Why Sex Hurts: Common and Not-so-Common Causes and Cures
Ovarian Cyst.
Cristina, 27, felt sharp, stabbing pain on her right side every time she and her fiancé had sex. “I chalked it up to the stress of planning my wedding,” says Cristina. But the culprit was an ovarian cyst: a painful, fluid-filled growth on one of the ovaries which usually goes away on its own and most commonly occurs in women ages 20 to 35. (Smokers beware: You’re twice as likely to develop an ovarian cyst.) Cristina’s doctor checked the cyst with an ultrasound, recommended she take Ibuprofen an hour or so before sex and then rechecked her a couple months later to make sure the cyst was gone. If a cyst doesn’t go away on its own, it may need to be surgically removed before it bursts or “pops”—which can lead to infection and infertility. And if you suffer from frequent cysts, your doctor may put you on the pill or change your birth control to better regulate your hormones and keep you cyst-free.
Cancer.
If you have pelvic pain, don’t think the worst. “It is very unusual for a young woman to have a malignant tumor,” stresses Dr. Hutcherson. But although the likelihood of having ovarian, uterine or cervical cancer is slim, it’s something to ask your doctor about if you’re experiencing pain and irregular bleeding. More likely, the pain is resulting from a more common cause like one of the ones listed above.
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| melaniebernal | |
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I like that this article touches on issues of women's sexual needs. There can be millions of reasons why women don't get enough foreplay from their partners. One reason could be that male-female sexual relations are often informed by a historically mysogonyst way of thinking that believs that men are the active participants of sex while women remain the passive. That is one way that might cause a man to overlook a women's sexual needs, and soley satisfying his own. It is the same thinking that has told women that they don't have the right to ask this from their partners. I think that everyone and their partners (be they long term or one night things) have a responsibility to each other: to help eachother know your needs, to be respectful of those needs, and for both parties to be in a constant communication about what makes them feel good/feel happy/feel respected. Thank you for pointing this out, Shauna Billings (author of article). I do take issue with this article. It's heteronormative, meaning that your article assumes that all women having sex are having that sex with men. The whole article suggests this, but espescially that repugnant choice of words, that "the vagina isn’t lubricated, causing uncomfortable heat and friction as it is penetrated." Why does sex necessarily involve penetration? And why that word penetration? Please focus on more inclusive, less violent langauge and move toward language that places both partners on equal footing. |
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