Why can’t I put a tampon in?

This is a topic that I think a lot of young women and even older women must experience.

You’re on a beach holiday, you think you’ve calculated that your period should come after you get back, but it’s come early! You usually use pads and hate the idea of tampons. You tried putting them in before but you either can’t get it in high enough, you feel it, or you can’t get it in at all. It’s soldi happened before when you’ve tried to have sex and couldn’t manage penetration. What do you do?

First of all, you’re not alone! There are many women out there with the same issue.

The technical term is vaginismus- the vaginal muscles tighten and don’t allow anything in.

There are varying degrees from it being an intermittent problem to the inability to have preventative sex at all. It’s not necessarily permanent and it can be treated.

It’s important to be properly assessed, starting from when the issue started, if it’s getting worse, what was it possibly related to and how it’s affecting you. It’s also important to be examined to make sure it’s nothing else obstructing the vagina.

From there, several options are available for treatment:

1. Pelvic floor physiotherapy- to relax the muscles. They may also encourage perineal massage and different positions for sex so you’re more in control of the pace.

2. Vaginal dilators- to allow the vagina to slowly get used to having something in it and train the muscles to relax

3. Sometimes a psychologist is a good idea. This is because some women have had a bad sexual experience and discussing the concerns around that may improve function.

4. Lubricant- if it is dry and to help with insertion.

5. Local anaesthetic and estrogen creams- local helps to numb the area and allow insertion, and oestrogen helps if it’s dry and helps keep the skin supple. These need to be prescribed by a doctor.

I hope this has been helpful to give some insight in to that can be for some women an embarrassing issue to taking about.

Feel free to ask any questions.