Painful shallow penetration during sex can have various causes, ranging in severity from 'troubling' to 'worrying'. Finding the true cause means ruling out or confirming each possibility – in other words, diagnosis.
Diagnosis is usually a complex process due to the sheer number of possible causes and related symptoms. In order to diagnose painful shallow penetration during sex, we could:
Cause | Probability | Status |
---|---|---|
Vaginitis/Vaginal Infection | 90% | Confirm |
Low Estrogens | 13% | Unlikely |
Vaginal Dryness | 2% | Ruled out |
Vulvodynia | 0% | Ruled out |
Do you find that even shallow/slight penetration during sexual intercourse is painful?
Possible responses:
→ Not applicable / don't know→ No → Yes, occasional pain → Yes, frequent pain / occasionally severe → Yes, I frequently or always have severe pain |
Vaginal Dryness also suggests the following possibilities:
The most common cause of vaginal dryness is lack of estrogen.