My vagina is dry and sore after using sanitary pads. Will this cause pain during sex?

Question

Hi doctor,

I am a 21-year-old girl. Two weeks ago, after I finished my periods, I noticed my vagina was irritated. This happened before when using sanitary napkins and took about two weeks to go away. My vagina is sore and dry, but I noticed that it hurt when I had intercourse with my boyfriend. The itching had gone, yet the pain was still there. And now I have symptoms of a UTI, or kidney infection. I do not have any strange discharges and have recently become sexually active. My boyfriend has no STIs. Kindly give your opinion.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Just after the menstrual period, your vaginal mucosa is more friable, and it is not as much lubricant. So in that situation, you or your partner can use Lignocaine 2 % jelly as a lubricating agent. It will provide a better experience, and you will not get pain during and after also. The second thing, having sex just after a period makes small ulcers on the vaginal mucosa, which leads to further UTI (urinary tract infection) and burning micturition. So in this situation, foreplay will also help. During foreplay, your vagina will secrets some indigenous lubricating agents, which leads to less ulceration and less infection. One more thing is, sometimes long time use of sanitary napkin also cause irritation over the labia majora and minora. So try some different brands of sanitary napkins. If right now you are having UTI, then you have to take treatment for it. I suggest you take the tablet Nitrofurantoin 100 mg twice daily for seven days.

I hope this was helpful.