Teenage Over-Masturbation: Can Too Much of a Good Thing Permanently Reduce Vaginal Sensation?

A woman in her 30s is concerned that over-masturbation during her teen years may have permanently damaged her vagina.

Case #: 743

Concern：

When I was 17, I masturbated so much that the pain damaged my vagina. I visited a specialist and he confirmed the damage. I am now in my mid-30s, and I have yet to orgasm since then. My partners try every type of position and technique, to no avail. I am starting to think that the damage done to my vagina may have been the cause for my current set of problems.

Discussion：

There are multiple common states that are sometimes referred to as vaginal damage. People use this term liberally to talk about natural loss of elasticity due to age, widening of the vaginal canal after childbirth, temporary loss of sensation (sensory habituation) from horseback riding, hormone depletion from too much sexual activity, and even purely psychological dependence on the sensation of a vibrator as a cue for arousal. Unlike vaginal tearing during childbirth or a traumatic injury that severs neural connections, these conditions are not nearly as permanent as the word "damage" may imply. To make this reply as useful to you as possible, I am going to assume that the vaginal damage your specialist identified is not the permanent kind (and that you don't need a neurologist or a reconstructive surgeon).

Some Potential Physiological Causes for Orgasm Difficulty

The problems you are experiencing reaching orgasm may involve many factors. Hormonal balance, the natural aging process, childbirth, and the frequency of your masturbation attempts could all affect feelings of physical responsiveness that you receive via the clitoris and other erectile tissue when you have sex.

A number of over-the-counter and prescription medications can disrupt the balance of hormones required to maintain an active libido and sustain sexual activity. For example, birth control pills or other forms of hormonal birth control increase circulating levels of estrogen and progestins in the body while inhibiting testosterone. For many women, this can cause a lowered interest in sex, problems with producing or maintaining vaginal lubrication, problems with achieving satisfying orgasms, or all of the above.

It's also possible to over-stimulate the sex organs. Sexual arousal, stimulation, and orgasm deplete nutrients and hormones in the body which need time to replenish themselves after each use. If they aren't allowed this window between masturbation sessions or sexual encounters, you could begin to require more and more stimulation to reach orgasm. This process also contributes to increased inflammation from the progressive amounts of friction sustained during sex. Age, disruptive medications, stress, and other factors that affect hormone balance play a large role in determining how long it takes your body to rejuvenate itself after sex.

How to Be More Orgasmic

First of all, make sure that you are limiting your sexual activity to every other day at most. Many people simply cannot sustain a higher frequency than that without depleting the hormones and chemicals that they expend during sex. (TRY: Clitoral Revitalization Remedy) Eating a balanced diet, getting regular exercise, and getting enough sleep are also good ways to make sure your body is producing the right amounts of each hormone it requires. In addition, you can try herbal formulas designed to provide you with a boost of the chemicals and nutrients that healthy, responsive erectile tissues require.