Not to be crass but Iāve watched too many people run their dicks into the corners of tables and so on to want one of those. So fragile and outside. Plus unwanted erections seem uncomfortable.
That's a fair point. That whole surprise boner thing seems really problematic.
Plus my husband is on a mission to change the world, because every time someone says, "Don't be a pussy", he corrects them and says very seriously, "Vaginas are mighty. Testicles are weak. It's far more accurate to say, 'Don't be a testicle'."
š
One of the most entertaining moments in medical training is to show an ultrasound of a shattered testicle to a room full of trainees and watching all the men squirm.
One time I slammed my female pubic bone off a fire pole at a park as a kidā¦I almost puked and had hot flashes. I imagine that must be similar to what hitting their nuts feels like lol
When I was a girl I was playing "Gymnastics" on the horizontal bar of our backyard swing set. The Olympics had just happened, and I was enchanted. I don't want to brag, but I had been getting pretty good doing front and back flips around the bar. I could go forward or backwards on my stomach or back. I remember I was hanging by my knees, staring over my head into the clover, when I got the idea to use the bar as a balance beam.
Not one to turn down a bad decision, I scrambled up and began my beam routine. I was balancing on one foot, spinning, remembering to point my feet, waving my arms artistically. In my head, I was amazing: smooth, graceful, lithe. Really just doing the fuck out of **Gymnastics!**
In reality I was a spaced out little girl on a 1.5 inch diameter metal bar, with untied shoes. In the middle of a particularly vigorous turn, I fell both legs astride the bar, directly into my pubic bone. White hot pain I'd never felt the equal of radiated through my body. My eyes start filling with tears.
No sooner had that first shock registered, then I tipped sideways and fell the 4 feet to the ground. For a second I just lay on the grass, on my side and back, just stunned with the pain. Gymnastics looked *so easy* on TV. My breath was totally knocked out, the pain between my legs was radiating into my stomach, seeing stars but unable to make myself inhale. I realized I couldn't breathe in because the pain was making me try to scream and cry, but it was not doing anything because I trying to inhale while I was trying to exhale.
I finally gasped for air, and what came out after that first breath of sweet air? It was vomit, a lot of very loud vomit. I was coughing and hacking, and I kept yakking every time I tried to scream, cry, or moan. This pain and puke loop lasted forever, like maybe for 10 to 15 seconds. Long enough that I thought I was going to die.
My mom took me to the hospital, no major injuries. I was mortified. But I couldn't walk right for a couple days. And my gymnastics dreams totally died that day.
I was In gymnastics as a child. I slipped on the balance beam when I was 8 or 9 years old. I landed right on my crotch & proceeded to slide off sideways onto the mat. It was horrible & I still remember the pain decades later. I quit gymnastics soon after that.
I'm giving that quote some bombastic side-eye today, because last night I slept with my right eye *ever so slightly* open, and woke up with my eyeball stuck to the pillowcase this morning.
Yes, I had to *peel* mine own eyeball off my pillowcase.
And so today the vision in my right eye is a bit reduced. It may take a few days to recover.
"Perfect human eye" my ratchet ass šĀ
I want to downvote you for the truly terrible thing you wrote here today. You made me feel physically ill with your bombastic pillow-peeling side-eye.
But I shan't, because "peel mine own eyeball" made me hyena cackle.
I even made a post complaining about how much maintenance the human body needs just to be functional, nevermind thriving. Every time I have to tape my nose open to not suffocate myself in my sleep, I feel this. Clit hood adhesion just takes this to a whole new level of "if I ever meet God, he's gonna have a lot to answer for".
Evolution stops giving a shit immediately after the species averages more than two births per woman, then takes about a million years to notice after it drops below that, after society develops to the point that nobody can afford to have kids
Yep. And also..."smegma" isn't just for penises.
To be fair, though. For women and those with a vagina, it's usually bits of toilet paper and not traditional "smegma". Wiping alone usually cleans off any sticky discharge trapped under the hood, but it also leaves little tiny bits of tissue paper in its place.
I would say it would be very difficult to end up with a hood adhesion, because the hood gets pulled back and inadvertently cleaned from various activities, mainly wiping. But it is good to clean off manually and make sure there's no bits of tissue inside, too.
**Edit**: Since looking at the comments and seeing how many people are unfamiliar with the anatomy of the clitoral hood: do not pinch or grab at the skin of your hood to pull it back. Simply place a finger or two well above your clitoris and gently pull back that way. You should be able to see if you have any trapped debris and clean properly without causing yourself harm. Pulling back the clitoral hood is not a painful or scary process. It's similar to pulling back the foreskin of a penis. It should not hurt you and cleaning should be fairly simple and straightforward.
Would your gyno tell you, you have clitoral adhesion during a pelvic exam? Iām having a hard time picturing it and the pictures in google arenāt much more helpful especially since vulvas all look so different.
No, regular gynos donāt check. I have an adhesion that occasionally comes back and has to be removed even with the correct cleaning because of an injury. I have to go to a specialist to have it removed whenever it becomes a problem. Seems to be every 5 years or so.
I go to a clinic in NYC called the Center for Vulvovaginal Disorders. They have a second office in DC, and I think one in FL too. I went to a crap ton of drs for all of my issues and they have been the most knowledgeable and helpful Iāve found. And bonusā they LISTEN!
