Dyspareunia

When to love hurts

Dyspareunia is vaginal pain, acute or not, which occurs upon penetration, in the form of irritation, burning or inflammation at the entrance to the vagina or at the level of the cervix. It is a disorder that affects the sexuality of people who suffer from it and who end up losing interest in sex.

Dyspareunia is the most common female sexual disorder after anorgasmia but, due to the taboos surrounding sexuality, women who suffer from it rarely talk about it, thus aggravating their malaise.

Not to be confused with vaginismus

Dyspareunia should not be confused with vaginismus, a contraction of the peri-vaginal muscles that prevents a woman from having full intercourse and that involves excruciating pain. A period of dyspareunia that interrupts a fulfilling sex life may be followed by a period of secondary vaginismus.

Unlike vaginismus, which in most cases is primary and occurs at the beginning of sexual life, dyspareunia is always secondary.

Two types of dyspareunia

There are two types of dyspareunia, based on the location of the pain:

- we talk about dyspareunia superficial if the pain is felt as soon as the penis enters the vagina.

- we talk about dyspareunia deep if the pain appears when the penis goes deep and touches the cervix; in this case, the pain is felt in the lower abdomen. Some sexual positions can promote this discomfort.

The causes

Dyspareunia can have various causes, of a physical or psychological nature, but in most cases it is of physical origin.

The physical causes

vulvo-vaginal infections

- inflammation of the cervix

- vaginal atrophy

--Retroverted uterus

- vaginal mycosis

-ovarian cysts

- injuries due to childbirth

-endometriosis

-menopause

The psychological causes

-lack of self-esteem, distorted view of one's body

-tensions in the couple (relationship difficulties, dissensions ...)

- anxiety, depression, stress, phobias

- absence of desire

We must not forget that personal experiences (psycho-sexual trauma, rigid sex education ...) play an important role in a woman's sexual life.

Possible cures

The solutions proposed depend on the causes of the disorder. To get a correct diagnosis, we therefore recommend that you consult your family doctor or your gynecologist who, after a thorough examination, will explain the causes of the disease and possibly prescribe drugs to treat it. It may happen that, after the treatment, you are afraid that the pain will reappear: you have to try to overcome it.

If the cause of dyspareunia is psychological, your doctor will propose therapy to help you regain confidence in yourself and (re) discover your sexuality. It may be helpful for your partner to participate as well.

If in the couple there is a lack of communication between the two partners, or of mutual respect and trust, one can think of a couple therapy.