Vaginismus

What is Vaginismus?

Vaginismus, one of the female sexual dysfunctions, is also one of the most common problems in women worldwide. Vaginismus is one of the diseases that can be easily treated, despite women's belief that this disease is only found in them and their hesitation to talk about it. This timidity experienced by women causes treatment to be delayed and more serious problems to arise and problems between couples.

The structure of the vagina is made up of muscles. These muscles enable women not only to urinate but also to give birth. During sexual intercourse, the muscles in the vagina expand and allow the penis to enter the vagina easily. This is how sexual intercourse takes place. However, for some psychological and physiological reasons in women, the muscles that should relax during sexual intercourse cannot fulfill this task. Due to involuntary contraction of the vaginal muscles, women experience pain and soreness during sexual intercourse. In some cases, sexual intercourse is not possible. This condition is called vaginismus.

Vaginismus Symptoms

When it comes to Vaginismus, symptoms vary according to the patients. However, the most obvious symptom of vaginismus is involuntary contraction of the vaginal muscles. Women cannot manage or stop these contractions in the way they want. The intensity of the contraction of the muscles varies between patients, but usually makes sexual intercourse impossible.

Women with vaginismus experience some problems not only during sexual intercourse but also during the use of suppositories or tampons. One of the main problems is the fear they feel.

In some patients, the contraction of the vaginal muscles is not tight enough to prevent the penis from entering the vaginal canal. Women with this condition experience pain and soreness during sexual intercourse, even if they have sexual intercourse. This condition is also called Dyspareunia. In addition, contractions of the vaginal muscles can cause women to feel burning and extreme pain in their vagina.

Women with vaginismus experience stress before sexual intercourse and gynecological examination. This stress on the body manifests itself in symptoms such as excessive sweating and bouts of shivering. Vaginusmus should be suspected if one or more of the above symptoms are present.

Causes of Vaginismus

When we look at the causes of vaginismus, it is noticeable that there is no single cause. Vaginismus can be caused by psychological events and situations experienced by women, as well as physiological reasons. Some patients may have both physical and psychological causes.

Emotional Causes of Vaginismus

Among the most common psychological causes of vaginismus are the following.

• Overexcitement
• Anxiety disorders
• Depression
• Witnessing sexual intercourse between the patient's parents
• Forced first intercourse by the partner
• Misconceptions about the first night or the hymen
• Avoiding your partner
• Worrying about sexual performance
• Self-confidence problems
• Trauma caused by gynecological examinations or vaginal interventions
• Fear of getting pregnant
• Abortion
• Traumatic fall
• Stress
• Anxiety

Physical Causes of Vaginismus

Although vaginismus is generally thought to occur for psychological reasons, there are also physical factors that cause vaginismus. These physical factors include the following.

• Skin diseases such as lichen sclerosis, psoriasis and eczema
• Short vagina
• Having a curtain inside the vagina
• Endometriosis
• Side effects of medicines
• Inadequate foreplay
• Pelvic surgery
• Menopause
• Vaginal tears during childbirth
• Cancer
• Urinary tract infection
• Vaginal dryness

Types of Vaginismus

Vaginismus is not one of the congenital diseases in women. It can manifest in different ways at different times in their lives. For this reason, the types of vaginismus vary according to the period of sexual life in which the problem occurs.

Primary Vaginismus (Primary)

The type of vaginismus called primary vaginismus occurs in women's first sexual intercourse. It is also possible for women to be detected during their first gynecological examination.

Secondary Vaginismus (Secondary)

Secondary Vaginismus is a type of Vaginismus that can occur even years after the first sexual intercourse. Secondary Vaginismus, which is seen especially after traumatic events, also occurs due to physical changes in women. Other reasons for the emergence of secondary vaginismus include sexual and couple harmony problems.

Vaginismus Diagnosis Methods

In order for vaginismus to be diagnosed, a gynecologist and obstetrician should be consulted first. If the specialist deems it necessary, help can be obtained from psychologists or surgical specialists specialized in sexual therapy.

