Vaginal Burning After Sex: Research-Based Reasons and Relief Options
By Dr. Nayana Shetty +2 more
Medically reviewed by Dr. Nayana Shetty
Last updated: Apr 17, 2024Click to rate this article!
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By Dr. Nayana Shetty +2 more
Medically reviewed by Dr. Nayana Shetty
Last updated: Apr 17, 2024Table of Contents
Burning after sex isn’t pleasant, t can leave you worried about your health. It may also affect your joy in close bonds. In this post, we’ll talk about why it happens. We’ll explore both inner and outer reasons. Plus, we’ll look at ways you might ease this discomfort. This includes home and clinical treatments. It also includes things you can do before the fact. With this knowledge, you can make sound choices about your health.
Changes in hormones during menopause can cause vaginal dryness and thinning, which may lead to pain and burning during sex.
Dr. Siddharth Gupta, MD
Firstly, let’s look at why it happens. The main causes of burning feeling after sex are quite a few. These include:
Getting in the mood plays a big role in a good sex life. It also prevents burn during or after the act Factors that can negatively affect arousal are:
Not enough foreplay can hamper your body from creating its own “wetness”. This can lead to a dry feeling and sex pain.
Mental stress can put brakes on arousal. Being at ease is key for a feel-good sex life.
Dryness can make the burn more intense. Lack of wetness can step up friction and lead to hurt, unease, and pain. Let’s check what can cause dryness.
Your menstrual cycle has stages that affect your body’s wetness. For example, you’re drier just before your periods.
Birth control taken over long times can change how your hormones behave. This can hinder how your body makes its own wetness.
After giving birth, hormones change, and breastfeeding can drop estrogen levels. This often leads to thinning in the vaginal tissue and a lot less wetness.
During menopause, hormone shifts can make the vaginal tissue thinner and drier. In turn, this can make sex painful.
Conditions like PCOS and hypopituitarism can knock hormonal balance off its feet. This can result in vaginal dryness.
Drugs like antihistamines and diuretics can cause dehydration and reduce wetness. This can lead to sex pain.
In my experience, vaginal infections, such as yeast infections, bacterial vaginosis, and trichomoniasis may also cause burning after sex. These infections may cause inflammation and irritation of the vagina, resulting in a burning sensation after sex.
Dr. Rajeev Singh, BAMS
Irritation can play a big role in causing burn after sex.
Hard or fast sex can stir up friction and anger the soft genital tissues. This can result in a burn feel during or after the act.
Allergies to latex condoms, spermicidal lube, or soaps can cause redness and swelling in the area. This results in unease and burn.
Small cuts or harm to the vagina or vulva can cause pain and a burn feel. This is more likely when there’s not enough wetness.
Different infections can play into the burn feel after sex.
Too much yeast in the vagina can lead to itching, soreness, and painful sex. The redness this causes can result in a burning feel during or after the act.
A shift in bacteria balance can cause bacterial vaginosis. This can lead to itch, hurt, and a burn feel.
UTIs may cause a burn feel during or after sex. This accompanies other symptoms like a strong urge to pee.
STIs like trichomoniasis, herpes, chlamydia, and gonorrhoea can cause redness and inlammation. This results in burn during or after the act.
Vaginismus makes the vagina muscle clamp up during sex. This leads to pain and unease. It can also bring on a burn feel after sex.
Also dubbed vulvodynia, this can cause pain and burn at the entry to the vagina. This is due to nerve ends that are extra sensitive in the region.
Also known as bladder pain syndrome, this brings on bladder ache and pelvic pain. These feelings may up the burn feel during or after sex.
In a small number of people, the partner’s semen can cause an allergy. This results in redness, swelling, and a burn feel after sex.
Some reasons can cause the burning sensation to last long after sex has ended. Let’s discuss these and how can we keep them in check.
After sex, it is key to clean your genitals. This gets rid of extra wetness and possible irritants. If you skip this step, staying wet with irritants in bodily fluids may cause redness and inflammation. These can lead to a burn feel.
Douching and scented vaginal soaps can disturb the natural bacteria and pH balance in the vagina. This can cause redness and hike up infection risk. The end result could be a burn feel after sex.
Tight or not-natural cloth panties can cut off airflow and up friction on the delicate genital tissue. This can cause redness and a burn feel.
To handle and ease vaginal burn after sex, various options exist. These include:
A cold compress on the area can give instant ease and relieve the redness and burning sensation.
Topical ointments and gels with calming agents like lidocaine can cool the burn from hurt genitals.
Over-the-counter pain relief and anti-inflammatory medications may ease the discomfort and inflammation tied to vaginal burn.
However, it’s advisable not to self-medicate and discuss with your healthcare provider if the problem persists. This could signal a medical condition that requires specific treatment.
If a yeast infection is the cause, your doctor may prescribe anti-fungal drugs.
Bacterial infections, like bacterial vaginosis or some STIs, can be treated with antibiotics.
Persons dealing with hormone swings tied to dryness may need hormonal therapy as suggested by their doctor.
To cut down the risk of burn after sex, think about the following tips:
Make sure you are wet enough during sex. You can do this naturally or using a water-cleanable lube that suits you.
Skip friction and redness due to rough sex. Instead, choose gentle touch noting potential hurt.
If you suspect allergic reactions to sex-based items, turn to options that won’t upset your skin. This keeps irritation and burn at bay.
Keep your genitals clean after sex. But, avoid douching and scented soaps. These preserve the natural balance in your vagina.
Also Read: Sexual Frustration: Exploring Causes, Symptoms, and Potential Solutions
It is key to seek advice from a health professional in these cases:
If the burn doesn’t go away, worsens even as you use home fixes and preventive steps, see a healthcare pro.
Things like unusual discharge, bad smell, itching, and swelling may say there’s an infection. You need a doc’s eye on this soon.
Starting sexual bonds with new partners may put you at risk of STIs and other infections. See a doc and get tests done. This ensures both you and your partner’s health and safety.
Burning during or after sex can hit your sex life and overall life hard. By knowing the causes and how you can treat it, you can handle your health better. This aids in lessening this uneasy feeling.
It’s key to know when to see a healthcare provider. This is especially true when symptoms don’t go away, get worse, hint at an infection, or you have a new sexual partner. Armed with the right info and support, you can try to manage this symptom and take back control of your sex health.
A lack of being in the mood, not wet enough, irritation from items used during sex, physical harm, infections, or hormone swings could all be culprits.
Over-the-counter medications, cold press, topical salves, anti-fungal meds, antibiotics, and hormone treatment are some ways for relief. It’s best to consult your healthcare provider to follow the right management plan.
Yes, a right lube that dissolves in water can ensure you are wet enough for sex. This cuts down harsh touch and unease that can lead to burn.
If the burn isn’t going away or is severe, hints at an infection, or happens with new sexual partners, you need to see a doctor.
Yes, burn after sex might signal an underlying infection, like a yeast infection, bacterial infection, or STI.
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