Ms. Liu and her husband have been married on a blind date for more than half a year, and their married life has not been harmonious since marriage.
The reason is that every time Ms. Liu feels pain, at the beginning, her husband still understood her and felt that she was too nervous, but she couldn't stand it, and after half a year, there was still no harmonious sexual intercourse between the two parties.
The husband began to gradually lose patience, and sometimes even directly said that Ms. Liu was hypocritical, and the two sides quarreled a lot about it.
In this regard, Ms. Liu also felt very aggrieved, and she didn't know what was going on.
I once mentioned this matter to my girlfriend, and my girlfriend suggested that she go to the hospital for a check-up, and after examination, she was diagnosed with vaginismus, and every time she had intercourse, she would have severe pain precisely because of this condition.
After treatment, Ms. Liu's pain in intercourse was alleviated, and she successfully conceived a child.
1. What is "vaginismus" and what are its manifestations?
Vaginismus refers to the involuntary violent and continuous contraction of the vaginal and pelvic floor muscles during intercourse, resulting in the inability of male genitalia to enter normally, even if it is reluctant to enter, there will be obvious pain and discomfort.
Vaginismus is considered to be diagnosed when there is involuntary and persistent vaginal spasm contractions before or during intercourse.
Specifically, it is manifested as vaginal penetration disorder, and even the fingers and vaginal speculum cannot be inserted normally during the examination, and there will be obvious pain.
Depending on the degree of vaginismus, it can be divided into 4 grades.
Grade I: Vaginismus can occur in certain situations, such as insufficient foreplay, too rough or unsafe environment, and the site of occurrence is limited to the perineal muscles and levator ani muscles.
Grade II: The muscles that have spasms involve the entire pelvic muscles, and spasms can occur in a variety of environments, affecting normal sexual intercourse.
Grade III: In the event of spasticity, the entire buttocks will be raised unconsciously, and the pelvic muscles and buttock muscles will not be able to perform sexual intercourse normally due to frequent spasms.
Grade IV: When spasms occur, not only the buttocks and pelvic muscles will tighten abnormally, but the patient's legs will also unconsciously retreat, shout, and have an obvious panic reaction. When you have a premonition that you are going to have an examination or sexual intercourse, you will have a pronounced panic reaction.
Data shows that about 3~18% of women in the world suffer from vaginismus.
Due to vaginismus, a woman's normal sex life is greatly affected, and even a sense of fear can occur. Women who experience vaginismus often have pain or a bad experience of having sex for the first time, as well as a lack of sexual knowledge.
2. What are the causes of "vaginismus"?
Compared with other gynecological diseases, the prevalence of vaginismus is not high, what causes the disease?
1. Position/Appearance Unfair
Excessive pressure on the anterior vaginal wall and urethra during intercourse can cause abnormal pain and even induce vaginismus.
2. Mental/psychological factors
This is the most common cause of vaginismus, which can be caused by a woman's fear of sex due to lack of sexual knowledge, aversion to sex, and psychological trauma caused by sex in the past.
3. Organic lesions of the vagina
For example, women with cervicitis, vaginitis, and local inflammation may also experience vaginismus during intercourse, but this phenomenon is relatively rare.
4. Lack of foreplay
If there is a lack of foreplay, it will make the vaginal opening dry, and at this time, it is likely to cause women to have pain and fear, and then vaginismus.
5. Other factors
For example, the hymen is too tight and lacks tension, or the hymen has been wounded or cracked, the vaginal opening is naturally narrow and has surgical scars, and the hymen is tough and too painful during the first sexual intercourse, resulting in vaginal reflex and defensive spasms.
Liulou, a former obstetrician and gynecologist at a tertiary hospital in Beijing, believes that vaginismus is not a major disease, but is due to the dual effects of physiology and psychology, which causes the vagina to be in a closed state.
Most of this phenomenon is uncontrollable and cannot be artificially transferred, blindly and forcefully carrying out actions, but it will bring a bad experience, and even cause physical damage and bleeding, so it must be avoided.
After discovering the abnormality, you should seek medical attention in time, and you don't have to feel ashamed, after all, it is not a big deal to seek medical attention if you are unwell.
3. How to treat women who are troubled by vaginismus?
For women who have vaginismus, it is necessary to seek medical attention in time for treatment, and there are three commonly used treatments.
1. Psychotherapy
Most women experience vaginismus due to psychological factors, and the best way is to re-accept the couple through psychotherapy, and the spasms can be relieved after the psychological fear is overcome.
2. Physical therapy
Physical therapy is the relaxation of some key muscle groups in the female private parts, such as the muscles around the perineum, levator ani muscles, etc., and allows them to relax through physical methods.
3. Surgical treatment
After physical therapy and psychotherapy are ineffective, it is likely to be caused by organic lesions, such as hymen occlusion, vaginal deformity, etc., which need to be corrected by surgery.
Sun Xiaoli, deputy chief physician of the Department of Gynecology of the Tianhe Branch of Guangdong Provincial Maternal and Child Health Hospital, reminded that vaginismus will have a great impact on the normal sexual affairs of couples, and even lead to a breakdown of the relationship and divorce. Once you find that you have abnormal pain during intercourse, you must seek medical attention in time!
If a woman finds that she cannot relax during intercourse and always has abnormal pain, she must be alert to the possibility of vaginismus, and it is recommended to go to the hospital for relevant examinations as soon as possible.
Resources:
[1] "Vaginismus is a disease that needs early treatment", Reproductive Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University.2023-06-27
[2] "Vaginismus?[Reproductive Culture Lecture No. 2117]", China Now Kangjian.2020-05-28
[3] "[Popular Science] Vaginismus Is Hard to Speak?No! To Face It Bravely", Guangdong Women and Children.2023-01-12
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