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Why Sex Hurts: Common and Not-so-Common Causes and Cures
Infection.
You could have a yeast or urinary tract infection, both easy to treat and not dangerous if taken care of right away. “A month ago, sex started to be really uncomfortable for me,” says Lesley, 24. “I assumed that the guy I had just started seeing was awful in bed. Luckily, before dumping him for lack of chemistry, I visited my doctor and found out that I had a severe yeast infection with none of the usual [white, clumpy] discharge signs.” A doctor will prescribe an over-the-counter or prescription treatment and, if you’re anything like Lesley, the sex after the infection clears should be back to “amazing.”
PELVIC PAIN
Pelvic pain during sex is not as common as vaginal pain, but is typically more severe and occurs with deep penetration, not insertion. If you’re experiencing pelvic pain, you should make an appointment with your doctor.
Endometriosis.
While pain during and after sex is a common sign of endometriosis—a disease in which the uterine lining that sheds during menstruation is trapped outside your uterus, causing pain and sometimes infertility—the most obvious sign is killer cramps. Which is why even though millions of women in the world have endometriosis, many aren’t diagnosed with the disease for years. There’s a “toughen up” mentality that some doctors have about pain,” says Mary Lou Ballweg, president of the Endometriosis Association. To better explain to your doctor how much pain you’re in, Ballweg recommends downloading a diagnostic kit from the Association’s website and tracking your symptoms. “Just don’t,” stresses Ballweg, “stay with a doctor who tells you the pain you’re feeling is ‘normal.’” Treatment for endometriosis typically starts with birth control pills and pain killers, but might also include surgery to remove the tissue.
You could have a yeast or urinary tract infection, both easy to treat and not dangerous if taken care of right away. “A month ago, sex started to be really uncomfortable for me,” says Lesley, 24. “I assumed that the guy I had just started seeing was awful in bed. Luckily, before dumping him for lack of chemistry, I visited my doctor and found out that I had a severe yeast infection with none of the usual [white, clumpy] discharge signs.” A doctor will prescribe an over-the-counter or prescription treatment and, if you’re anything like Lesley, the sex after the infection clears should be back to “amazing.”
PELVIC PAIN
Pelvic pain during sex is not as common as vaginal pain, but is typically more severe and occurs with deep penetration, not insertion. If you’re experiencing pelvic pain, you should make an appointment with your doctor.
Endometriosis.
While pain during and after sex is a common sign of endometriosis—a disease in which the uterine lining that sheds during menstruation is trapped outside your uterus, causing pain and sometimes infertility—the most obvious sign is killer cramps. Which is why even though millions of women in the world have endometriosis, many aren’t diagnosed with the disease for years. There’s a “toughen up” mentality that some doctors have about pain,” says Mary Lou Ballweg, president of the Endometriosis Association. To better explain to your doctor how much pain you’re in, Ballweg recommends downloading a diagnostic kit from the Association’s website and tracking your symptoms. “Just don’t,” stresses Ballweg, “stay with a doctor who tells you the pain you’re feeling is ‘normal.’” Treatment for endometriosis typically starts with birth control pills and pain killers, but might also include surgery to remove the tissue.
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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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