Do you experience severe pain while having sex? Does it hurt when you try to insert a tampon into your vagina? If yes, then you are most likely dealing with acute involuntary contraction of your vaginal muscles which causes pain when something tries to penetrate through it. This condition is called Vaginismus.
Vaginismus is a condition that happens when the muscles around the opening to the vagina tighten up. The muscles tend to tighten when something is about to be placed in the vagina, such as a penis, tampon, or a medical device. It causes pain during sex and women might also complain of pain if a doctor or nurse tries to do a pelvic exam.
Vaginismus can happen if a woman has anxiety about sex or pelvic exams or has had a bad experience with either of these in the past. It can also happen if a woman has an infection or other medical condition in the vagina.
The main symptom of vaginismus is pain when something is tried to be put in the vagina. It could be a penis, finger, tampon, or medical device. Sometimes, the pain is so severe that you might not even allow trying to insert something into your vagina.
If having sex is painful then you must see your doctor. Your doctor will look for the cause through a pelvic exam. If the pain is severe that you can't start or continue an exam, let your doctor know when you feel it and where the pain is.
No. There is no specific test to detect vaginismus. Your doctor should be able to tell if you have it by learning about your symptoms and doing a pelvic exam. He or she might be able to feel the muscles around the opening to your vagina tighten during an exam.
Treatments to cure vaginismus include -
“It’s been 6 years we have been married we were trying to conceive for last 3 yrs but nothing happened. We consulted 3 gynaecologists and all of them said we did not have any problem and suggested I do a pelvic scan to check if everything was well. When I had my first pelvic scan, it hurt me a lot and I never wanted to do it again. Days went by, but I had nothing positive but a lot of pressure from home & people around for not conceiving. I began to loose hope and couldn’t concentrate at work. When I discussed my problem with my cousins, they asked me to change my doctor & with the help of my sister, I consulted Dr. Samatha. Dr. Samatha explained everything about vaginismus & suggested I purchase the Vaginal dilator kit. She didn’t encourage me to go for any treatment & asked me to come for 5 week session to try the dilators. I mentally prepared myself that I have to overcome my vaginismus problem & underwent my 1st dilator insertion successfully with the help of doctor. Within a month I conceived & look forward for a healthy pregnancy! Thanks a ton to Dr. Samatha, who helped me to come out of Vaginismus & proved it's treatable.”
-Radhika Reddy (Name changed to conceal identity)
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