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Ask Bish: Vagina Bleeding After Masturbation

A young woman worried about why she is bleeding after masturbation. Some background on what this might be but also one of those times when it’s best to get checked out.

Okay, so my boyfriend and I masturbate each other. Everytime after he masturbates me, I bleed. Not an intense amount or anything; just lightly for the rest of the day, like my period is. So my boyfriend masturbated me three times this past month, and I bled everytime. (Not due to fingernails or roughness.)

And now, according to birth control, I should be on my period… Except I’m not. I had cramping, headaches, all that fun stuff, but no blood. I’ve heard some things about masturbating / sex starting your period early. So is the bleeding earlier in the month part of my period?

And that rises a whole other subject about endometriosis; my aunt was diagnosed when she was about my age. I haven’t been, but it’s likely to be hereditary. I know bleeding after masturbation and sex is a warning sign of that too. So I’m sorta just wondering; Is that pieces of my period coming after he masturbates me, even though I’m on bc? Does this seem like a warning sign of endometriosis? I don’t have anyone else to talk to, and since I’m only fourteen, can’t take myself to a clinic to ask questions or anything without parents knowing (which I do not want.) So please answer this when you can. Thank you!

Hi Emma

I’m afraid I can’t tell you what’s going on in your vagina. I’m not medically trained, I’m a sex educator not a medic. I really think that the best thing for you to do is to try and get some medical advice, in person. This may mean having to tell your parents (though if you’re in the UK (which you’re not) you could go to a clinic without your parents knowing, confidentially). I’ll try and give you a bit more information which you may find useful. However, I’m not going to diagnose you, ok?

Firstly you bleed after your boyfriend masturbates you. Have you considered stopping this? Bleeding is a sign that something isn’t working properly. See also pain: are you in pain after masturbation? Is this something you are enjoying at all? Do you do this by yourself, if so does it bleed then too?

If you are feeling really aroused (turned on) then the opening to the vagina should feel quite slippy and more relaxed. Is this happening? If it isn’t then your boyfriend’s fingers could be stretching and damaging the vaginal corona. This is folds of mucous tissue at the opening (read more about the vaginal corona). Sometimes the corona can bleed during masturbation, particularly if you are new to it. Usually does not happen, particularly if you are relaxed, turned on and wet.

So if this is the case with you can I suggest that you don’t masturbate until you are feeling really turned on. You know how penises get hard as a sign that a guy is turned on? Clitorises work in exactly the same way too (the penis and clitoris are very similar, it’s just you can’t see most of the clitoris). The clitoris fills with blood which is then trapped when females are turned on. The whole vulva swells up and throbs and the vagina gets wet: this is the female body version of the boner. If you don’t have this it’s a sign that maybe you’re not aroused enough for the sex you are having. Explore different kinds of touch (kissing, stroking, whispering, rubbing, humping) and different ways of masturbating (for instance masturbating the clitoris on the outside rather than the inside).

However if you are getting really turned on and you know about all the above then it could be a sign of endometriosis which (as you say) may well be hereditary. This page by NHS Choices (usually a reliable source of information) gives more information about it. Bleeding between periods is sometimes a symptom of it (where the womb lining can be found outside the womb). If you are on birth control pills (called contraception in the UK) it could be to help you have more regular and lighter periods (heavy painful periods are a symptom of endometriosis).

If it is this I think it’s worth checking in with a medic. They perhaps already suspect that you have endometriosis (which is why you’re on the pills) but haven’t told you about the potential bleeding in the vagina bit. This is the part where I think it might be a good idea to speak to your parents, your Aunt or someone else you can trust (is there a medical type person at school?). I’m assuming that they already know you’re taking treatment for your periods, so they perhaps may expect you to have other symptoms of endometriosis. Maybe the bit you don’t want to talk to them about is your boyfriend?

