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Hey Aunt Vadge,
I’m a virgin and only masturbate clitorally. I was a bit harsher these last couple of days, and today I feel a little sore and stingy down there, as if I cut myself, but where it stings is a bit closer down to my vagina.
I never put anything inside myself and I’m scared I broke my hymen. I’m on my period so I can’t figure it out. Help please?
Best,
Perturbed
Age 19, Atlanta
Dear Perturbed,
Take a breath – at 19, and only ever touching yourself externally on the clitoris, you almost certainly haven’t ‘broken’ anything, and your hymen isn’t really the issue here anyway (by this age it’s usually long since stretched away through ordinary life, and external clitoral play doesn’t touch it).
What’s far more likely is the simplest thing: being a bit rougher with yourself these last couple of days has left the delicate skin a little sore and stinging, or you’ve caught yourself with a fingernail without noticing.
That happens all the time, because while you’re aroused everything just feels good and a small nick doesn’t register as pain – it’s only afterwards that you feel the sting and wonder what happened.
Being on your period does make it harder to see what’s going on, which adds to the worry, so the easiest thing is to give the area a few days’ rest from masturbating, keep it clean with plain water, and let any little graze heal (it will, quickly).
When your period’s finished and things have calmed, have a relaxed look with a mirror if you want to reassure yourself. See a doctor only if the soreness doesn’t settle in a few days, you see a cut that keeps bleeding, or it gets swollen, hot or weepy.
But this really sounds like nothing more than a tender spot from going a bit harder than usual – you’re fine.
Best,
Aunt Vadge
This is general information, not a substitute for personalised medical advice.
