Vaginismus is a condition where the ring of vaginal muscles tighten involuntarily and completely out of the woman’s control and makes any entry into the vagina difficult or impossible.

But we’re here to tell you that vaginismus is not a permanent condition and it’s not impossibleto fix.

Yes, it is an involuntarily spasm of a group of muscles that surround the vagina, however a woman can be taught how to regain control these muscles.

What Contributes To This Involuntary Spasm Of The Vaginal Muscle?

Fear, anxiety, previous traumatic experience, childbirth, major pelvic surgeries eg caesarian section and open lower abdominal surgeries.

Does Vaginismus Only Happen In Women Who Have Never Had Sex?

No! This is not true. Vaginismus also happens in women who had previously never had a problem with sexual intercourse.

This is what we call Secondary Vaginismus.

It happens with major life changes like:

• Menopause

• Childbirth – vaginal deliveries or caesarian section

• Trauma – physical or psychological

Many marriages have been left unconsummated because of vaginismus. There are women whose relationships with their partners or husbands have strained and even broken because of vaginismus.

It’s disappointing to say but many women suffer silently with this condition. There are a proportion of women who have gone ahead and tried to seek help from their gynaecologist for this. Often at these consults they are told to simply go home and keep practicing with different dilators.

Honestly it is easier said that done.

Which woman would voluntarily put herself through pain to overcome this problem when the vaginal entrance pain is the very thing that aggravates the issue, making the vaginismus a deeper seeded problem.

One has to remember, Vaginismus is 100% curable.

How We Achieve 100% Cure Rate?

We break the vicious pain cycle associated with vaginismus. When a women with vaginismus attempts to have intercourse, the pain experienced heightens her fear of penetration and this then lowers the success rates of curing vaginismus.

Breaking the pain cycle involves the use of aneasthetic numbing gels that are applied to the vaginal entrance. This takes away a good proportion of the pain.

Dilators of incremental sizes, starting with the smallest – about the size of the index finger, is then slowly and gently inserted into the vagina.

During this time specific breathing techniques and distraction techniques are used to prevent you from clamming up or spasming.

The confidence boost you get once that smallest size dilator is inserted is phenomenal. That confidence translates into greater pelvic relaxation and makes insertion of subsequent sizes easier each time.

And no, it’s not cheating if you are using anaesthetic numbing gels. You need that in the interim. You are using the numbing gels as leverage to build your confidence and reduce your anxiety about vaginal penetration. Once penetration of an average erected penis sized dilator is achieved you can then gradually wean off the anaesthetic numbing gels.

If Dilators don’t work fast enough you can try Botox injections to artificially cause the vaginal muscle to relax and loosen up temporarily to make penetration possible.

Botox For Vaginismus?

Yes we are talking about that very same botox we have been injecting into our faces to rid us of wrinkles.

How Botox works is to paralyse the muscle into which they are inject. So when botox is applied to the vaginal muscles, it paralyses these spasming muscles and relaxes them.

Approximately 10 days after the Botox injection, you will achieve sufficient vaginal muscle relaxation. During this time it is important that you practice vaginal penetration. It does not matter whether it is penetration with a penis or with dilators of serially increasing size. This allows you to harness the full effect of the vaginal relaxation and over time you will realise you might not even need a 2nd Botox injection. So take full advantage of the temporary vaginal muscle paralysis that Botox offers and practice practice practice penetration!

We use topical pain killers to make that procedure as painless as possible!

This procedure is simply done at the bedside in our clinic.

Botox if very effective particularly in Secondary vaginismus.

Treating Vaginismus is about BREAKING THAT PAIN CYCLE.

Other Than For Sex, Is It Important To Treat Vaginismus?

Yes it is. If vaginismus persists, it is going to be impossible to do important screening tests like pap smears. Pap smears are designed to look for cervical cancers and pre cancers. It is a test that women are encouraged to do once every 3 years.

Vaginal infections happen in women who are both sexually active and sexually inactive. Common infections like vaginal fungal infections happens to many many women. Commonly the treatment for this involves insertion of a vaginal tablets. With vaginismus this becomes difficult or impossible. Women then have to resort to oral tablets that generally have more side effects.

Tampon use or menstrual cup use is also impossible with vaginismus.

Is It Necessary To Involve My Partner In This Vaginismus Treatment?

I would say it is important to involve your partner, be it your husband or boyfriend or girlfriend, in this treatment process. They will be taught how to use the dilator and where exactly to insert them so you can focus on your relaxation, breathing and your composure during this process.

Do not suffer in silence with vaginismus. It’s not something to be embarrassed about. It can be treated so speak to one of our female doctors at InSync Medical to start the process of embarking onto a healthy sexual relationship.

Our Female Doctors are ready to listen to your issues. Visit us at InSync Medical Located along East Coast Road in the heart of Katong, Singapore.