You don’t have to go into detail about what you and your boyfriend have been doing, you could just say to them that you have noticed some irregular bleeding in your vagina and that you’d like to speak to a doctor. At clinics over here (at one I work at for instance) when young people come in with their parents the doc always asks to see the young person alone if they want to. I’m hoping your doc will have the sensitivity to do this too, or you can ask to see the doc yourself. If you have alone time with the doc you can then go into a bit more detail about what’s been happening.

Wanting to see a doctor by yourself is something that your parents might not understand at first. I’m guessing your at an age where you are starting to feel more independent and want to make choices over what you do with your body (eg you have a boyfriend) but your parents may still see you as their child. It can be hard for parents to deal with that at first. Just to warn you (though you probably knew that).

But apart from that I’m not going to make any more guesses about what’s going on for you in your pants. Sorry about that. I hope this has been useful. I’ve left comments open below if you want to report back or ask a follow up.

Here are some links you may also want to check out.

Hope this helps!

Justin (Bish)

Comment below if you like. I moderate all comments before they appear, just so you know!

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I’ve been a sex and relationships educator since 1999 (with a background in youth and community work). In that time I’ve taught and given advice about sex and relationships with thousands of young people in person and millions online. I’ve worked with many charities, local governments, schools and youth organisations facilitating training and workshops. My two books, Enjoy Sex (How, When, and If You Want To) and Can We Talk About Consent? are widely available around the world. I’ve been on the telly and the radio and have written articles for newspapers and magazines. I’m also a member of the World Association for Sexual Health. Read more about me and BISH here. Find out about my other work here Justin Hancock

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69 thoughts on “Ask Bish: Vagina Bleeding After Masturbation

  1. I got bleeding while doing masturbation. But I have some vaginal infection problem since last 2 months. Now that’s not so much serious but I get itching around vagina. I think it’s because of infection. Now I want to ask is it any connection between vaginal infection and bleeding. One thing I want to mention…my stomach is getting normal pain…the pain is like before getting periods there is normal pain. But I have already got my periods of this month just before 15 days. So plzz tell.. Is any connection between bleeding and infection).. So I can contact to doctor.

  2. Hii i don’t know if you still can answer but i have some questions. I can’t see doctor about this because i have strict parents and i can’t let them know. I’m 16 now and i’ve been masturbating since i was 10 and i haven’t notice anything weird until now. Sometimes when i’m masturbaing, it bleeds but only a little, i can only see it on my fingers. It’s coming from i guess inside? I do have long nails so i just wanna let you know that i don’t think it’s because i’m scratching it, plus i’m gentle with it. I remember i once was bleeding during masturbating and then like 2 days later i got my period. But this hasn’t happened for a while now so i think it was because of menetruation. What is concerning for me is that lately, while masturbating i’ve been seeing that my vaginal lips swell a little, my daily discharge is almost white and little thick but not so much. But it doesn’t itch or burns and i don’t feel any discomfort while urinating, but i remember it did burn while peeing in winter when i was cold. And lately, what made me write is that, sometimes, after masturbating i have allergic reaction and it looks almost like urticaria, i am pretty sure that i have that because i am pretty allergic person. I have little groups around my body that looks like mosquito bites. Yesterday this little group was up on my thigh. A while go, it was on my lower torso and on mu thighs. At this point, i don’t know if what i’m asking is your medical field but since i’m doubting that it happens because of masturbation, i decided to ask you 😉 So i just wanna know if this can be vaginal infection? If so, is it scary ? Or if not, why is it swelling sometimes? I really hope that i don’t have any infection 😉 i’m sorry that this question is all messy and almost has nothing to so with this article, but i didn’t know where i could ask this cause i can’t see gynecologist in real life ;( i apologize once more because what i wrote might not make sense. Thank you for answering, if u do 😉

    1. I can’t really give you much medical advice I’m afraid. All I’d say is to keep an eye on it and see if it goes away. Discharge does change throughout the menstrual cycle naturally. What you’re describing is how discharge might look just before and around ovulation but other than that I can’t give you more advice. Sorry

  3. Hie.. From past three days i m getting light spots of blood… As i have done masturbation.. How to stop pain nd blood.. Plz tekk

  4. I’m 26 years old
    Inserted a pen while masturbating and was heavily bleeding
    It happened 2-3 times
    What should I do?

