HealthyCanada.com

Dyspareunia is painful sexual intercourse. It can affect males but it is experienced far more often by females. Although likely under reported, it is believed to affect about 15 per cent of women in North America and is a common complaint among women seeking gynecologic care. Many people find sexual health issues difficult to discuss and thus delay treatment, however, the cause of dyspareunia can usually be identified and treated.

Canadian researchers are looking into the possibility that some women who experience pain during sexual intercourse may suffer from an unusually low pain threshold and not a sexual dysfunction as previously believed. However, this is still to be proven. There are numerous potential causes, some of them possibly overlapping. They include:

Women

• intercourse too soon after child birth or surgery
• sexual abuse or rape
• vaginal dryness or infection
• menopause
• endometriosis
• irritation of the genitals caused by feminine hygiene products
• an inflamed cervix
• sexually transmitted diseases
• urinary tract infections
• vaginismus (involuntary contracting of the vagina)
• an ill fitting diaphragm
• hemorrhoids

Men

• prostatitis
• hemorrhoids
• sexually transmitted diseases
• physical abnormalities

Symptoms

The hallmark of dyspareunia is mild to severe pain that occurs during sexual intercourse. The pain may be felt in the genitals or pelvic region or even in the lower back. Unfortunately dyspareunia can become a cycle as the pain inhibits your natural sense of lubrication and arousal and thus becomes even more vulnerable to pain.

Treatment of dyspareunia is directed at underlying causes. This could be as simple as waiting at least 6 weeks after childbirth before resuming sexual relations, taking an antibiotic for a vaginal infection or undergoing surgery for endometriosis. Sex therapy may be helpful in some cases. Once your gynecologist or family doctor has identified the specific cause of your pain, you will be offered treatment options.