Painful sex

About painful sex

Experiencing some pain or discomfort during sex is fairly common. However there are treatments available and you should seek further help. If you regularly find sex painful, you should visit your GP to check there are no underlying causes.

Painful sex falls in to two categories: deep pain and superficial pain.

Deep pain

Deep pain is when you feel pain deep inside you, such as when your partner thrusts, or when the penis is fully inside you.

Common causes of deep pain include:

  • endometriosis – a condition where cells that line the womb grow in other parts of the body,
  • pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) – a condition where the womb, fallopian tubes, and ovaries may become inflamed,
  • fibroids – growths in the womb,
  • ectopic pregnancy – where the foetus grows outside of the womb,
  • recent childbirth,
  • sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as chlamydia,
  • having a partner with a large penis, and
  • having a dry vagina.

Superficial pain

Superficial pain is when you feel pain before the penis is fully entered in to your vagina. For example, at the entrance of your vagina rather than deep inside.

Common causes of superficial pain include:

  • thrush
  • sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as genital warts
  • injury to part of your vagina
  • a foreign body being inside the vagina
  • having a dry vagina

Vaginismus

Vaginismus is a condition that causes the muscles around the vagina to tighten by themselves. It usually occurs when the genital area is touched. This can be before or during sexual intercourse, when attempting to insert a tampon, or during a gynaecological examination, for example.

More information on vaginismus is available.
 

Looking after yourself

If you think vaginal dryness may be a cause of the pain, you could try using a water-based lubricant for sex. Do not use oil-based lubricants as they damage condoms.

Don’t rush foreplay and intercourse. Take your time to relax and feel aroused. You may find it helps to talk to your partner about how you are feeling. Not talking about your concerns can sometimes make sexual issues more difficult in relationships.

You should talk about how you like to be touched and caressed.

There can be several factors that may lower your interest in sex and affect arousal. Remember, there’s more to sex than having intercourse. If your interest in having sex has decreased, you may want to try some more sensual methods of becoming aroused. These include:

  • exploring and caressing each other’s bodies
  • taking a bath or shower together
  • having a massage
  • kissing each other slowly and in sensual places (such as the thigh)
  • undressing each other

Some medicines can cause a loss of libido. If you are concerned that your medicine is causing this, ask your GP for a medicine review.

If you are in pain, get advice on medicines you can take.

Links

Why does sex hurt? (NHS Choices)
Sex – Painful (Embarrassing Problems)
When sex hurts (BBC)
National chlamydia screening programme
Chlamydia (NetDoctor)