People often shy away from talking about sex and sexual health as the topic is still considered too private or taboo to chat about openly.
However, sexual health is an important aspect of our overall health and no question is too embarrassing or stupid to ask when it comes to taking care of ourselves.
In honour of Sexual Health Awareness Week, which falls between October 10-16, let’s break the taboo around sexual health.
Sexual health and relationships expert, Charlotte Johnson, at Mega Pleasure, answers the most commonly asked questions about sexual health from reasons why sex hurts and what causes orgasm problems among both men and women.
Why does sex hurt?
There are many reasons why sex might hurt. Here are three common reasons according to sexual health and relationships expert, Charlotte Johnson.
- First time – Penetrative sex for the first time shouldn’t be incredibly painful if you take the right approach towards it. If it’s your first time having sex, women should only feel vaginal discomfort for about an hour and no longer. If you’re feeling any kind of discomfort for longer than this, you should call up your gynaecologist to get checked over
- Infection – If you’ve already had sex and it starts to hurt either in the vagina or deeper into the pelvis, you might have an infection. This is why it’s important that you get health checks, especially if you have or have had multiple sexual partners
- Menopause – Sex may hurt if you’re close to menopause, as your hormone levels are changing and this could lead to a dry vagina. You might also find that you have a lack of sexual arousal which will make sex painful