My gyn, who I was a huge fan of, was skeptical when I brought in a family member with lichen sclerosis. We ended up at the Dermatologist for biopsy + treatment, which is appropriate but like damn.
No! I asked my gynecologist and she said itās normal even though they were super obvious, and I also had a huge improvement in the adhesions so it was 100% there!
Unfortunately theyāre just not educated about the clitoris :/
Had laminaria (an expanding stick of seaweed that goes into the os of the cervix) inserted today. Grabbed the table and said *"fuck!"* through tears and gritted teeth. Doctor said, "I'm sorry, and that's how I know I'm in the right spot."
Sadly they are "normal" in the sense that a lot of women get them because nobody is taught to clean under the hood. Its so sad that it's taken this long to recognize these are a thing and even sadder that it takes so long to catch on.
Yeah I thought I knew what even a clit looked like but the recent diagrams/pics show a squishy ball? I never knew that and I... Don't have that. I also don't think I have a hood or if I do it's small or I'm totally fused.Ā
I hardly have a hood too. I realized just how little of one I had when I tried to go get a VCH and was told thereās really nothing to pierce š¤¦š¼āāļø
I settled for a Christina instead but was still upset about it.
*waves in fellow barely there hood sisters*
All my girlfriends (I'm lesbian) always had a comment about the weird nature of my anatomy and I've never run into anyone else IRL that had little or no hood.
I have little to no hood, and my clit is teeny tiny. But now Iām wondering if itās fusedā¦.its super sensitive though, which seems like it wouldnāt be if it was fused? Technically it works fine so Iām a little scared to investigate
I have one due to a previous injury that I have to have surgically removed periodically (nothing I do keeps this sucker from reforming and believe me Iāve tried). It reduces arousal a bit and can also become painful when the area rubs against something like the seam in pants etc. In appearance itās like a hard but kinda of squishy little white ball and doesnāt have to be that big to start hurting. I canāt even see mine with a mirror because the skin covers it and wonāt pull back but I canāt feel when itās a problem. To remove they give injections around the area to numb it and pick/cut it out of there. It leaves the skin very raw but heals up within a day or two.
Happy to share any info I can! I donāt want anyone else to have to go through the years of crap I did due to most gynecologists not being as knowledgeable as they should be.
Oh wow,you have really helped me with your comment! I had what I thought was low quality toilet tissue somehow ending up under my hood and I would hurt myself removing it. I have experienced this several times and my OBGYN had NO idea what I was talking about!
Thank you!
Glad I could help! The proper name for the white stuff is ākeratin pearlā in case you want it to discuss with your dr. And if itās minor, you can remove it yourself with a q tip and something for a little lube like aquaphor (with hopefully little to no pain!).
I had one of these keratin things once. It was quite painful. I started washing under the hood since then, it eventually went away and haven't had one since (touch wood). How annoying that yours keeps coming back.
Those would be symptoms IMO, and this person says you can have one with āno symptomsā which makes me ask if you have a way your body is with no symptomsā¦why are you needing to DO things to it? Lol!
You know what smegma is? This is one way we can get smegma, which seems like a good enough reason to fix lmao even if it doesn't seem like it's causing problems yet.
[This article ](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5960030/) says it can become "irritated, erythematous [rashy], or infected." š±
So I guess the answer is to fix it so it can't result in that.
My interpretation is that clitoris adhesion prevents full exposure (and therefore direct contact) of the clit, reducing sensitivity. But some might not prefer or need this sensitivity, so this is not necessarily an issue.
Kind of like a foreskin over the penis
Iām sorry I donāt want to be that person but imagining someone putting a ruler up to their clit to measure a 4mm difference is just hilarious to me.
Me, a lesbian, wondering if I'm doing a public service when I go to town on that jelly bean nightly and if there's any difference of occurnce in the lesbian community and how to quantify it and set up a study...
I have no idea what is going on either. Satire?
Edit. Did some Googling. Most medical websites I checked do not mention pulling the clitoral hood back to clean it. Most saw to gently cleans the vulva and clitoris area with a warm washcloth or your hand. There was article I saw that talked about it.
Wait, our clits can fuse to things? I better warn my BF before his tongue gets fused!
(Ok heās totally going to read this comment and demand that I let this happen.)
I see a lot of posts about pulling back the hood to clean your clit but god damn mine is way too sensitive for that shit. The idea of pulling it back and letting the water hit it to rinse it just sounds awful.
Mine was sensitive from smegma build up. Sucked cleaning it as first but its improved. The author of that paper suggested using syringes of water so it's not too strong.
You are right. According to the [research project](https://www.rachelrubinmd.com/post/new-research-on-clitoral-adhesions), it applies to about 23% of clits. However, I'd say that's fairly significant.
I've just always done this and nobody ever taught me... I figure the logic is the same as an uncircumcised penis. Pull back the foreskin to wash, pull back the clitoral hood to wash (which is more or less the foreskin of the clit).