  5. I have never had a period before, and I was masturbating and in the middle I started to see blood and I was bleeding for the rest of the day and ever since then I’ve been getting a period..can you help me i dont know whats happening

  6. hi another help so i remember when i did my last masturbation there was no blood i was using a marker.. i know it weird but i wash it before puting it in and my last period was probably the first week of march and and weeks later i been thinking whats happening why i didnt get my period yet and ive thin that i may be pregnant or somthing, and after i realized that i havent got my period yet, iv been doing jumping jacks for no reason, im quit dumb making english comment so i hope you understand it

  7. Umm so, I have been masturbating alot since like 6 months, I didn’t have any problems untill 1 or 2 weeks ago, everything was normal and i came there was clear sticky fluid like always but.. After 1-2 hours I saw blood with the sticky fluid..
    Since then this has happened to me and im kind of scared, should I stop masturbating?
    Just to let you know, my period is really really irregular because i started having them like 1.5 years ago and i had my last period almost 3 months ago
    So pls help
    I cant talk about this to anyone pls

    1. I’m not sure I can help you anymore than I have. If you have hurt yourself inside your vagina you might want to leave it for a couple of weeks to heal up. It could be that you are having very light periods with very little bloodflow? The sticky fluid is your natural vaginal lubricant, which is normal. Other than that, I’d only recommend that you speak with a doctor or a trusted adult about it.

  8. Hi plzz help me out of this my girlfrnd is in a longdistance relation and she said she never had sex before but she uses to masturbate and soon we are going to be togather so plzz tell me how should i know her virginity does it bleed’s for the first time while having sex or it bleed’s masturbating for the first time..? And does her vagina hole gets bigger if she had sex before..? Plzz clear this out as soon as possible i would be greatly thankful to you sir…

  9. please help me i am 14 i masterbait quite often and i use a brush every time i masterbait i bleed a lot usually i can see it come out i cant tell my mom im afraid she will get mad please help me i am scared

  10. Hey, sooo I masterbate and it’s not with my fingers. I do it almost everyday or at least three times a week. But today I was doing it and I went really fast and rough and I had a mix of blood that made the white stuff have a tent of brown to it and I got off my period like a week ago and it’s happened before… can someone please help me I’m 15yrs old.

    1. So the white stuff is discharge. All vaginas have discharge and the colour of this changes throughout the menstrual cycle. Sometimes it’s white, sometimes it’s more see through. I can’t tell you exactly what the reddish brown tint in the discharge is, but it could just be a little bit of dried blood that hasn’t fully left the vagina after the last period. It could also be that you may have slightly damaged the delicate tissue (which is similar to the inside of the mouth) inside the vagina. Think of this a bit like when you brush your teeth too hard and there is a little bit of blood when you spit the toothpaste out. Read more about the vagina here Clitoris and Vagina

  11. please help me i am really scared right now 🙁
    i don’t masturbate that much, just once in a week sometimes twice.
    i am 14 years old and i have strict parents so i don’t think i can see doctor right now.
    i don’t really masturbate that much. just once or sometimes twice in a week. i’ve experienced bleeding during masturbation before and it was because my period was near. but right now, 2-3 hours ago i masturbated and bleed some, but i already had my period 2 weeks ago. but it’s not only that, my vaginal lips were swollen for some time and that was what scared me most. when i checked it again 30 minutes later they werent swollen anymore. i am really scared, can anyone tell me why were they swollen? it was my first time experiencing that. please tell me that i don’t have cancer or that i’m not dying lol
    thank you so much, i really need your help and i really appreciate if you’ll answer me.

