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Hi Aunt Vadge,
For as long as I’ve been having sex and masturbating, my fluids have had a normally thick consistency. But over the past two months I’ve noticed them getting thinner, which makes some things harder without lubrication, when before I had no problem.
I’ve also noticed the inside wall of my vagina feels rough – is that a symptom of the thinner fluids? It isn’t a huge problem, but it’s strange, and I want to make sure nothing is wrong.
Does the consistency of a woman’s self-lubrication change over the years? Does this mean I’ll have to start using lube? What do you think?
Yours,
Extremely Curious
Age: 18
Country: United States
Dear Extremely Curious,
Vaginal fluids do change over time, with age and the cellular shifts that come with it. You may simply be moving out of your extra-juicy teenage years as your hormones settle – but it could also be something else, like a recent change in diet.
Dairy, for instance, is known to make the body produce more mucus, so your vagina can produce more fluid when dairy is in your diet and less when it’s out. In other words, the change might actually be your vagina settling into its natural, slightly less slimy state.
Hormones across your cycle change the consistency too. If you’re not on hormonal birth control, you’ll notice your fluids get slippery and stretchy around ovulation, and thinner or nearly absent just after your period. That’s all perfectly normal.
The inside of the vagina is made of rugae – muscular folds – which can feel a little rough to the touch when there’s less slippery coating over them, exactly as you’ve noticed. Thinner fluid could be why you can feel that more now.
Have a think about anything you’ve changed lately that affects how your body runs: starting or stopping birth control, diet, or lifestyle. Your body is one big ecosystem, and each part influences the others in ways we don’t always connect. For example, if you’ve started exercising more, your oestrogen may have dipped, since exercise can lower it – and a healthy, juicy vagina depends heavily on oestrogen.
Sometimes thinning fluids can signal an infection or a shift in your microflora, so a swab can be worth it. I know that in the US, popping to the doctor isn’t always as easy or cheap as elsewhere, so in the meantime there are a couple of things you can do to narrow down the cause.
- Add more fermented foods to your diet, in case the change is down to a microbial imbalance.
- Keep a short diary of everything that changed just before and since your fluids started shifting.
- If you think you could have an STI, or you have any pain, bleeding or infection-like symptoms, please see a doctor to get checked.
If you’d like a clearer picture of what’s going on with your microflora, a comprehensive vaginal microbiome test will show exactly what’s living in there.
And it’s completely fine to use lube – loads of people do. Just remember that a turned-on vagina is a wet vagina, so make sure you’re properly aroused before anything goes in. If you’d like tailored help, you’re welcome to book an appointment with us.
Write any time!
Warmest regards,
Aunt Vadge
This is general information, not a substitute for personalised medical advice.
