Hymen looks weird??

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-11-2004
Hymen looks weird??
13
Thu, 12-23-2004 - 7:50pm
Ok...I've recently become sexually active, and I've noticed that the opening to my vagina looks...different. It looks jagged and the "skin" or membrane or whatever around the opening is not very tight or resilient. This sounds gross, but if you touch it, it just kind of lays flat, like it's lifeless. Is this the hymen? What should this look like--it literally looks like a popped, jagged cherry. I could really use ANY feedback. Thanks a lot ;)

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iVillage Member
Registered: 11-30-2004
Thu, 12-23-2004 - 10:40pm
The Hymen is a super paper thin piece of tissue inside your uterus. Just inserting tampons can break it. What you are describing is the opening of your vagina, not up inside your uterus where the hymen is. I doubt sex one time has changed the opening, which is very elastic and can recover from babies born! It was probably like that before and you never noticed. Certain areas like the vaginal lips are meant to have excessive wrinkled skin, whether or not your a virgin or gave birth to twins.
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-27-2004
Fri, 12-24-2004 - 12:03am

Sorry to disagree, but the hymen (if there IS one) is at the opening of the vagina, and has NOTHING to do with the uterus. The uterus is unreachable by anyone but a doctor, who has to dilate the cervix to get to the uterus.

Check out www.the-clitoris.com which has a section on the hymen.

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-27-2004
Fri, 12-24-2004 - 12:08am

If you've had intercourse, then there is no hymen to see. If you had one in the first place (and not everyone does) it's gone after you've had intercourse.

What you're probably talking about is your inner lips (labia minor) which are just a loose flap of skin, unless you're sexually aroused, when they become engorged with blood, just as a man's penis does. They come in different sizes, colors and shapes. We're all different.

If you want to see the variations of female vulvas, and an explanation of what a hymen is about, check out www.the-clitoris.com

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-11-2004
Fri, 12-24-2004 - 12:11am
Ok, so is what I was describing earlier the hymen? I'm not talking about my uterus. What I can visibly see when I am looking at the opening to my vagina...it looks like jagged membrane. It definitely looks different than it did before sex. Is this normal? What is the skin around that opening supposed to look like?
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-27-2004
Fri, 12-24-2004 - 1:45am

It's not "supposed" to look like anything. It looks the way it looks. Did you go to the web site and look at the pictures of female vulvas? You can see that they all look different. I know you weren't referring to your uterus. That's why I corrected the other poster, that was not correct information. You can't "see" your uterus at all.

There are also pictures of hymens. Most women don't even have them anymore...and if you did, it would be gone after intercourse. (and nothing there looks like a "cherry" except maybe in color!) I have no idea what you're looking at, but whatever it is, it is the way it's supposed to be. If you're that concerned, then you should see your gyno and have it examined. Hopefully you're aware that once you're sexually active, you should have an annual exam by a gynecologist. The next time you go, ask about it.

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-01-2003
Fri, 12-24-2004 - 8:53am
Mine looks like that too and I've been having sex for 24 years, plus two babies. I'm sure yours is perfectly normal.


Edited 12/24/2004 8:54 am ET ET by tally33
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-23-2004
Fri, 12-24-2004 - 9:41am
No, the hymen is not inside the uterus, it is at the entrance to the vagina.

bounxh0a-1.gif picture by dillbyrd

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-11-2004
Fri, 12-24-2004 - 11:59pm
THANK YOU SOOO MUCH for all of your help. Happy holidays!! ;)
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-30-2004
Sun, 12-26-2004 - 3:10pm
I owe people an apology. I was sure I knew what I was talking about. I went to that site too and found I was wrong. Sure is a great site. Well on this board I learned something important to know about my body.
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-27-2003
Thu, 12-30-2004 - 12:16am

You should probably go see your gyno for a check.

This does sound like your hymen has been discharged.
Having had a couple of babies, I would say it might just
hang there until it falls off/discharges naturally - like a
belly button cord or the placenta. (I know, oh gross)
You could probably help it along, which could cause
a little bleeding. Best to take anything unusual
to the doc.

However, there is some debate here. The pics I saw on
the reference links posted didn't exactly look accurate
to me. The clit and the uretha on one looked miles apart!
Mine are basically one in the same. Hmmm. It could be the
illustrator - ever notice how a map of the US distorts
all the little east coast states in New England?

Plus, my understanding of the hymen is it is at the opening
of the uterus, INSIDE the vagina. That's why a woman can
use tampons, which are generally only so big, and not
break her hymen BEFORE intercourse. (but a tampon has
been known to do that too) Also, you may not always
break your hymen the first time - could take a couple
of times depending on the depth of penetration
achieved or the size of the penis.

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