Vagina after my first time

[anonymous1701]

I had sex for the first time 2 days ago. The first time was great and more or less painless. Felt fine the next day. Had sex later that day (yesterday), things were much more dry than the first time and hurt more. Today I am feeling a little bit sore, tender, dry and possibly swollen down there. I noticed that inside my inner labia, around my vaginal opening, looked slightly raised. Is this all normal/okay? Possibly due to friction? We used a condom and it was both of our first times so I'm not really concerned about an STI possibility. Thanks in advance!

[Karyn]

If things were feeling a bit dry, then yep, it's very likely that the soreness and swelling you're feeling is due to friction. There's not much you can do except wait for it to subside on its own, and not engaging in any kind of genital sex until you're feeling back to normal. It should heal up in a few days, but if it doesn't, you can check in with a doctor to make sure there's nothing else going on.

In the future, using extra lube is pretty much always a good idea. Even when you're aroused, the vagina doesn't always produce enough lubrication on its own to make things comfortable (particularly when you're using condoms) so having some water-based lube on hand to apply as necessary makes things way more comfortable.

[anonymous1701]

Update! Everything went back to normal after about 4 days total. Took your advice and got lube, which made the world of a difference and haven't had that problem again. Thanks so much!!