Something else? Ask Aunt Vadge – bottom left of your screen!
Dear Aunt Vadge,
I was rubbing my clitoris just now, and I’m pretty sure I’m close to my period. When I looked down there was a bit of blood, and I’m worried I hurt my clitoris. How can I tell whether this is my period or clitoral bleeding?
~M
Australia
Dear M,
Easy way to tell the two apart: rinse off and gently pat dry, then look again. If it was your period arriving, fresh blood will keep appearing from inside the vagina no matter how clean the outside is.
If it was a small nick to the clitoris, hood or labia from rubbing, the spot will be dry once you’ve cleaned it, and you might feel a tiny tender point if you press around.
So have a gentle feel for any sore or stinging spot – if everything feels fine and there’s no specific painful place, you’ve almost certainly just caught the start of your period.
And either way, there’s nothing to worry about. Even if you did graze your clitoris or labia with a fingernail, that delicate skin heals remarkably fast on its own – keep it clean with plain water, leave it alone, and it’ll settle in a day or two. A little blood from down there around period time, with no real pain, is about as benign as it gets.
Warmest regards,
Aunt Vadge
This is general information, not a substitute for personalised medical advice.