    1. I can’t really give you any more advice on the blood after masturbation than I already have here or here Ask Bish – Fingering Problems If you can’t talk to a doctor can you speak to someone that you trust? Who To Talk To About Sex and How You should know that your vaginal lips get swollen because the vagina was aroused. This is normal and often happens when you masturbate. You can find out more about this and see some drawings of what this looks like here Clitoris and Vagina

      1. thanks for answering <3
        so it's not that scary right? is it necessary to see doctor about that? i'm a virgin so i don't really know

  12. Hi…i’m 18 and my concern is after marturbate i get light blood in my discharge im really worried about it…can you please help me

  13. Hi
    I usually don’t bleed while masturbate but sometimes I bleed while doing it and no there’s nothing like itchiness and pain.
    It just bleeds while I am doing it. Is it normal ?
    Or is it possible to bleed while fingering when my period is near? What is the reason? I don’t know anything about it please help me.

    1. I think I can’t really give more information or advice to you than I have already in the article. It might be a good idea to see a doctor if the advice above doesn’t help.

  14. Please help, I am also slightly bleeding after I masterbate. Since I am 15, I do not have a toy, so I use my fingers, toothbrush or my hair brush. After, I feel uncomfortable back pain. The bleeding goes away after 1-3 days. But I am still worried. I cannot ask my parents for a Pap smear, they will wonder why. I have never had sex either. It would be weird to tell my parents what I am doing. I am worried I am hurting myself and I do not know. What can be wrong with me?

    1. Apart from the advice I’ve given here and here

    2. I can’t really give you any more medical advice. You know your parents better than me, but it’s highly likely that they will assume that you might masturbate. It might be an uncomfortable conversation but so long as you think you’ll be safe bringing it up, then do bring it up. You can also go to a sexual health service or a clinic without parents. I’ve written more about this here Who To Talk To About Sex and How

    3. It’s the exact same for me besides, I’m 12, and I just noticed the bleeding today. I’m scared, and I cant tell my mom. I don’t live in the UK so I can’t go to a clinic without my mom. Yesterday, I got a zucchini and tried to masturbate with it, but it hurt really bad going in, I don’t know if I’ve started my period but I don’t know. Please help, don’t diagnose me just help i’m terrified.

  15. Hi so i’m 15 and i’m the shot birth control and i’ve been in it for about 6-9 months. I don’t masturbate a lot but i do every so often and i started to notice a little bit of bleeding. now i don’t finger myself but rub the clit and it’s starting to make me scared. after i’m finished i don’t bleed for the rest of the day. i’ve only had sexual intercourse twice but that was 5 months ago and it started a few months ago. This birth control also says i’m not supposed to have a period anymore since it’s been 6 months. (which i don’t) The only time i bleed is when i masturbate. Could there be something wrong with me? please help

  16. Hey, so I’m 14, a virgin and have had my period for 2 years- that stuffs all fine but Iv been masterbsting recently and every time I do blood comes out. Not immediately but after a little while. I am usually wet enough but sometimes Put water on the thing I use for extra lube. after a little while It hurts a bit right by the left side of my bladder but I thaught that was a normal feeling. Iv never orgasmed tho and I’m starting to think I’m doing something wrong. Can you help me? and please don’t say u covered this in other comments. I read them all and none of them answer what I’m asking about. ::)) Thankyou. Stay safe everyone

    1. Hi. I’m not sure I can help you with this one. I’m not a doctor, so I think it would be good for you to speak to someone who is medically trained. It doesn’t sound serious but I think you should speak to someone. First of all tell a grown up that you trust and ask them to help you ask a doctor. Justin

  17. can someone help me? pleaaaaase if you’re reading this, help me i’m really scared. i’m 14 years old.
    so it’s kinda embarrassing but i’m masturbating since i’m 10. i haven’t masturbate for week and when i did just an hour ago, i saw some blood. on my fingers and also on my vagina. like it’s not heavy bleeding and i can’t see it coming but when i checked my vagina there was some blood. i’m not bleeding every time, just sometimes and it stops when i stop doing it. i’m not fingering myself i’m just rubbing my clit and sometimes i put finger there but not often or anything. my fingernails are kinda long but i wasn’t rough or anything.
    pleeeeeease help me, i have strict parents and i can’t tell them about that. Thanks.

