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Why sex hurts, and what to do about it
by Esther Crain
You’re in the mood and your partner is ready, so you make a beeline to the bed with plans to rock the sheets. But then you feel it—a dull ache, an itchy rash, or a searing out-of-no where jab. When you’ve always enjoyed sex and suddenly it hurts, it can be confusing and worrisome. “Pain during sex is one of the most common things patients ask about, but most of the time, it’s caused by something temporary that can be treated,” says Alyssa Dweck, MD, an OB/GYN in Westchester, New York and coauthor of V Is for Vagina ($12; amazon.com). In fact, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says that 75% of women experience painful sex at some point in their lives. Get a handle on what’s keeping you sidelined from the sack by reading this checklist of symptoms, then the solution that will get you back in the saddle again.