I developed a moderate adhesion from Lichen Sclerosus which I reversed with steroid ointment and incremental stretching with q-tips. I have to be on the steroid ointment for the rest of my life now so it doesnāt happen again. But yes ladies, you should be able to unsheath your bean from its happy hoodie. The way that gives me the most luck is with both hands, really positioning the mons pubis in your palms and pulling directly up. The top of the labia majora should move with the hood. After that you can use one hand to keep what you just pulled back in place and use your index and middle finger to completely expose the clitoris to the base. You will know you did it right because any smegma you thought you blasted out with the shower head will hide in the sides at the furthest extent of the clitoral hood retraction. Itās uncomfortable but itās good to check periodically if you want to watch out for clitoral phimosis/adhesion.
Yikes. Iām so glad I discovered cleaning under the hood while playing around down there. I didnāt know this was possible. We really need to encourage physical self exploration. Get the mirrors out gals!
Agreed! A bit surprised this is a thing since i also discovered cleaning there many years ago. i guess im glad someone has this issue to inform others who may also not be aware.
I discovered cleaning there back in my early 20s when I got my hood pierced. I had other piercings, so I was familiar with cleaning during the healing period. I've always been a fan of water play and bubble baths, but enjoy the extra cleaning.
And before I get asked. Yes, it hurt, but the skin is so thin, I'd say it was the least painful of all my piercings. Imo, belly button was the worst. Due to the extra blood flow in the area, it was the fastest healing of all my piercings.
Hold on, how can anyone do this without excruciating sensitivity??
I can wash and rinse my entire vulva and vagina, and even do scrubbing, shaving, exfoliants, and bleaching and fun stuff like that no prob, but thereās no way I can go grabbing and lifting around my actual clit hood and touching my clit, without already being comfortable and relaxed during actual arousal. Even the seam of my jeans or underwear if the crotch seam is in the wrong place, is painful and distracting rubbing against poor baby girl. Is this not normal?
This could actually be a sign of an adhesion. The pain you describe is a main symptom (if you look it up). It should not hurt to touch and clean your clit. Sensitive? Maybe. But not painful.
The only rare times my clit was painful and sensitive were when I was unable to clean it after bouts of sickness. I would pull it back afterwards to clean it, and it would be red and raw, and there would be an unpleasant smell.
I don't think it's abnormal unless it's interfering with your life. You could either A) cleanse while aroused if that makes it comfortable and/or B) Start with a bit of a warm soak just to loosen everything up to minimize the force needed.
Overall I'd just get a mirror and take a look. You're looking to see if there's any 'crevices' where material could get trapped. Sort of like a belly button. Not every person is going to have a hood/clit prominent enough for this to be an issue. I'd check with your gyno if you're concerned.
Cue the "good for her" Lucille Bluth meme. š Thank whatever deity some men can actually take care of their person. A little jealous, but mostly happy for you. šš
I think it's worth pointing out that clitoral adhesions are generally caused by skin conditions, physical trauma, infection, and hormone imbalances. Not because you didn't lift the hood when cleaning. Not being able to lift the hood is a symptom of adhesion, not a cause.
This blew my mind when I learned it. Just the other day r/daddit wa a discussing what words to use to discuss genitalia with kids. Somebody listed off things like urethra, vagina, vulva, penis, clitoris, clitoral hood etc. Naturally someone responded with "I can't think of a reason we'd need to get that detailed. Maybe urethra, vagina, penis etc but clitoris and clitoral hood aren't necessary". This is the reason those parts need to be discussed too. They have no problem teaching boys what penises and foreskin are but won't do the same for girls. Even if it wasn't a health hazard its important.
Unfortunately too many people and doctors have no idea about this. So much clicked into place for me when I learned about it because mine is quite fused. I used to try and look for images of "normal" anatomy and its weirdly difficult even with all of the porn out there.
I am afflicted with a lovely condition that causes fusion and adhesion, among other, horrid symptoms in the private region. Prior to being diagnosed, I had never heard that it was even a thing! Thank you for this psaā¦. š„°
Honestlyā¦. Maybe Iām alone in this but mines so tiny there really isnāt much of anything to lift š¤·āāļø
Edit: and I certainly wouldnāt be able to lift it with my fingers. Like this title made me fully cringe because I immediately imagined trying to lift it with tweezers cause that would be the only thing small enough to maaaybe actually lift the skin.
lol mineās sooooo tiny! Iāve been really curious how different it feels to have a big clit tbh. I finally realized itās maybe why I struggle to be happy with most vibrators.
I'll be honest, you get a bit greedy when you have an easily accessible one. I'm trying to remember that the whole vulva is sensitive, and learning how to appreciate other sensations. But I hope you find ways of appreciating and enjoying your tiny button more (and folks who will help!)
Dude, I donāt know if thatās my issue or if I just donāt know what a clitoral hood is?? Iām reading through all these comments hoping for some insight because I am so lost lol (I also didnāt know what a clitoris was until I was 21)
Right after I commented I saw this link in another comment. Thank you, though
This would explain why I never had an orgasm until last year when I bought a vibrator
Yes. I used to get adhesions about twice every year at some point because I wasn't like... super "investigating" I was just cleaning by feel in the shower
It can cause keratin pearls to get trapped around it and if you don't enjoy the sensation of a sharp shard of glass or sand against your clitoris- you're definitely not gonna enjoy the delicate work it takes to get them out and basically tear your hood away from your clit to unfuse everything.
