What is a hymen?

Hymen is a thin piece of tissue located at the opening of the vagina. The hymen needs to be open to allow menstrual blood and normal secretions to exit the vagina. Hymens come in different shapes. Types.

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What is a hymen and how does it break?

Your hymen is a piece of tissue covering or surrounding part of your vaginal opening. It's formed during development and present during birth. It thins over time and tears. Some people will feel pain or bleed when their hymen breaks, but most will not notice. Function.

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How do you know if your hymen is still there?

Hold the mirror in front of your vagina and angle it upwards to that you can see the opening. Use your index or middle finger to spread open the labia (vaginal lips) You should be able to see a thin, moon-shaped fleshy membrane across the lower section of your vaginal opening if the hymen is intact.

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Can a tampon break a hymen?

Any girl who has her period can use a tampon. Tampons work just as well for girls who are virgins as they do for girls who have had sex. And even though using a tampon can occasionally cause a girl's hymen to stretch or tear, it does not cause a girl to lose her virginity. (Only having sex can do that.)

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How far deep is hymen?

For people who have one, the hymen can be easy to detect. It usually lies within 0.8 inches (1–2 centimeters) of the vaginal opening, creating a partial boundary between the external and internal genital organs.

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Busting sexual health myths: What is a hymen?

31 related questions found

What happens if hymen does not break?

It is mainly because of anxiety that women develop the fear of pain during sexual intercourse. If this doesn t work either, then it might be time to consult a gynaecologist because in some cases, the hymen can be too thick due to which penetration is so painful.

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What does a baby hymen look like?

in most newborn girls, the hymen has an annular appearance (Figure 1). the ring shape extends all of the way around the vaginal rim. oestrogen can cause the hymen to thicken (increase in depth) and also to increase in width.

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What does a hymen look like before and after it breaks?

The hymen surrounds your vaginal opening like a ring or donut, and then, as it tears or stretches, it appears more like a crescent. If you have an annular or crescent-shaped hymen, it might look slightly different depending on the way your hymen has stretched or torn.

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What activities can break the hymen?

An intact hymen used to be considered “proof” of virginity. But now we know better. Tearing or stretching of the hymen can be caused by intercourse or other sexual activity, but also sports and physical activity (like falling onto that middle bar on your bike frame).

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Can hymen grow back?

No, the hymen can't grow back once it's been stretched open.

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How long does hymen take to heal?

You should gently wash the area with mild soap and water regularly and avoid heavy lifting to promote proper healing. The hymen will take four to six weeks to heal fully. During this time, the patient should abstain from sexual activity and the use of tampons to allow the incisions to fully heal.

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Can a gynecologist break your hymen?

If indeed your hymen is still intact your gynecologist will be able to see this. A speculum could then, yes, break or stretch this membrane. When the hymen is first separated, such as with intercourse or tampon use, very mild bleeding and sometimes slight pain may occur. Be open and honest, discuss your concerns.

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Can you tell if hymen is broken just by looking at it?

There is NO way to accurately determine whether or not someone has had sexual intercourse by examining their hymen or any other part of their genitals.

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Does your body change after your hymen breaks?

Women, after losing virginity will also notice a change in the way their clitoris and uterus respond. Since the uterus and the clitoris become more used to the sex, they'll adjust and will become more instinctive.

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Did I break my hymen or start my period?

Thus, this is the key difference between hymen blood and period blood. The cause of hymen splitting can be a physical cause, while period blood release is a natural process that takes place in all women. Moreover, hymen blood is thin and bright red in color while period blood is thick and dark red in color.

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Is it necessary to bleed when hymen breaks?

It's normal to have bleeding the first time you have sex, but it's also normal not to. Vaginas have a thin tissue that stretches across part of the opening. This is called a hymen. Sometimes when a person has vaginal sex for the first time, their hymen gets stretched open, which can cause pain or bleeding.

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Can you give birth with a hymen?

"Many obstetricians have stories of having delivered someone who states she is a virgin and has an intact hymen," said Dr. Streicher. "There are definitely virgin births." If a person has an intact hymen and says they've never had penetrative sex, their virgin pregnancy story may be more likely, added Dr.

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What are the bumps on my hymen?

Hymenal polyps look like small stalks. They are present at birth and usually disappear a few weeks later. They typically don't cause any health problems but may cause bleeding or spotting if they tear. Almost all hymenal polyps are benign (not cancerous).

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Why didn't my hymen break when I lost my virginity?

Everyone's hymen is different. Many peoples' hymens naturally have less tissue, or are already stretched out of the way from other things (like tampons), so they don't have pain or bleeding the first time they have sex.

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What is secondary virginity?

Secondary virginity—a sexually-initiated person's deliberate decision to refrain from intimate encounters for a set period of time and to refer to that decision as a kind of virginity (rather than "mere" abstinence)—has largely eluded sociological scrutiny, despite its increasing popularity as a concept and practice ...

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What is the difference between virginity and losing virginity?

You might have heard that a virgin is someone who has never had sex. And losing your virginity usually means having sex for the first time.

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What is late virginity?

Late-in-life virginity — people who remain virgins until well into their 20's, 30's, or beyond, is a subject that as a sex therapist I've been interested in for a long time.

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Can a guy tell if you are a virgin?

It's possible, but not guaranteed that he won't know.

In fact, some experts say there may be no way to tell if a woman is a virgin, even with gynecological tests.

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