But having a hymen and being a virgin are not the same thing. Some people are born with hymens that are naturally open. And many other activities besides sex can stretch your hymen. So you can't tell if someone has had sex by the way their hymen looks or feels.
You cannot tell by looking at a hymen whether sex has occurred (consensual or non-consensual). The size of the opening in your hymen is irrelevant, unless it is so small and causes blood flow obstruction and pain (then you need to see a doctor).
What does a hymen look like? Your hymen is the same color as the skin around your vagina (flesh-colored). It can form a crescent moon beneath your vaginal opening or surround your vaginal opening. It doesn't cover the vaginal opening entirely because that would prevent menstruation blood from leaving your body.
But your hymen can also naturally stretch from things like sports, using a tampon, or putting fingers or other objects in your vagina. And many people are born with very little hymenal tissue to begin with, so it may seem like they don't have a hymen at all.
If you're curious to see if you have a hymen or what it looks like, you can take a look yourself at home with a hand mirror and a flashlight. The hymen may be visible if you part the labia on your vulva and look inside the vaginal passage.
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.
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.)
For others, the first time (or even the first few times) of penetrative sex causes the hymen to tear and bleed. Some people might feel pain when the hymen tears; other people won't feel it all. This can look like spotting or bleeding. The bleeding should resolve after 24 hours and the tear will heal.
If it's not your first time having sex and you bleed, you should talk to a doctor. This is because bleeding during or after sex can be a sign of a health condition that needs treatment. You can read more about this in our articles on bleeding during sex and bleeding after sex. Tampons can break the hymen.
A woman who has a hymen is certainly a virgin – that means that she still has the piece of skin that covers the vaginal opening. However, remember that for most women the hymen breaks at some point well before she has sex. It might be broken by sports, using a tampon, or any other number of reasons.
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.
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).
Although horseback riding involves moving up and down, and doing splits puts pressure on your groin area, these activities do NOT change the hymen. The only exceptions are some injuries such as falling on a sharp object in a pool, bathtub, or a water slide, or a water skiing accident.
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.
Some people may feel soreness or pain when their hymen tears, while others may not even notice. If you're trying to have penetrative sex for the first time but the pain is unbearable, try to press pause and schedule a visit with your doctor to make sure you don't have an underlying health issue at play.
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.
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.
Usually, your hymen has one hole in 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.
You shouldn't react. Be appreciative that she feels comfortable enough to share that personal information with you. If you feel the need to speak on the matter, tell her that you're glad that she feels comfortable enough to share that personal information with you.
/ (ˈvɜːdʒɪn) / noun. a person, esp a woman, who has never had sexual intercourse.
No, the hymen can't grow back once it's been stretched open.
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 ...
First things first: there is no right or wrong age to lose your virginity. The only factors that matter when it comes to having sex for the first time is that both you and your partner are ready, you both have consented, and you're using protection.