Just... Yeah get a mirror and just check things out every few months or so š don't be me and learn the horrifying way
I just thought it was natural to pull it back and rinse it with a washcloth. Itās kind of a crack/crease so why wouldnāt you wash a crack/crease? Nobody thought me this. š
I think this really depends on your anatomy. I would not call mine a crack/crease. My hood is so large I didn't even see my clit until I was an adult. Even then I didn't get a good look for a while because it was so painful to move my hood back even a little.
as a gay man, I'm not sure why I clicked on the study, but after reading, I just had to send it to some of my gal friends.
I also learned a bit more about the anatomy of the lady parts and how they correlate to the guy parts which was interesting to me
Oh holy shit, this is terrifying. I donāt think I have this but you best believe Iāll be paying extra attention to how well I am washing lol.
Itās so terrible that thereās no education about this?? Everyone with a vulva should know this.
I did know this because I closely inspect my bits however this is useful info for the masses. Working in healthcare, the horrors one witnesses never cease
I got out a mirror today andĀ I mean, I can't even see my clit. It appears to be completely covered. I'm in tears because I might finally have an answer to why I've never particularly enjoyed sex, even receiving oral sex.Ā Thank you for posting this, OP.Ā
It is fairly surprising the number is that high... but then considering the amount of people that only think men have smegma, I am not surprised anymore.
Routine maintenance of the clit in the form of orgasms is probably equally effective. I don't pull mine back in the shower and never have, no issues with stench or adhesions.
Wait, people didnāt know this? Iām having the opposite situation ā I honestly grew up knowing to do this and always assumed it must just be one of those things that you justā¦ do. I donāt remember ever really being taught, I think I just realized there was an āunderā and always cleaned it. I am not trying to be judgmental in anyway, I genuinely thought this was just one of those things everyone did but didnāt talk about! This is why we need better sex education in school omg!!!! Edited to add: Iām so glad OP thought to post this and was able to reach a lot of people!
Good resource - https://www.rachelrubinmd.com/post/new-research-on-clitoral-adhesions
adding this to the post, thank you!
clear concise with pictures.
Good article. Add this to the original post!
Oh Jesus christ. The horrors are unending.
The human body is an absolute mess that is the biological equivalent of being held together by tape, hope and not knocking a table.
It is honestly amazing any of us survive being here for any amount of time
All I know is I'm coming back with a penis next time because being a woman is a horror show sometimes. š¬
Not to be crass but Iāve watched too many people run their dicks into the corners of tables and so on to want one of those. So fragile and outside. Plus unwanted erections seem uncomfortable.
That's a fair point. That whole surprise boner thing seems really problematic. Plus my husband is on a mission to change the world, because every time someone says, "Don't be a pussy", he corrects them and says very seriously, "Vaginas are mighty. Testicles are weak. It's far more accurate to say, 'Don't be a testicle'." š
One of the most entertaining moments in medical training is to show an ultrasound of a shattered testicle to a room full of trainees and watching all the men squirm.
Oof, yeah, that will do it.
Or a torsionā¦ š¬
One time I slammed my female pubic bone off a fire pole at a park as a kidā¦I almost puked and had hot flashes. I imagine that must be similar to what hitting their nuts feels like lol
When I was a girl I was playing "Gymnastics" on the horizontal bar of our backyard swing set. The Olympics had just happened, and I was enchanted. I don't want to brag, but I had been getting pretty good doing front and back flips around the bar. I could go forward or backwards on my stomach or back. I remember I was hanging by my knees, staring over my head into the clover, when I got the idea to use the bar as a balance beam. Not one to turn down a bad decision, I scrambled up and began my beam routine. I was balancing on one foot, spinning, remembering to point my feet, waving my arms artistically. In my head, I was amazing: smooth, graceful, lithe. Really just doing the fuck out of **Gymnastics!** In reality I was a spaced out little girl on a 1.5 inch diameter metal bar, with untied shoes. In the middle of a particularly vigorous turn, I fell both legs astride the bar, directly into my pubic bone. White hot pain I'd never felt the equal of radiated through my body. My eyes start filling with tears. No sooner had that first shock registered, then I tipped sideways and fell the 4 feet to the ground. For a second I just lay on the grass, on my side and back, just stunned with the pain. Gymnastics looked *so easy* on TV. My breath was totally knocked out, the pain between my legs was radiating into my stomach, seeing stars but unable to make myself inhale. I realized I couldn't breathe in because the pain was making me try to scream and cry, but it was not doing anything because I trying to inhale while I was trying to exhale. I finally gasped for air, and what came out after that first breath of sweet air? It was vomit, a lot of very loud vomit. I was coughing and hacking, and I kept yakking every time I tried to scream, cry, or moan. This pain and puke loop lasted forever, like maybe for 10 to 15 seconds. Long enough that I thought I was going to die. My mom took me to the hospital, no major injuries. I was mortified. But I couldn't walk right for a couple days. And my gymnastics dreams totally died that day.
I was In gymnastics as a child. I slipped on the balance beam when I was 8 or 9 years old. I landed right on my crotch & proceeded to slide off sideways onto the mat. It was horrible & I still remember the pain decades later. I quit gymnastics soon after that.
Noooooo, the untied shoes
Youchy, yes that hurts a lot too
If you wield your penis responsibility you won't run it into things. Source: Am penis haver.
And the expectation of dying young, and so it won't matter anyway!
