Vulva Injury After Fingering: Healing Tips

Dear Aunt Vadge,

I’m 17 and my boyfriend and I were fooling around a bit (I’m a virgin), then he started fingeringing me, and when he put his fingers in a lot, my vagina started to bleed, I cleaned it up and we just assumed my cherry popped.

I looked again because there was still slight bleeding the next morning and there is a visible part of my vagina that is almost black and it seems cut, but I’m not sure what’s going on or what specific spot it’s medically called. It’s the part were pee comes from and only half of it is black and a bit swollen.

When I first looked it reminded me of a blood blister, but there is a cut on the inner part of the blackness.
The cut is thin and not deep but all around it is swollen and puffy sort of. I don’t know if it’s normally like that but I thought it was worth mentioning.
When I wipe there is still a slight muted redness to the toilet paper but there is no steady bleeding.
It’s sorta of like the stinging of a paper cut when I pee but that only comes if I have a long pee and the touching is like a sore muscle type of pain I guess
His fingering was hard but it didn’t last very long..his nails are slightly sharp but not alot…
From what happened so far it seems to be healing with less blood and the initial pain going away

There is no more pain when I pee or touch it really but I can not put anything into my vagina without it having a stinging forceful pain(was trying to put a moistened qtip in to see if blood was in there too) also the blackened part goes down farther and it looks like it is torn in parts but blood blistered further down..I believe my vagina is cut inside the passage.

The day this happened it hurt to sit, and it was sore, but I feel no pain now, just stinging when I pee or if I start examining it. What is this? What happened to my vagina? And what should I do?

Yours,
Blackened
________

Hi there Blackened,

It would seem that your hymen (‘cherry’) has indeed been popped, and is in the process of healing.

It seems as if you have a small pocket of blood inside the flesh of your vaginal opening/vestibule and partially into your vagina, which is the area of flesh between your vaginal opening and urethra/clitoris, where your hymen would be.

This has happened due to some action on the part of your boyfriend’s fingering, but because you haven’t had any vaginal penetration before, it can be a bit brutal on the hymen and cause bleeding, pain, and funny-looking flesh.

It may just be that, like a bruise and a blood blister, the blood is trapped instead of being able to flow out like a normal wound would, or it might mean that some skin of the hymen is actually ‘dead’ after being stretched or torn.

It’s hard to tell without you being examined by a physician, so if you have easy access to a doctor or sexual health clinic, it’s worth going to get checked out so they can explain precisely what has gone on. The blood in a blood blister or small wound like this is reabsorbed by your body the same way a bruise dissipates, but dead skin or blood pockets take a bit longer. It’s important to know if it will heal by itself or needs some intervention, which a doctor or sexual health nurse can tell you very quickly.

Now, because I can’t examine you from here, it is important for you to be the judge of your own scenario – if the area feels bad, looks bad, seems like it’s getting worse, or is bleeding or smells, you must see a doctor ASAP. If the pocket of blood seems infected, hot, stays swollen, or starts to go very red, it’s time to make a quick appointment.

The thing with these types of wounds is that usually our bodies heal up by themselves after trauma big or small, and you should read up on the hymen so you know what to expect. If the wound and blackness doesn’t start to dissipate and go away in the next 24-48 hours, you must see a doctor.

It is important to know what’s going on, even if it’s not serious – neither of us knows that for sure though it seems very much to be in the area of your hymen, and this little membrane can do all kinds of things when it gets damaged.

We have an article on the site about hymens, and diagrams galore in Vag Basics, but additionally, look at photos of the hymen online and compare the areas to a photograph of your own vagina. This way you will get to know your vagina and vulva in greater detail, and know what looks normal and what doesn’t.

To care for your vagina, stop putting things in it for a while – q-tips, fingers, tampons, and anything else. Just let it heal. You don’t have to do anything unless it seems to be a problem (as mentioned, pain, swelling, bruising, bleeding, smells, etc.).

Minor cuts and tears can be encouraged to heal well with a moisturising vulva and vagina-friendly cuts cream.

Once it is very fully healed, try to do the hymen stretching exercises and be very, very gentle. You and your boyfriend should read the Fingering basics for men article, and also possibly the oral sex article, to give you some pleasure options that aren’t focused on penetration. You must be gentle! You are new to this, and going hard really won’t feel great. Read our article on healing vaginal and vulvar cuts and tears if you get stuck.

Go slow, and write anytime.

Warmest regards,
Aunt Vadge