Should I be worried?

[coffeesmiles]

hi this is my first time posting on here and im slightly embarrassed but i have nowhere else to ask so im glad this is anonymous lol. I’m 17 and i started masturbating around 13, fingering never really did anything for me so clitoral stimulation is what i do, usually by rubbing up on something like a pillow or folded towels, however recently my vagina has started hurting when i do it and continuing to feel uncomfortable afterwards for a while. can this be damaging my vagina?

[Siân]

Hi!

Welcome to the boards

So the tissues of your vagina and vulva are fairly delicate and prone to tiny cuts and abrasions if treated roughly, but lasting damage would be unusual. Have you started doing anything different recently? Common sources of pain or discomfort in sex (partnered or solo) are things like not using enough lube, not giving yourself time to be fully relaxed and aroused and building pressure too quickly.

If you're experiencing more than a bit of soreness that goes away in a day or so, I'd suggest getting it checked out by a healthcare provider just in case. Is that something you have access to?

[coffeesmiles]

hi, thank you! no i’m not doing anything differently that i could think of except maybe a little more frequently, could that be it? the discomfort afterwards goes away in like 15 minutes.

[Sam W]

Hi Coffeesmiles,

If it goes away fairly quickly afterwards, the odds are it's the result of your genitals getting a bit sore or rough from how you masturbated. If you've been masturbating more often, it's possible your genitals are feeling a bit more tender because they don't has as much time to recover from previous stimulation (sort of like how your feet might be more likely to feel sore if you switched from running once a week to running every other day).