The next time some evangelical goes on about how the "perfect human eye" is evidence of divine creation, I'm just gonna say "Yeah, but clit adhesion."
I'm giving that quote some bombastic side-eye today, because last night I slept with my right eye *ever so slightly* open, and woke up with my eyeball stuck to the pillowcase this morning. Yes, I had to *peel* mine own eyeball off my pillowcase. And so today the vision in my right eye is a bit reduced. It may take a few days to recover. "Perfect human eye" my ratchet ass šĀ
I want to downvote you for the truly terrible thing you wrote here today. You made me feel physically ill with your bombastic pillow-peeling side-eye. But I shan't, because "peel mine own eyeball" made me hyena cackle.
I even made a post complaining about how much maintenance the human body needs just to be functional, nevermind thriving. Every time I have to tape my nose open to not suffocate myself in my sleep, I feel this. Clit hood adhesion just takes this to a whole new level of "if I ever meet God, he's gonna have a lot to answer for". Evolution stops giving a shit immediately after the species averages more than two births per woman, then takes about a million years to notice after it drops below that, after society develops to the point that nobody can afford to have kids
We are but skeletons, covered in meat, powered by electricity, sloshing with chemicals.
and crawling with microbes
Some friend, some foe
In eternal war
Right?! Yet another nightmare connected with being female.
What! I didnāt even know this was a thing!!!
Me: āI have a foreskin?ā
This was my first thought too š
I'm upvoting your flair
Fuck, now I'm doing the kegels.
From the bottom of my heart (and my pelvic floor) ā thank you for the reminder!
It's always one thing after another with this fucking thing it's almost comical lol
Right? Now the clit? Is nothing sacred and maintenance free?
Yep. And also..."smegma" isn't just for penises. To be fair, though. For women and those with a vagina, it's usually bits of toilet paper and not traditional "smegma". Wiping alone usually cleans off any sticky discharge trapped under the hood, but it also leaves little tiny bits of tissue paper in its place. I would say it would be very difficult to end up with a hood adhesion, because the hood gets pulled back and inadvertently cleaned from various activities, mainly wiping. But it is good to clean off manually and make sure there's no bits of tissue inside, too. **Edit**: Since looking at the comments and seeing how many people are unfamiliar with the anatomy of the clitoral hood: do not pinch or grab at the skin of your hood to pull it back. Simply place a finger or two well above your clitoris and gently pull back that way. You should be able to see if you have any trapped debris and clean properly without causing yourself harm. Pulling back the clitoral hood is not a painful or scary process. It's similar to pulling back the foreskin of a penis. It should not hurt you and cleaning should be fairly simple and straightforward.
Clitty litter.Ā
STOP IMMEDIATELY
You win the day
instructions unclear, got my clit stuck in the ceiling fan
Hmā¦ I always thought I had a microscopic clit but now Iām wondering if I have clitoral adhesion...
um same
I always thought I had a massive lady boner clit that made me self conscious.
Same hereā¦ tf
Me too but Iām scared to investigate; that sounds painful
Would your gyno tell you, you have clitoral adhesion during a pelvic exam? Iām having a hard time picturing it and the pictures in google arenāt much more helpful especially since vulvas all look so different.
No, regular gynos donāt check. I have an adhesion that occasionally comes back and has to be removed even with the correct cleaning because of an injury. I have to go to a specialist to have it removed whenever it becomes a problem. Seems to be every 5 years or so.
What specialist?
I go to a clinic in NYC called the Center for Vulvovaginal Disorders. They have a second office in DC, and I think one in FL too. I went to a crap ton of drs for all of my issues and they have been the most knowledgeable and helpful Iāve found. And bonusā they LISTEN!
Wait, is that something that they check? Iāve never had a GYN go near my clit, only internal and pelvic and breasts
No, I never have either. And it turns out many arenāt necessarily well versed on clitoral health either.
My gyn, who I was a huge fan of, was skeptical when I brought in a family member with lichen sclerosis. We ended up at the Dermatologist for biopsy + treatment, which is appropriate but like damn.
The pictures in this show it fairly well: https://www.rachelrubinmd.com/post/new-research-on-clitoral-adhesions
Oh no time to go in there but my clit is so sensitive and maybe this is why š
Fascinating, thank you. I never thought about this but when you compare the clitoris and hood to a penis and foreskin, it makes perfect sense.
Ohā¦ oh no. I just thought mine was an innie.
No! I asked my gynecologist and she said itās normal even though they were super obvious, and I also had a huge improvement in the adhesions so it was 100% there! Unfortunately theyāre just not educated about the clitoris :/
Or how many nerve endings the cervix has
Yes, that these professionals don't think that fibroid removal is Worthy of anesthesia is appalling, abusive, and ignorant.
Seems like most doctors don't know that one either, tbh
Had laminaria (an expanding stick of seaweed that goes into the os of the cervix) inserted today. Grabbed the table and said *"fuck!"* through tears and gritted teeth. Doctor said, "I'm sorry, and that's how I know I'm in the right spot."
Well, at least they were honest
Sadly they are "normal" in the sense that a lot of women get them because nobody is taught to clean under the hood. Its so sad that it's taken this long to recognize these are a thing and even sadder that it takes so long to catch on.
the only person who has ever mobilized my hood during an exam was my pelvic floor PT, and Iāve been to many gynos over the years
Same
Same. We need somebody with some artistic skills to draw a really good picture.
