What is vulvodynia?
Making love during your period: pain, lubrication, irritation, stains.
Princess Perineum goes back over the questions you've asked her on social networks.
Does menstruation affect vaginal lubrication?
The lubrication due to sexual arousal is the same during menstruation as outside it. What changes is that during the period, lubrication is added by blood. So those who naturally lubricate a little less well, or who take a long time to achieve natural lubrication, feel helped by the menstrual phase, since the blood lubricates. And those who have good lubrication, depending on the amount of menstruation and the period, may find themselves having fewer sensations. So it's a case of double or nothing when it comes to lubrication: either it helps you, or it hinders you.
Does making love during the period encourage infection or irritation?
As far as infections and irritations are concerned, there's no data in the scientific literature to suggest that menstruation is a better time to have sex. What is certain, however, is that there is a higher incidence of mycoses during this period. Hormonal imbalance, microbiota imbalance, passage of blood into the vagina which could upset the microbiota? We don't necessarily have an explanation, but we do know that mycoses are more prevalent during this period. So don't worry, you can have intercourse and penetrative sex during your period, but it won't increase or decrease your mycoses. On the other hand, if you have them, your microbiota may be out of balance. In this case, we advise you to consult your pharmacist for a suitable treatment.
Does intercourse block bleeding?
No, intercourse does not block bleeding. On the other hand, blood flow during menstruation is not continuous, so depending on when you have intercourse, you may bleed more or less. But then again, intercourse won't block the bleeding and won't have any particular effect on your period flow.
How can I avoid staining everything if I want to make love during my period?
It does require a little organization. The most effective solution is a shower or bathtub. It's practical, but perhaps a little acrobatic. Or simply put a bath sheet on your bed. It's absorbent and all you have to do afterwards is put it in the washing machine. There are also the classic undersheets we're all familiar with, and special undersheets that are much more absorbent. They are sometimes black so as not to be disturbed by the color of the blood, and you can also use them for an oil massage, for example, to avoid getting them all over the place and having to wash all the sheets. Another solution is that when we think of sex, we can think of penetrative sex, or non-penetrative sex. In such cases, you can use an intravaginal device which allows you to absorb the flow, or simply the Eliamenstrual panties menstrual panties, which are pretty and sexy, sometimes with lace. Just play around with it, shift it around, but you'll have the whole absorbent part of the panties absorbing the flow, even during intercourse.
Does making love during my period increase pain?
First of all, if you have pain during your period it's not normal. We invite you to consult your general practitioner and gynecologist. Talk to the people around you. If you don't have an answer to this problem, keep looking. Pain during periods is not normal. What is normal are uterine contractions. What's happening is that there's been no fertilization, so the egg doesn't need to hatch. The endometrium is disintegrating and bleeding. To evacuate this blood, the uterus makes little contractions that allow the blood to flow out through the vagina. So you can feel these little contractions. With penetrative intercourse, there may be mechanical stimulation, typically back and forth. When this hits the uterus in the vagina, it can increase pain and disturb you. At the moment of orgasm, there can also be micro-contractions, movements of your body which are correlated with orgasm and which are normal, but which can increase pain. Inversely, for those who are in pain, what is usually reported is that it calms them down. Because if you manage to reach orgasm via intercourse, which again can be non-penetrative, the hormones of orgasm will enable you to feel less pain, to be a little more relaxed, to have your whole body and pelvis relaxed, and to manage the pain better. So it can be a good solution for pain management.
