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Aetiology

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

aetiology

Aetiolgy of vaginismus is unknown.

Numerous causes of painful intercourse have been reported in the literature:

  • superficial pain
    • lack of sexual arousal - more common in women with diabetes, multiple sclerosis, or spinal cord injury
    • vulvovaginitis caused by trichomoniasis, herpes simplex infection, candidiasis, furunculosis
    • atrophic vaginitis
    • vulvar dermatoses e.g. - lichen sclerosus, lichen planus,
    • drugs or radiohareapy
  • deep pain
    • endometriosis
    • pelvic inflammatory disease (1)

In addition the following factors are thought to be associated with the condition:

  • sexual molestation
  • strict sexual or religious upbringing
  • waiting until marriage to have intercourse
  • fear of first-time sex e.g. - pain, bleeding, tearing, ripping, penis too large, vagina too small, sexually transmitted diseases, fear of pregnancy
  • fear of gynecological examinations
  • undesirable penetration while being restrained at a young age such as urinary catheterization, enemas
  • stretching a vagina "that appeared too small"
  • family history of vaginismus (2)

Note:

  • a qualitative study carried out on the experience of vaginismus with 89 participants revealed that the three most common contributing factors were - fear of painful sex, the belief that sex was wrong or shameful, and traumatic early childhood experiences (1).

Reference:

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