical cases, would be mothers can also prefer to wear support belts or try heat packs as they assists in complete stretching of ligaments. Your gynaecologist can assist you better for this case.
8. Applying home based therapies is good option for pain in the vaginal area but always prefer to consult your doctor first.