The gynecologist and obstetrician first takes the medical history of the patients. He then performs a pelvic examination. During the pelvic examination, details about when the patients first noticed the problem are also taken. Determining the situation that is effective in experiencing the event is effective in determining whether the cause of vaginismus is physical or psychological. In addition, the specialist may order various blood tests to understand the presence of diseases that may cause vaginismus.

It is very common for women to be nervous during the examination to diagnose vaginismus. For this reason, your doctor will make every effort to make you comfortable. Patients can also try various positions to feel more comfortable during the examination or get more detailed information from their doctor.

Vaginismus Treatment Methods

Contrary to popular belief, vaginismus is one of the female diseases that can be treated. Because even though vaginismus patients avoid sexual intercourse or feel pain during sexual intercourse, there is no decrease in their sexual desire. Because women can enjoy sexual advances and stimulation and have orgasms. However, if vaginismus is not treated, women's sexual desire decreases over time. These situations affect women as much as they affect their partners. For this reason, although vaginismus is included in the literature as one of the female sexual dysfunctions, couples should act together to solve the problem.

Because of the taboos in our society, couples may delay in consulting a specialist or try to solve this problem among themselves. Ignoring the problem also plays a role in making it bigger. In some couples, forcing women to have sex can cause even greater trauma and worsen the problem. All these negativities can cause women's sexual lives to be seriously affected, as well as problems such as premature ejaculation or sexual reluctance.

For these reasons, vaginismus is not a problem that couples can solve between themselves. Vaginismus should be solved systematically with a treatment program created by a specialist physician in the field. The first step in treatment is acceptance of the disease and the couple acting together.

The treatment plans created after the evaluations made by the specialist are directly linked to the causes of the disease. In addition, since the causes of vaginismus can be multifaceted, more than one discipline may need to work together in the treatment phase.

The basis of vaginismus treatment is the prevention of involuntary contraction of the vaginal muscles. It is also necessary to reduce the aches and pains caused by contractions. Finally, eliminating the fear seen in patients with vaginismus is one of the main parts of the treatment.

Exercises

In the treatment of vaginismus, sexual therapy alone is not sufficient in some patients. In these patients, other treatment options are added to the treatment plan. One of these treatment options is exercises. Thanks to the exercises, the results obtained are much more effective and permanent. The exercises recommended for vaginismus usually include Kegel exercises, relaxation exercises and breathing exercises. This allows the muscles to relax and paves the way for patients to have sexual intercourse without pain or pain.

Pulsed Radio Frequency (PRF)

PRF, which is used in the treatment of vaginismus and is a relatively new treatment method compared to other treatment options, is a treatment method applied especially for nerve pain. With limited research on Pulsed Radio Frequency, positive results have been observed in the treatment of vaginismus.

What Should Be Done to Avoid Vaginismus?

Vaginismus is one of the health problems that women may encounter at any time of their lives. It is therefore necessary to take precautions against vaginismus.

• By taking time for yourself, you can reduce the stress in your daily life. You can boost your self-confidence and mood during these times you will spare for yourself.
• You have to be physically active all the time. Regular exercise or yoga will not only reduce your stress but will also help your muscles to relax.
• Do not smoke. Because smoking disrupts blood flow and causes contractions.
• Do not consume alcohol. Because alcohol causes a decrease in sexual desire in women. It is also effective in reducing sexual reactions.

Differences between Vaginismus and Dyspareunia

Pain, pain, burning and stinging experienced during sexual intercourse is called dyspareunia. In addition to psychological causes, dyspareunia can also be caused by physical problems such as dryness, masses, infections and fibroids. Both dyspareunia and vaginismus are often confused with each other because they both cause pain during sexual intercourse. However, dyspareunia is used to refer to all pain experienced during sexual intercourse. For this reason, Vaginismus may also be one of the causes of Dyspareunia. The main difference between Dyspareunia and Vaginismus is; In vaginismus, the vaginal muscles involuntarily work too much and cause pain as the penis enters the vagina. In dyspareunia, however, pain occurs because the contraction of the muscles causes the vagina to narrow.