You just had great sex with your loved one and several hours later your vagina feels sore, as if it has tears around the vaginal opening. Whenever you urinate you try to avoid getting the sore part wet or else it will burn. Sometimes even sitting down causes you pain and you don't know how to relieve it. Are you wondering if it's an infection? It might just be a vaginal tear.

Causes of Vaginal Tearing

A vaginal tear is a cut or laceration in the skin surrounding the opening of the vagina. It can also occur above the opening of the vagina or in the area between your anus and your vagina. Aside from the skin, the deeper fat and muscle layers may also be affected. The most common cause of vaginal tearing is sexual intercourse, although it can also occur in women who have just given birth.

  • Sex - During sexual intercourse, the vagina is usually lubricated with natural fluids from the cervix and vagina. However, sometimes inadequate lubrication and vaginal dryness can lead to trauma that produces vaginal cuts or abrasions. Vaginal dryness may be related to inadequate foreplay, which usually stimulates vaginal fluid secretion. Less common causes related to sexual intercourse include use of sex toys that can hurt the vagina and sexual abuse.
  • Giving birth - Giving birth to a big baby or to one in the breech position may cause deep vaginal lacerations. This can also happen if labor was rapid and the mother could not control the passage of her baby.
  • Menopause - Another factor is menopause, which causes thinning of the vaginal walls as well as vaginal dryness.
  • Others - Non-obstetric causes of vaginal tears include sports activities such as riding a bike, water skiing, or jet skiing.

Treatments for Vaginal Tearing

The treatment for vaginal tears may depend on the degree of laceration. First degree tears are superficial lacerations of the skin in the vagina. Second degree tears involve the skin and fat tissue under the skin. Third degree and fourth lacerations involve the deeper muscles in the vaginal wall. These lacerations may cause a lot of bleeding, requiring surgical repair.

  • Leave it alone - Superficial vaginal tears may produce mild bleeding that usually stops within a few minutes, but may last up to one day. This can be treated at home, although medical consultation should be sought if bleeding is heavy.
  • Avoid Sex - To avoid pain and further bleeding, avoid vaginal douching. Try to avoid sexual intercourse for a few weeks to give it time to heal.
  • Rest - If you have lost a considerable amount of blood, you may feel weak and dizzy. You may need to rest until you recover from these symptoms and your laceration heals.
  • Medications - You can take acetaminophen or ibuprofen to help control your pain.
  • Warm bath - Sitting in a warm bath that covers your hips and buttocks can help relieve this pain.
  • Ice compress - You can also try to apply ice wrapped in a towel or cloth or witch hazel pads to the affected areas.
  • Consult a doctor - Ask your doctor when and how you can safely have sexual intercourse to avoid future injury. If your vaginal tear is severe, you must consult a doctor immediately, especially if you experience heavy bleeding, dizziness, faintness, fever, and lower abdominal pain. Vaginal discharge with a bad odor may be a sign of vaginal infection related to vaginal tears and may require antibiotic treatment.

Prevention of Vaginal Tearing

You may also consider ways to avoid vaginal tears in the future.

  • Try using a water-based lubricant during intercourse to remedy vaginal dryness and avoid tears. Avoid oil-based lubricants because they may cause skin irritation or allergic reaction. They can also damage condoms and put you at risk of becoming pregnant or contracting an infection.
  • Engaging in adequate foreplay is a natural way of producing vaginal lubrication, which can prevent vaginal tears.
  • Finally, try a different sexual position, such as woman-on-top, to avoid traumatic tears.
References
  1. Vaginal Tear. http://www.fairview.org/healthlibrary/Article/116680EN. Fairview.
  2. Lucey, J. Vaginal Tears. http://www.bidmc.org/YourHealth/ConditionsAZ.aspx?ChunkID=101287. BIDMC.
  3. Vaginal Tears Treatment. http://www.thirdage.com/hc/c/vaginal-tears. Third Age.com
  4. Brichford, C. How to Avoid Vaginal Cuts. http://www.everydayhealth.com/sexual-health/avoiding-vaginal-cuts.aspx. Everyday Health.
Discussions(7) Add New

