Hi everyone! My name is Sarah and welcome back to Everyday Consent.
A couple weeks ago, I made a video about Pain During Sex where I discussed how undesired,
usually accidental pain can often be avoided, and how we can help ourselves and our partners
recognize that there’s a problem and try to fix it.
Part of the process of becoming more aware of what we are experiencing physically and
communicating those feelings is simply education. Namely, education about what kinds of sensation
and pain are unusual and might be a sign of a problem. So, to that end, today I want us
to learn a bit about some of the more common sexual and genital pain issues that the medical
community is currently aware of, and some ways that they are treated.
Now is a good time to remind you: I am not a health professional. My hope is that the
information in this video will help you to be more generally aware of what you or a partner
might be experiencing and maybe point you in a useful direction if anything sounds familiar.
Or it might just be interesting new information. But please do not confuse it for medical advice.
If you are concerned or curious about any of this, please please please seek out the
help of a health professional or at least do some further research online. I’ll put
some resources in the description below.
Now let’s get right to it. Some issues can affect anyone regardless of sex, such as Urinary
Tract Infections or Yeast Infections.
A Urinary Tract Infection, or UTI, is when bacteria finds it’s way into the urethra
and does not get properly cleared out during urination. The bacteria then infects the urethra,
bladder, or kidneys and causes all sorts of nastiness. They are often characterized by
painful or uncomfortable urination, and they can cause sex to be painful as well. UTIs
are pretty common, and are usually treated with antibiotics.
A Yeast Infection is a fungal infection, usually within the vagina, but it can also affect
the skin of the penis. Yeast infections often cause soreness or itching, and can also cause
pain or a burning sensation during urination or sex. Yeast infections are generally treated
with prescription or over the counter fungal treatments.
Many Sexually Transmitted Infections or STIs also fall into this category. I’m not going
to go into STIs today, but they are another common source of sex and genital related pain.
Again, I’ll put some resources below if you want to learn more.
There are also plenty of sexual pain disorders that only affect those of a given biological
sex. Let’s start with a few common causes of pain affecting people with genitals considered
biologically male.
Peyronie’s disease is a connective tissue disorder in which scar tissue forms within
the sheath of the penis under the skin. It is often, but not always, related to the penis
being severely curved. Usually with Peyronie’s, the pain is most severe when the penis is
erect because there’s more tension on the scar tissue, but there can be pain while flaccid
as well.Treatment for Peyronie’s really depends on the specifics of the case, but
it can range anywhere from simply waiting things out, to medication to break down the
scar tissue, to surgery.
Prostatitis is a swelling of the prostate gland which can make urination and ejaculation
painful. Prostatitis is fairly common. It’s what your doctor is checking for during a
prostate exam, and may affect up to 50% of all cis men at some point in their lives.
Prostatitis treatment also varies and might include medication or surgery.
Phimosis and Paraphimosis are both issues of the foreskin being abnormally tight and
restricted in its motion. With phimosis, the foreskin is too tight to be pulled back over
the head of the penis, and with paraphimosis, the foreskin is too tight to be pulled forward
over the head. Initial treatment of Phimosis and paraphimosis generally involves various
stretching techniques, but may involve minor surgery.
Interestingly, most of the literature and research about genital pain focuses on individuals
with vulvas, especially vulvar pain during intercourse, which is referred to as dyspareunia.
Part of this is because vulvar pain disorders seem to be more common than the penis-related
disorders I listed a moment ago.
It’s actually quite difficult to determine how common vulvar dyspareunia is, due to a
lot of complicating factors. Like differences in how studies are conducted, shame preventing
women from seeing a doctor, or even how the term is defined. One source found that anywhere
between 8 and 21% of biosex women will experience painful intercourse in their lives. Another
source says it’s 15-20%. And some sources say as much as 50-60%. If it’s okay with
you, I’ll just call it common.
Two of the most common types of pain that affect people with vulvas are vulvodynia and
vaginismus.
Vulvodynia is characterized by burning, itching, o r sharp painful sensations around the outside
of the vulva, labia, and entrance to the vagina. The pain may occur only during sex or while
the vulva is being touched, or it may happen all the time. There are lots of different
things that might cause vulvodynia, such as nerve injury, hormonal changes, allergies,
irritation, or even muscle spasms. Often the cause is unknown. There’s also no known
cure for vulvodynia, so treatment is generally focused on relief of the painful symptoms.
Treatments include topical or oral medications, pelvic floor muscle therapy, diet modification,
and others.
Vaginismus is an involuntary cramping or spasming of the muscles of the vaginal wall. The cause
of vaginismus is often unknown, but is sometimes psychological. Psychological causes range
from anxiety to previous sexual trauma, to, ironically, fear that sex will be painful.
It’s important to note that just because an issue is psychological does not mean that
it’s “not real” or that the answer is to just “get over it”. The effects are
very real, and deserving of attention and treatment. Such treatments can include psychological
therapy as well as pelvic floor muscle therapy and gradual expansion of the vaginal walls
using lubrication and fingers or specially made inserts.
That’s all I’ll talk about today, but it’s definitely not an exhaustive list.
And again, I am not a doctor or an expert on any of these conditions, so my descriptions
are far from all-inclusive or definitive. Hopefully this gives you an idea of some things
to look out for, and so if anything I’ve mentioned sounds familiar as something you
or a partner has experienced or is experiencing, I recommend seeing a health professional,
checking out some of the resources I’ve listed, or doing your own research. Some of
the conditions I’ve mentioned are curable, and most of them are highly treatable, so
that’s pretty good incentive to bring it up with a partner or a health professional
if any of these symptoms sound familiar.
Happy consenting folks, I’ll see you next week!