  18. I really need help! so I’ve masturbated only like 10 times. keep in mind I’m a virgin and I am not sexually active, so I can’t be pregnant but I haven’t gotten my menstrual cycle in about 6-9 months Which I know it is crazy but my mom says I’ve been irregular but I’ve had my period for almost 2 years and shouldn’t it be regular by now? Anyways whenever masturbate I get really heavy bleeding but I but I put a pad in and then all of a sudden I’m done with it. It gets heavier each time and I am scared because I’ve told no one and I need help asap! Please and that you!! Please don’t judge I am really scared about this

    1. Hi, thanks for commenting. I think this is something that you should see a doctor about (as I say in the article). If you are masturbating internally then you may well have damaged the lining of the vagina and you aren’t allowing for it to heal. So if you’ve tried not masturbating (internally) for at least two weeks or a month and you are still bleeding afterwards, then see a doctor. A sexual health service might be able to help you too. Medical practitioners really have heard it all before and they won’t judge you either.

    2. I’m 13 and a virgin. I am new to masturbating. Last night I noticed I was bleeding (quite heavily) is there anything to be worried about.

  19. Hi there I’m 17 and for the first time ever I bled during masturbation …. It’s alarming because that happened last night and this morning there’s no sign of blood at all …. Does anyone know what this means

  20. so im 13 and haven’t had my period yet but I wanted to try masturbaiting so did then I started to bleed I am just a bit concerned

  21. Hi, I’m in a similar situation. I’m 14 and a virgin. I am new to masturbating. I am fully turned on when I do and I keep my nails short, but I still bleed. It doesn’t hurt, it’s just alarming and I want to know if something’s wrong. I have extremely heavy periods which I have seen a doctor about very recently and she just told me to try ibuprofen which hasn’t helped. I fear I may have endometriosis. My sister once suggested the possibility and I have also wondered in the past. What are some signs of endometriosis and do you have any other thoughts of why I bleed when I masturbate?

    1. Hi. I am a med student. And i had been facing the similar symptoms like you. I don’t mastrubate vaginally, but i do orgasm by clitorial mastrubation. I also bleed everytime I mastrubate. And i had heavy period with big clots. I went to OBGYN and I did an ultrasound where I was diagnosed with endometrial hyperplasia which means thickened emdometrium. EH and endometriosis are totally different. So its better for you to do an ultrasound examination!

  22. So, i started to masterbait and my period is late and i have cramping. I was masterbaiting and after a little blood came out. Im expecting its my period but I just need to know if its natural to bleed after doing so.

  23. Hi, I just turned 51, my husband is 48. Ever since he found out I was with a guy who’s larger than him (back in 2014), he keeps sex from me, sometimes we’ll have sex, and I won’t climax, but I enjoy foreplay before, I don’t think he does, anyways he seems to think that he’s not satisfying me when he does, I’ve told him he does but he thinks I’m lieing….what can I do?

  24. So I’m super worried, I only ever stimulate the g-spot and I’m not new to masturbating. Recently I’ve been bleeding and the blood comes out a little brownish. I know it’s not my period because I end up having my period that month still (I’m not on birth control). I never feel any pain either and I keep my nails quite short. I’m not sure why this is happening because it hasn’t done this in the past, hopefully you can answer my question.

  25. Hi I started masterbating and well I never cum I mean I squirt and I tend to bleed I want to know why, I hate it, I can’t tell if I have got my period or not, my bf hates when I bleed when we both masterbate and I dont want to lose him I love him and I just want to know why I can never cum but squirt anf bleed

    1. Hi. As I say in this article, you really shouldn’t be bleeding from masturbating. As well as the advice I have given here (that maybe you have slightly cut your vagina and you aren’t letting it heal up) it also sounds like you might be trying a bit too hard. I don’t think it’s a good idea to try to make yourself squirt (I don’t think it’s a good idea to try to make yourself do anything). I think when you’re masturbating you should aim to enjoy it rather than make yourself squirt. So first of all just slow down and try to pay attention to how your body feels when you touch yourself. Does it feel nice? Do you feel tingly? Do you get out of breath? Do you start to think nice things? If you do this then you will hopefully start to enjoy it more. You may even have an orgasm, or squirt, but you won’t if you are just aiming to do that. Justin.

