Vaginal Pain: Check Your Symptoms and Signs

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Vaginal Pain

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Vaginal Pain Symptoms & Signs

Medical Author: William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

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Symptoms & Signs

Pain in the vagina or the female external genital organs (the vulva, which includes the labia, clitoris, and entrance to the vagina) most commonly is a result of infection. Vaginal pain during sexual intercourse is referred to as dyspareunia. Infection of the vagina is referred to as vaginitis. Vaginal pain can be a result of injury or trauma to the vagina or vulva. The medical term for vaginal pain is vulvodynia.

Yeast infection (Candida) is a particularly common form of vaginitis. Women are at increased risk for yeast vaginitis if they take antibiotics or cortisone medications during pregnancy and if their immune systems are suppressed by medications or disease.

Depending on the cause of vaginal pain, it may be associated with

vaginal bleeding,
itching,
burning,
rawness,
soreness,
stinging, and/or
throbbing.

Medically Reviewed by a Doctor on 3/2/2017

Health concern on your mind? Visit the Symptom Checker.

REFERENCE:

Kasper, D.L., et al., eds. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 19th Ed. United States: McGraw-Hill Education, 2015.

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