PVD is a medical condition that results in distressing pain in the area around the vagina, brought on by touching. It’s a type of Vulvodynia, which is simply Latin for “pain in the external female genitals”. PVD stands for Provoked Vestibulodynia, and is one of the most common forms of this type of pain. The “provoked” part of PVD means the pain comes as a result of physical contact, even very light touching. (The unprovoked type is called Dysesthetic Vulvodynia.)
PVD is still poorly understood, and it’s a tricky disease to identify. Many medical professionals, even gynecologists who specialize in genital health, are not trained to look for PVD and fail to recognize it. For the same reasons, patients often feel they are inventing this very real condition. The intention here is to educate people about the syptoms and causes of PVD so they can seek the right treatment.