    1. Have a look around on the website for some ideas. Perhaps click on the ‘Sex’ section. For advice about long distance relationships try this

  26. My boyfriend fingered me with 4 fingers today (most fingers I’ve taken) and he went really deep and when he pulled out his hand we saw that I was bleeding. It didn’t last long at all and a few minutes later the bleeding stopped. Is this serious?? Or was he just a bit too rough?? (His nails were trimmed)

    1. It sounds like it just may have been a little rough or that perhaps four fingers was a little bit too much for you. Sometimes with fingering, you can cause little cuts inside the vagina. When you’re doing that kind of fingering it’s a good idea to use lubricant and maybe also a glove or a condom to prevent damage. You might want to give this kind of fingering a bit of a break for a couple of weeks to make sure any cuts or abrasions have healed up.

    2. to me i think it’s fine. i had the same thing done to me. the part of your vagina that makes you have your period is the wall feeling of if your going as deep as you can. if he did touch that and by pushing it, it can cause a bit of bleeding, sister i gotcha it’s happened to me lots of time and it’s perfectly normal.

  27. So I just finished my period like 2 days ago, and decided to masterbate well now I’m bleeding and it’s freaking me out. I dosent feel painful but I’m just worried. Someone help

    1. Hey. Sorry this has happened. You might find my answer here more helpful in your case. Might you have accidentally hurt yourself?

  28. This is embarrassing but I musterbated for the first time and I used a pen… Ikr a pen? Anyway after that I bled a little and I’m scared that I broke my cherry or something any thoughts

    1. A lot of people use pens when they masturbate (as you can see from this reader here). Sometimes the sharp edges can cause a little bit of bleeding. So you might just want to not masturbate for a few days to help this heal up. Maybe also stick to using your fingers/hands (making sure you’ve trimmed your nails). For more about the vagina you could look at this page.

      Virginity means lots of things to lots of different people – it’s your call and no-one else’s to say whether you are a virgin or not. For some it’s the first time they masturbated, for others it’s the first time they had sex with someone they love. For others it’s in between. Others don’t like the word, don’t care about the word or don’t use the word.

  29. Ive humped pillows and next day i bled.. and now I’ve bled aswell.. it was just a bit blood not like period.. i need help i don’t want to go to doctors ???

    1. Hi. Sorry about this. What might have happened is that you rubbed a little bit hard and caused a little cut. Just try to be super gentle for a couple of weeks while it heals up. There’s more about this here.

  30. Hi I need help please I rub my clit and every time I cum I start bleeding like I’m on my period again and this has happened every time for about a year now I don’t have a bf/gf but every time I rub and then I cum I bleed what does it mean. I don’t finger myself or use anything I just rub my clit. Please help I’m worried and I don’t like going to the doctor

    1. I’m afraid I don’t know why this is happen. Even though you don’t like going to the doctor, I think this is the best thing you can do. Maybe if you tell someone else you know they can support you and even speak to the doctor with you. If you’re in the UK you can go to a sexual health service for free, find out more about this here. Also you might want to see this advice about unusual bleeding here. If you choose not to go to the doctor then maybe you should stop fingering yourself for two or three weeks. You could have a little cut that isn’t getting a chance to heal.

  31. Bish? I have done the same! I was fingering myself, and today I found blood! I don’t normally have a period at all, because I’m on the implant! I am always wet when I finger myself and I always enjoy it, I don’t hurt myself but it feels like it’s triggered a period or something. I havent had one in 3 years… I used to have quite a lot of problems before I got the implant with bleeding after sex, abdominal pain and non stop spitting but the implant sorted that out! am I allergic to making myself cum? I really don’t get it please help me x

  32. Normally when I masturbate I don’t bleed after few minutes and yesterday when I masturbate roughly I bleed after few mins I had this blob thing come with the blood I really need help do I need to take action for this or is it normal .

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