Common Errors that May Occur when Using Dilators

[Heather34]

Hi ladies. There is a wonderful new Blog posted today on design and material of vaginal dilators as well as common errors that may occur when using dilators for vaginismus treatment:

http://www.plasticsurgerypa.com/using-dilators-vaginismus-treatment/

An example of an error that may occur when using dilators for vaginismus treatment, includes:

“Advancing too rapidly with dilators – The vaginal muscles need to be stretched slowly to avoid discomfort with rapid stretch. I encourage my patients to start with finger dilation either on their own or by their partner. The vagina responds physiologically with “let down” (natural lubrication) and begins the process of natural vaginal dilation in anticipation of intercourse. Following finger insertion one should advance to no larger than the medium #4 of 6 dilator which is left in for 5-10 minutes or longer. This allows for progression to the next larger size. Attempting to insert a large dilator without the preparation described causes pain. Any muscle in the body needs to be stretched slowly. This is just as true for the vagina. The amount of time to leave a dilator in is dictated by the amount of time needed to insert the next larger size. If the larger dilator can be inserted in a few seconds, then 5-10 minutes with this size is usually sufficient before advancing to the next size. If it takes 15-30 minutes to insert a dilator then it is best to leave this in for 30-60 minutes before advancing to the next size. The need to spend two hours dilating is common among women just starting a dilation program because it takes this long to achieve progression to the larger dilators.”

As always, I would encourage you to read this Blog and welcome your comments and feedback here.

[candi]

Hi everyone, I recently mentioned to Dr. Pacik a kidney infection that I suffered with. I had been seeing some medical professionals in a different part of the country not long ago. They were helping me with dilating only. I was doing good with the dilating but a few months ago, I had a very bad kidney infection, medically known as pyelonephritis. E.coli was found in the blood tests. I most likely got this infection from the dilation. Make sure that no fluids travel from the rectum to the vagina. This caused a setback for me as you can imagine. The illness hit me all of a sudden, I had no idea it was coming on. So be careful when dilating. Take care everyone!

[Dr. Pacik]

Candi raises an excellent point. As a side note, one should never go from anal penetration to vaginal penetration. This is true for foreplay as well as intercourse. It is fairly rare for there to be a problem using dilators, but routine precaution and hygiene are necessary.

[Heather34]

Hi Candi. I’m so sorry that you went through this. Sending you my thoughts and prayers!!!