  1. Ula August 01, 2011 06:29 PM Reply

    Sorry, English has been my third language. I am not much used to these terms; I had sex torn last week when I had sex with my new boyfriend. This hasn’t settled down from there. It was getting bad and bad. I felt a lot of irritation while urination. I have been using topical coconut oil cream to apply at places of tear. I am having some relief now. I also use this cream as a skin conditioner. I think you can avoid this injury by being a bit careful while having sex. You need to advice your partner to be gentle and have a smooth sex. You can be on top of him and control things by yourself. This might help you; you will enjoy sex in different positions.

  2. Eve August 30, 2011 11:27 AM Reply

    This seems to have been happening to me again and again. I have had them before but again recently I had vaginal tearing during sex with my boyfriend. I saw there were two tiny tears and my doc advised to use hydrocortisone cream for some time, this is working a bit.
    You can change your birth control too. Sometimes your bc device could be troubling you. I suggest that if you have more irritation while peeing, you must see your doctor and check yourself for any case of infection of the urinary tract and STD or a yeast infection. You never know what the actual cause is. An expert opinion does help you.

  3. Hart February 03, 2012 01:40 PM Reply

    I am 19 and I am having vagina sex with my boyfriend since a year or so. He is quite strong and has a huge penis. I have had vaginal tear during sex many a times with him. This would get healed in sometime but last time it was not the case. It is getting swollen a lot and light greenish mucus is coming out whenever I try to clean the cut using Q-tips. A bump in the inner lip is also giving me immense pain and I feel to cry out at times. I have been using peroxide to clean the cut and apply Neosporin on it. Nothing is getting better; I am even unable to sit. I have decided to get myself checked up. I shall be posting soon about the result.

    1. Dr. Hillberg October 29, 2012 05:35 PM Reply

      To me that sounds like Gonnoreah, you should get tested at your nearest clinic as soon as possible.

  4. Tzuriel February 18, 2012 02:14 AM Reply

    My case is a bit different. I have had vaginal tears many a times! Sounds amazing? Yes, my new boyfriend has a much wider penis than my exes had. We love intense sex and would like to have a go with it. I was on LUTERA birth control which caused me severe mood swings, anxiety and insomnia. I consulted my doctor and consulted if vagina tear is associated with birth control. She said birth control and vagina tearing may not be related to each other. But I decided to go off my birth control; the results were more satisfying to me. My cycle, hormones and mood swings were back to normal in 2 months. Now there is no more tearing during sex.
    We enjoy sex better now; I am on pills for birth control these days.

    1. Nora August 23, 2012 10:44 PM Reply

      Tzuriel, Have you taken another pill after LUTERA? If so, which one and has it worked better? I think I\'m having the same problem but I never thought it would be the pill.

  5. Eartha February 27, 2012 01:29 PM Reply

    I met my boyfriend after a gap of 2 weeks and this time we were pretty much vigorous. In a frenzy mood, I had a vaginal tear. It feels like hell when I pee. Please let me know when it could get healed. I am not willing to visit a doctor right now.

  6. Pierre March 29, 2012 12:10 PM Reply

    Hi, I am in need of some help. I had sex with my new boyfriend last week. He was a bit hard on me and I had some bleeding following this. I checked myself in the bathroom and found that I had some vaginal tearing. After this incident I feel a lot irritated when I pee. I haven’t had sex since then. I feel scared of visiting a doctor. Can someone help me with a suggestion?

  7. mano August 23, 2012 02:41 PM Reply

    Hi...I need your guidance that what should i do now.....i am 20 years old before 3 months ago i having sex with my boyfriend...and i had a lot of bleeding from my vaginal...now my boyfriend refuse to marry with me.... i have lost my vaginal....now how can i repair my vaginal again... please help me