When vaginal burning occurs after sex, the causes can vary from friction to vaginal infections or other conditions that affect the vagina. If left untreated, the consequences can include a lack of intimacy, relationship and confidence issues, as well as depression and anxiety.
The good news is, most cases of vaginal burning after sex are treatable.
Why Does My Vagina Burn After Sex?
As many as 70% of women are known to experience some form of pain during or after sex in their lifetime, and one of the most common is a burning sensation. Unfortunately, due to embarrassment, many women never investigate possible solutions and refrain from sex, which often leads to a lack of intimacy and relationship issues.
However, solutions, remedies, and cures exist for all types of issues and conditions that lead to vaginal burning during sex. Below are the most common causes and solutions:
Most Common Causes
Vaginal Dryness & Friction
Friction can occur when sex lasts for a long time, when sex gets rough, or when the vagina is dry. When sex lasts for a long time, the vagina’s natural lubrication may not last as long and the dryness can cause friction as well as micro-tearing on the vaginal walls. Although these tears are microscopic on the skin, they can feel like a burning sensation after sex.
Micro-tears can also happen during rough sex. However, applying a lubricant to the vagina and your partner’s penis for foreplay and sex can largely alleviate vaginal dryness and micro-tearing during intercourse.
Low estrogen levels during breastfeeding, perimenopause, or menopause can also cause vaginal dryness (atrophy), friction during sex, and a burning sensation afterward.
Vaginal dryness during perimenopause or menopause can be relieved through hormone therapy or by taking a natural phytoestrogen like Chasteberry, both of which encourage the production of natural lubrication. Applying an organic vaginal moisturizer daily and using a lubricant for foreplay and intercourse also helps in these cases.
Allergic Reactions
Some women can have an allergic reaction to personal hygiene products used on the vagina and the reaction can include a burning feeling during sex. The fact that the burning feeling happens during or after sex could be coincidental or connected to the hygiene products used to prepare for sex. Some women are also allergic to sperm, condoms, or spermicidal lubricant.
If you suspect you are having an allergic reaction to personal care products, condoms, or spermicide lubricants, try eliminating one at a time to identify the culprit. Using douches, scented soaps, or fragranced bath products should also be avoided to prevent the vagina from being irritated by synthetic products. To determine if you are having an allergic reaction to something during sex, schedule an appointment with a dermatologist.
Skin Conditions
Skin conditions such as Lichen Sclerosus and Lichen Planus may also be culprits of causing vaginal burning during sex, but more rarely than other causes. With skin conditions like these, the skin can become scaly and raw, and if it manifests around or in the vagina, the ensuing pain can feel like burning.
Skin conditions are not usually limited to the vagina and will usually affect other parts of the body also. If you see evidence of a skin condition elsewhere on your body and you are experiencing a burning sensation during or after sex, book an appointment with an OB/GYN or dermatologist for a diagnosis and treatment.
Steroidal creams or ointments are usually prescribed to manage skin conditions like lichen sclerosus and lichen planus.
Yeast Infections
Medically referred to as Vaginal Candidiasis, yeast infections in the vagina are caused by an overgrowth of fungus that naturally resides there. Trapped moisture from wearing pants that are too tight and taking antibiotics for other conditions are two causes of vaginal yeast infections, but there are several more.
In addition to vaginal burning during sex, indicators of a vaginal yeast infection can include vaginal itching, stinging when peeing, and a lumpy cottage cheese-like vaginal discharge.
Vaginal yeast infections can be cured with over-the-counter antifungal medication or with Boric Acid Suppositories. For faster relief from symptoms and to prevent further yeast infections, Boric Acid Suppositories are recommended over anti-fungal medication.
Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs)
Due to the proximity of the anus to the vagina UTIs are more common in women than in men. Essentially, harmful bacteria that reside in and around the anus are easily spread to the female urethra during sex or by wiping back to front after toilet use. When the bacteria are not flushed out from the body, they move up through the urinary tract and cause an infection.
In addition to a burning sensation after sex, signs that you have a UTI often include a frequent urge to pee, vaginal irritation, and a stinging feeling while urinating.
UTIs normally require antibiotics to clear the infection. However, to soothe the symptoms faster and prevent UTIs from recurring, two natural supplements are also effective. Probiotics will help to restore a healthy vaginal microbiome and Dried Aloe Vera Supplements with D-Mannose & Calcium are known to fight the bacteria causing the infection as well as ease inflammation and pain.
Bacterial Vaginosis (BV)
The exact cause of BV is still unknown, but it is believed to occur due to changes in the vaginal microbiome. Also known as the vaginal flora, the microbiome is a perfectly maintained balance of beneficial and harmful bacteria that act as a barrier to prevent vaginal infections. When something upsets this perfectly maintained vaginal balance, infection can easily set in.
BV is most common in women aged 14-45 who are sexually active, particularly those with more than one sexual partner. It is also common in sexually active women who douche because douching disrupts the vaginal microbiome. As well as vaginal burning after sex, signs that you may have BV include genital itching, gray or white vaginal discharge with a pungent or fishy smell, and stinging while peeing.
To cure BV, antibiotic treatment is always required. However, it is an infection that is known to return for over 50% of women within 12 months. Finishing a full course of Boric Acid Suppositories in conjunction with your antibiotic treatment will prevent BV from returning.
Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)
Several STIs can cause vaginal burning during or after sex including chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes, and trichomoniasis. Each of the above-mentioned STIs involves the spread of a parasite or virus that disrupts the natural balance of the vaginal microbiome. Although additional symptoms of each can vary, a burning sensation in the vagina during or after sex is a common symptom of STIs.
Treating STIs usually requires antibiotic treatment, but some, like trichomoniasis, also respond well to Boric Acid Suppositories to provide a quicker relief of symptoms and a stronger prevention of reoccurrence.
Vaginismus
Vaginismus causes the vaginal muscles to involuntarily tighten when penetration is attempted. The unintentional tightening is normally due to a previous pelvic injury or a psychological fear/memory that vaginal penetration will be painful. In addition to vaginal burning during sex, vaginismus can also cause pain when a tampon is used or a speculum is inserted for a gynecological exam.
Primary vaginismus is diagnosed when vaginal penetration has never been possible. Secondary vaginismus is when penetration was once painless, but has become painful or impossible later in life. This might be due to an underlying condition that causes chronic pelvic pain, a previous pelvic injury, rough sex, or sexual abuse.
Slowly and gently relaxing the vaginal muscles is the only way to cure the ‘fight or flight’ reaction associated with vaginismus and the burning sensation it causes during and after sex. Available in sizes ranging from a pinkie finger to an erect penis, women with vaginismus are encouraged to begin by inserting the smallest dilator and gently work upward until they feel comfortable inserting the largest dilator.
Vulvodynia
Vulvodynia is described as long-term pain of the vulva or outer vagina, including the clitoris, labia, and vaginal opening. For some, vulvar pain is persistent, while for others it comes only when the vulva is touched and subsides afterward.
If intercourse is attempted with vulvodynia, the vagina owner will most certainly feel a burning sensation in the vagina during and after sex. Other symptoms of vulvodynia include throbbing vulvar pain, vulvar inflammation, and skin irritation.
Research has not yet concluded what causes vulvodynia but an injury to the vulvar nerves or a weak pelvic floor could be involved. It is also suspected that consistent irritation from recurring allergic reactions or vaginal infections could contribute to vulvodynia. And some studies suggest that it is genetic.
Vaginal dilator therapy is one of the best treatment options for vulvodynia, as it allows the area to become gradually and gently used to the feeling of being touched and penetrated. In conjunction with dilator therapy, relaxation techniques, and cognitive therapy can help to relieve the pain and discomfort of vulvodynia.
Vulvar Cancer
Although vaginal burning during sex is not usually a cause for alarm, it can be a sign of vulvar cancer in rare cases. As well as vaginal burning and itching, additional signs of vulvar cancer can include vaginal bleeding outside of menstruation, a discoloring or thickening of the vulvar skin, and vulvar skin sores that won’t heal.
If you notice any of these additional symptoms, book an appointment with your healthcare provider or OB/GYN for guidance.
Treatment Tips to Prevent Vaginal Burning After Sex
Although preventing vaginal burning after sex will depend on the cause, the following are helpful tips to avoid the sensation in general. These include:
- Engage in foreplay to stimulate arousal and the production of natural lubrication before sex
- If you suffer from vaginal dryness, always use a lubricant for foreplay and intercourse and apply an organic vaginal moisturizer daily
- Try to urinate after sex to clear any bacteria from the urethra, then wash the genitals with warm water and pat dry to prevent irritation
- Don’t douche or use fragranced products to clean your vagina
- Don’t use scented bath products
- Use protection with new sexual partners
- If you want to stop using protection, ask new partners to get checked for STIs
- Wear breathable cotton underwear instead of synthetic materials to avoid the build-up of moisture and yeast infections
- Change out of damp gym gear or wet swimsuits after your workout
- Always wipe from front to back after toilet visits
- If you are allergic to sperm, use a condom
- If you are allergic to condoms or spermicide, learn about other forms of protection
Conclusion
Vaginal burning after sex can occur for various reasons, most of which are treatable with lubrication, medication, natural supplements, or pelvic health tools. Don’t be embarrassed about speaking with your healthcare provider about vaginal pain, stinging, or vagina burning after sex. It happens to most women at some stage and the solution is often life-changing.
References
Mayo Clinic – Vaginal Yeast Infection - https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/yeast-infection/symptoms-causes/syc-20378999
Urology Care Foundation - Urinary Tract Infection - https://www.urologyhealth.org/urology-a-z/u/urinary-tract-infections-in-adults
Centers for Disease Control & Prevention – Bacterial Vaginosis - https://www.cdc.gov/std/bv/stdfact-bacterial-vaginosis.htm
Vulvodynia – Vulvodynia - https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/vulvodynia
Centers for Disease Control & Prevention – Trichomoniasis - https://www.cdc.gov/std/trichomonas/stdfact-trichomoniasis.htm
American Cancer Society - Signs and Symptoms of Vulvar Cancers and Pre-Cancers - https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/vulvar-cancer/detection-diagnosis-staging/signs-symptoms.html
International Society for Sexual Medicine – What Is A Sperm Allergy - https://www.issm.info/sexual-health-qa/what-is-a-sperm-allergy/