Dr Amir Khan

So that's a really common cause for painful sex because they haven't preheated the oven, as you say.

And then I get that there's sexually transmitted illnesses can cause inflammation around the vagina, vulva and urethral area and that can make sex painful.

Chlamydia, gonorrhoea are the big ones because they cause a lot of inflammation around the cervix and around the urethra.

So that kind of additional friction can not just cause pain, but also bleeding after sex as well.

If you've got a skin issue around the vulva or the penis, additional friction can cause that.

So if you've got something like lichen sclerosis, lichen planus, which is an autoimmune skin condition, or eczema around those genital areas, then that additional friction can make it painful.

So you might need to see someone for creams or certain treatments beforehand.

for those conditions.

Now, there is other things that make it painful as well.

There's something called vaginismus, which is where the pelvic floor muscles really tighten up at the thought of penetration or if something is trying to penetrate you.

A lot of that is psychological, particularly if you've been through sexual trauma in the past or there's something that doesn't feel right about that particular sexual encounter that can happen and that is incredibly painful and needs

some deep-seated long-term treatment.

There's also something called vulvodynia, which is an oversensitive nervous system around the vulva.

And even the light touch can be painful for those people.

And that is really tricky to treat, but it does need a lot of understanding as well.

So those are the kind of things that cause this problem.

superficial painful sex.

Deeper things are things like endometriosis, adenomyosis, fibroids, ovarian cysts.

Those kind of things can cause a much deeper pain.

So painful sex, yes, common, but not normal.