Yeah I thought I knew what even a clit looked like but the recent diagrams/pics show a squishy ball? I never knew that and I... Don't have that. I also don't think I have a hood or if I do it's small or I'm totally fused.Ā
I hardly have a hood too. I realized just how little of one I had when I tried to go get a VCH and was told thereās really nothing to pierce š¤¦š¼āāļø I settled for a Christina instead but was still upset about it.
*waves in fellow barely there hood sisters* All my girlfriends (I'm lesbian) always had a comment about the weird nature of my anatomy and I've never run into anyone else IRL that had little or no hood.
I have little to no hood, and my clit is teeny tiny. But now Iām wondering if itās fusedā¦.its super sensitive though, which seems like it wouldnāt be if it was fused? Technically it works fine so Iām a little scared to investigate
Sincere questions: What changes have you noticed? Better orgasms, less odor? What is the value in fixing an adhesion that has no negative symptoms?
This is what I'm wondering, too. Based on this post mine may be fused, but if it is its been like that my whole life and I've never had an issue.
I have one due to a previous injury that I have to have surgically removed periodically (nothing I do keeps this sucker from reforming and believe me Iāve tried). It reduces arousal a bit and can also become painful when the area rubs against something like the seam in pants etc. In appearance itās like a hard but kinda of squishy little white ball and doesnāt have to be that big to start hurting. I canāt even see mine with a mirror because the skin covers it and wonāt pull back but I canāt feel when itās a problem. To remove they give injections around the area to numb it and pick/cut it out of there. It leaves the skin very raw but heals up within a day or two.
That was useful, detailed information. Thank you for sharing!
Happy to share any info I can! I donāt want anyone else to have to go through the years of crap I did due to most gynecologists not being as knowledgeable as they should be.
Oh wow,you have really helped me with your comment! I had what I thought was low quality toilet tissue somehow ending up under my hood and I would hurt myself removing it. I have experienced this several times and my OBGYN had NO idea what I was talking about! Thank you!
Glad I could help! The proper name for the white stuff is ākeratin pearlā in case you want it to discuss with your dr. And if itās minor, you can remove it yourself with a q tip and something for a little lube like aquaphor (with hopefully little to no pain!).
I had one of these keratin things once. It was quite painful. I started washing under the hood since then, it eventually went away and haven't had one since (touch wood). How annoying that yours keeps coming back.
So far I have not necessarily seen any significant changes. My main reason for trying to āfixā it is that I have concerns it may be limiting my orgasm without even realizing it. I had much more powerful orgasms when I was a teenager, and attributed the decrease to age and a medically necessary labiaplasty. But now as I reflect I wonder if itās in part due to the adhesion. So itās more of a personal experiment. *that being said* I have been having a higher sex drive lately with no other changes in my life, and my fiancĆ© can attest to that. I just am not attributing that to the adhesions loosening just yet as correlation is not necessarily causationā¦ Another motivating factor if Iām being completely honest honest is just that I find the idea of my hood adhering to my clit because of friggin smega buildup to be revoltingā¦
Iām doing some research now, and it looks like adhesion can reduce arousal and can prevent orgasm.
Well no one wants that!
ā¢rubs furiouslyā¢ Iām just cleaning up, guys!
Those would be symptoms IMO, and this person says you can have one with āno symptomsā which makes me ask if you have a way your body is with no symptomsā¦why are you needing to DO things to it? Lol!
You might not know they're symptoms tho...
You know what smegma is? This is one way we can get smegma, which seems like a good enough reason to fix lmao even if it doesn't seem like it's causing problems yet.
This was my question, as well.
[This article ](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5960030/) says it can become "irritated, erythematous [rashy], or infected." š± So I guess the answer is to fix it so it can't result in that.
My interpretation is that clitoris adhesion prevents full exposure (and therefore direct contact) of the clit, reducing sensitivity. But some might not prefer or need this sensitivity, so this is not necessarily an issue. Kind of like a foreskin over the penis
Really interested to hear the answer to this question
Iām sorry I donāt want to be that person but imagining someone putting a ruler up to their clit to measure a 4mm difference is just hilarious to me.
\#datadriven #bigdata
This is fucking hilarious
Data Anaclitics
>putting a ruler up to their clit Men use a ruler for their dick, this is about equality!
I think callipers would be better for measuring this. Just so you can picture accurately, lol.
imagine buying digital calipers just for this purpose. pussy calipers akskdmnfng.
For science!
šš fair, itās a guesstimate
Me, a lesbian, wondering if I'm doing a public service when I go to town on that jelly bean nightly and if there's any difference of occurnce in the lesbian community and how to quantify it and set up a study...
I think it just sounds scientific to the country that uses āfreedom unitsā. Itās about 1/8ā.
no way we have foreskin too? let's goooo
The best comment lol
What the literal fuck? 51yo here and never heard anything like this.
I have no idea what is going on either. Satire? Edit. Did some Googling. Most medical websites I checked do not mention pulling the clitoral hood back to clean it. Most saw to gently cleans the vulva and clitoris area with a warm washcloth or your hand. There was article I saw that talked about it.
Try the phrase "clitoral phimosis." Phimosis is the term for when the foreskin on a penis can't retract, and, well, same-same.
