Sources:
- Aggressive or impatient partner
- Premature lovemaking following surgery (episiotomy) or childbirth
- Menopause, due to decreased levels of female hormones (vaginal lining loses its normal moisture and becomes dry)
- Hemorrhoids
- Genitourinary tract infections (such as a bladder infection)
- Vulvar vestibulitis (inflammation of the vestibule of the vagina—the area of the perineum between the labia minora including the opening of the vagina and the urethra) is among the most common causes of dyspareunia in women, and is commonly overlooked
- Herpes sores (see genital herpes)
It is believed that dyspareunia is caused by physiological factors at least 75 percent to 80 percent of the time. Pain at entry that decreases over time is commonly caused by inadequate lubrication. This is oftentimes due to lack of sexual arousal and effective stimulation, and sometimes due to medication that decreases vaginal lubrication (such as antihistamines).
Psychological factors are infrequently involved and will most commonly be associated with feelings of guilt, negative attitudes toward sex, or previous sexual trauma.
