Page 81 - Cosmopolitan - USA (February 2020)

I T C O U L D B E You might
Contact dermatitis have a yeast I T C O U L D B E
infection.
YO U R P L A N An infected hair
Put your feet in the stirrups and sliiide
Sitz bath. Fill your follicle
tub with a few down—it’s gyno time! Seeing a
YO U R P L A N
inches of warm doctor for any unexplained symptoms
Sitz bath! If it gets
water and a is now your best move. Just think
worse, see a doc to
handful of baking Can you totally rule out HPV about how much easier you’ll be
soda and/or Epsom see or feel or herpes. (Herpes
salts and sit(z) your a bump? usually feels more able to sleep (and, duh, have sex) once
ass down. Does like a canker you cross this off your list.
that work? Yes No sore—a valley, not
a bump—and HPV
warts aren’t
Yes No
typically painful, so
[YO U M AY
we really do mean
P R O C E E D TO
“rule out.”)
B O N I N G]

Can you see or I T C O U L D B E I T C O U L D B E
I T C O U L D B E Does it feel feel a swollen A Bartholin’s cyst, A few things,
Vaginismus, like you’re bulge on either caused by a including
a pelvic-floor peeing glass? side of your clogged fluid duct endometriosis,
spasm that causes vagina? YO U R P L A N ovarian cysts,
involuntary Yes No Try a sitz bath (see inflammation, or
tightening of the Yes Dunno above left) or warm scar tissue
vagina YO U R P L A N
compresses. If that
YO U R P L A N doesn’t work, your Have a gyno check
Pelvic-floor physical You might have a doc may have to it out and confirm.
therapy—aka a UTI or yeast (yeah...) drain it. Anything hurting in
massage for your infection (likely) or the lower third of
vagina by a trained chlamydia or your vagina needs
specialist—can gonorrhea (less an expert opinion.
relax your muscles likely). Womp wah.
and increase blood
flow. Your gyno can Have you been
refer you, sooo... Does it feel like diagnosed
a deep ache or with
Do you feel it a sharp “OMG, endometriosis Pop a pre-sex
when a penis or that effing or ovarian ibuprofen and tell
toy hits your hurts!” ping? cysts? your partner to go
cervix? easy on the
“OMG, Deep Yes No thrusting to keep
Yes No that effing ache them from going
I T C O U L D B E hurts!” too deep inside
Some leftover scar you. Did that work?
tissue from a trauma
or an injury I T C O U L D B E
The positions in your Yes WTF,
I T C O U L D B E
YO U R P L A N I T C O U L D B E routine aren’t ideal. [YO U M AY it still
Physical therapy. BDE, literally. Cervicitis or pelvic P R O C E E D TO hurts.
Or consider surgery Cervixes are super inflammatory YO U R P L A N B O N I N G]
to clean out the sensitive, so if they disease Switch it up with a
damaged area so get hit in the wrong fresh arrangement.
you can get your V way by a long penis YO U R P L A N
back in the game. or toy, it can cause Sis, you might need
some pain. antibiotics. Does that
help?
YO U R P L A N
Try a position that Yes No
M I S S I O N avoids cervical G E T U P, [YO U M AY
P O S S I B L E slamming. S TA N D U P P R O C E E D TO
Do it in missionary— Stand and lean on B O N I N G]
but with your legs straight something, then have
and pressed together your partner enter
tightly. Shallower you from behind to avoid
penetration will feel pain points in your
less hurt-y. abdomen.

Februar y 2020 Cosmopolitan 73