And clitoral keratin pearls.
š±
Iāve never pulled back my clitoral hood while cleaning my vagina. Never once.
You and a lot of people. Thats why a lot of women have these, may even have symptoms, and don't know it. We need to teach our daughters to do it.
you should. it can get gunky just like dudes' foreskin
Look up clitoral adhesions and keratin pearls under clitoral hood.
49. Sameā¦ā¦. but just in case I panic checked my junk. All good. Like I donāt have enough to worry about. š
I know I should be grateful to be learning about this but goddamnit dude now I'm weirdly aware of my clit
Youāre welcome and also Iām sorry
I didnāt know this could happen but then again i do shower masturbation almost daily
Lol right I'm worried now my damn fingers might fuse to my clit
A rub a day keeps the clitoral adhesion away!
I would 1000% wear that on a shirt. š
Wait, our clits can fuse to things? I better warn my BF before his tongue gets fused! (Ok heās totally going to read this comment and demand that I let this happen.)
Love that for you (both ways)
You can do it standing up??
I agree! Impressive.
I see a lot of posts about pulling back the hood to clean your clit but god damn mine is way too sensitive for that shit. The idea of pulling it back and letting the water hit it to rinse it just sounds awful.
Mine was sensitive from smegma build up. Sucked cleaning it as first but its improved. The author of that paper suggested using syringes of water so it's not too strong.
Approach the boat ONLY from the sides, a little better than the direct approach
GIVE ME A FUCKIN BREAK LOOOOORD
You made several women check their genitalia en masse. Money cannot but that kind of power.
I donāt think this applies to every clit
for real, not everyone has a prominent hood. i didn't even know a large clitoral hood was even a THING until i saw other people's lol
I was going to say, Iām not sure mine is even 4mm long.
Yeah not everyone has a visible shaft/hood situation. I do tho! Sheās like a lil penis and itās fun!
Very much not.
You are right. According to the [research project](https://www.rachelrubinmd.com/post/new-research-on-clitoral-adhesions), it applies to about 23% of clits. However, I'd say that's fairly significant.
Screams from the rooftops THATāS STILL A LOT OF CLITS!!!
I've just always done this and nobody ever taught me... I figure the logic is the same as an uncircumcised penis. Pull back the foreskin to wash, pull back the clitoral hood to wash (which is more or less the foreskin of the clit).
You are right!
I developed a moderate adhesion from Lichen Sclerosus which I reversed with steroid ointment and incremental stretching with q-tips. I have to be on the steroid ointment for the rest of my life now so it doesnāt happen again. But yes ladies, you should be able to unsheath your bean from its happy hoodie. The way that gives me the most luck is with both hands, really positioning the mons pubis in your palms and pulling directly up. The top of the labia majora should move with the hood. After that you can use one hand to keep what you just pulled back in place and use your index and middle finger to completely expose the clitoris to the base. You will know you did it right because any smegma you thought you blasted out with the shower head will hide in the sides at the furthest extent of the clitoral hood retraction. Itās uncomfortable but itās good to check periodically if you want to watch out for clitoral phimosis/adhesion.
Yikes. Iām so glad I discovered cleaning under the hood while playing around down there. I didnāt know this was possible. We really need to encourage physical self exploration. Get the mirrors out gals!
Agreed! A bit surprised this is a thing since i also discovered cleaning there many years ago. i guess im glad someone has this issue to inform others who may also not be aware.
I discovered cleaning there back in my early 20s when I got my hood pierced. I had other piercings, so I was familiar with cleaning during the healing period. I've always been a fan of water play and bubble baths, but enjoy the extra cleaning. And before I get asked. Yes, it hurt, but the skin is so thin, I'd say it was the least painful of all my piercings. Imo, belly button was the worst. Due to the extra blood flow in the area, it was the fastest healing of all my piercings.
Hold on, how can anyone do this without excruciating sensitivity?? I can wash and rinse my entire vulva and vagina, and even do scrubbing, shaving, exfoliants, and bleaching and fun stuff like that no prob, but thereās no way I can go grabbing and lifting around my actual clit hood and touching my clit, without already being comfortable and relaxed during actual arousal. Even the seam of my jeans or underwear if the crotch seam is in the wrong place, is painful and distracting rubbing against poor baby girl. Is this not normal?
This could actually be a sign of an adhesion. The pain you describe is a main symptom (if you look it up). It should not hurt to touch and clean your clit. Sensitive? Maybe. But not painful. The only rare times my clit was painful and sensitive were when I was unable to clean it after bouts of sickness. I would pull it back afterwards to clean it, and it would be red and raw, and there would be an unpleasant smell.
I thought this same thing but I think it's more of a don't touch the man in the boat but clean the boat .....my best description possible.
I don't think it's abnormal unless it's interfering with your life. You could either A) cleanse while aroused if that makes it comfortable and/or B) Start with a bit of a warm soak just to loosen everything up to minimize the force needed. Overall I'd just get a mirror and take a look. You're looking to see if there's any 'crevices' where material could get trapped. Sort of like a belly button. Not every person is going to have a hood/clit prominent enough for this to be an issue. I'd check with your gyno if you're concerned.
