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Dear Aunt Vadge,
I’ve been having sex with the same person since April, and recently I’ve noticed a paper-cut-like crack near my vaginal entrance. It only hurts occasionally during sex, when it’s rubbed, and otherwise only when I wipe. My partner has no sores or cuts. I’ve tested negative for all STIs, and my doctor diagnosed a yeast infection. Could this be herpes, a yeast cut, or a cut from sex?
Yours,
Paper Cut
Age 20, Florida
Dear Paper Cut,
Let’s cross herpes off straight away: your STI tests are negative, your partner has no lesions, and a painless little paper-cut that only stings when rubbed is nothing like herpes, which shows up as painful clustered blisters and ulcers. So no — not that.
What you’ve actually got is the other two answers at once, feeding each other. The yeast you’ve been diagnosed with softens and weakens the delicate skin at the entrance so it splits into exactly these paper-cut fissures, and the friction — which is why it hurts during sex — tears that already-fragile skin even more.
So the fix has two halves: clear the yeast properly (your doctor’s treatment, or the home strategies on our yeast page), and sort out the friction.
The friction half matters for more than the cuts, and it comes down mostly to arousal. When you’re properly turned on, your vulval tissue plumps with blood and your internal clitoral structures become erect — it’s your version of an erection, and it’s what makes you physically ready.
Penetration before that is like trying to have sex with a soft penis: the tissue isn’t cushioned, so it tears, and sex feels far less good into the bargain.
We’re all sold the line that the vagina is ‘open for business’ any time — it isn’t, and learning to wait until your body actually wants it is the single best thing you can do for both comfort and pleasure. Use lube as well, every time.
If you’d like to read around it, our pieces on vulva basics, the female sexual response and sex 101 are all worth a look. A neat self-test: if you can comfortably use a penis-sized object when you’re aroused and well lubed and don’t get cut, you’ve confirmed it’s about readiness, not anything structural.
One last thing for your back pocket: if the splits keep happening after the yeast is fully cleared and you’re well lubricated, it’s worth having a doctor check for a skin condition like lichen sclerosus — not likely here, but it’s the thing you don’t want to miss with recurrent entrance fissures.
Warmest regards,
Aunt Vadge
This is general information based on current research and our clinical experience, not a substitute for personalised medical advice.