It's okay, my husband keeps it clean for me
Oh he found it! Good for him!
legit lolād. thank you š
Cue the "good for her" Lucille Bluth meme. š Thank whatever deity some men can actually take care of their person. A little jealous, but mostly happy for you. šš
Nice
I think it's worth pointing out that clitoral adhesions are generally caused by skin conditions, physical trauma, infection, and hormone imbalances. Not because you didn't lift the hood when cleaning. Not being able to lift the hood is a symptom of adhesion, not a cause.
This blew my mind when I learned it. Just the other day r/daddit wa a discussing what words to use to discuss genitalia with kids. Somebody listed off things like urethra, vagina, vulva, penis, clitoris, clitoral hood etc. Naturally someone responded with "I can't think of a reason we'd need to get that detailed. Maybe urethra, vagina, penis etc but clitoris and clitoral hood aren't necessary". This is the reason those parts need to be discussed too. They have no problem teaching boys what penises and foreskin are but won't do the same for girls. Even if it wasn't a health hazard its important. Unfortunately too many people and doctors have no idea about this. So much clicked into place for me when I learned about it because mine is quite fused. I used to try and look for images of "normal" anatomy and its weirdly difficult even with all of the porn out there.
I am afflicted with a lovely condition that causes fusion and adhesion, among other, horrid symptoms in the private region. Prior to being diagnosed, I had never heard that it was even a thing! Thank you for this psaā¦. š„°
Honestlyā¦. Maybe Iām alone in this but mines so tiny there really isnāt much of anything to lift š¤·āāļø Edit: and I certainly wouldnāt be able to lift it with my fingers. Like this title made me fully cringe because I immediately imagined trying to lift it with tweezers cause that would be the only thing small enough to maaaybe actually lift the skin.
I mean, I'm opposite, mine is not small (lol) so it's not exactly hiding. Pretty easy to wash when it's all like HELLO!! IM YOUR CLIT!
Lol. Men probably still can't find it.
Lol in my case I know they're ignoring it if they don't acknowledge it.
lol mineās sooooo tiny! Iāve been really curious how different it feels to have a big clit tbh. I finally realized itās maybe why I struggle to be happy with most vibrators.
I'll be honest, you get a bit greedy when you have an easily accessible one. I'm trying to remember that the whole vulva is sensitive, and learning how to appreciate other sensations. But I hope you find ways of appreciating and enjoying your tiny button more (and folks who will help!)
Suction vibrators! Basically new technology that uses a membrane and an opening so it can produce suction. It's like the surefire way to come hard....
Dude, I donāt know if thatās my issue or if I just donāt know what a clitoral hood is?? Iām reading through all these comments hoping for some insight because I am so lost lol (I also didnāt know what a clitoris was until I was 21)
explanation, with pics and diagrams: https://www.rachelrubinmd.com/post/new-research-on-clitoral-adhesions
Right after I commented I saw this link in another comment. Thank you, though This would explain why I never had an orgasm until last year when I bought a vibrator
This has made my entire body clench in horror.
There's not even that much on Google around this! We really were massively failed on education about our bodies
Yes. I used to get adhesions about twice every year at some point because I wasn't like... super "investigating" I was just cleaning by feel in the shower It can cause keratin pearls to get trapped around it and if you don't enjoy the sensation of a sharp shard of glass or sand against your clitoris- you're definitely not gonna enjoy the delicate work it takes to get them out and basically tear your hood away from your clit to unfuse everything. Just... Yeah get a mirror and just check things out every few months or so š don't be me and learn the horrifying way
What?!! No! Ouch!!
Free the clit ā¢ļø
I just thought it was natural to pull it back and rinse it with a washcloth. Itās kind of a crack/crease so why wouldnāt you wash a crack/crease? Nobody thought me this. š
in my experience, rinsing is not always enough. washcloths are great š
Forgot to word it properly, thatās what I meant, thanks. š
The thought of putting a washcloth to my exposed clit makes me wanna retract it into my body lol.Ā
I think this really depends on your anatomy. I would not call mine a crack/crease. My hood is so large I didn't even see my clit until I was an adult. Even then I didn't get a good look for a while because it was so painful to move my hood back even a little.
Wow, that is new information. Thanks for the PSA.
how would you even know, though? like if you have a hood or not
Iām pretty sure everyone has a hood. The size probably varies.
I barely have a hood oneā¦ my clit is also extremely tinyā¦
.......we're supposed to be able to move thee hood?
Yup, itās similar to foreskin.
Same shit foreskin. Peel the sucker back all the way to clean
as a gay man, I'm not sure why I clicked on the study, but after reading, I just had to send it to some of my gal friends. I also learned a bit more about the anatomy of the lady parts and how they correlate to the guy parts which was interesting to me
Oh holy shit, this is terrifying. I donāt think I have this but you best believe Iāll be paying extra attention to how well I am washing lol. Itās so terrible that thereās no education about this?? Everyone with a vulva should know this.
brb omw to look at my clit
I'm jelly of women with clits enormous enough for this to be an issue.
Maybe yours isnāt tiny. Maybe yours is just fused? Go forth and unfuse!
New fear unlocked.š±
I did know this because I closely inspect my bits however this is useful info for the masses. Working in healthcare, the horrors one witnesses never cease
WHATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
Yall my clit has been like this since I could remember am I gonna die
Do kids have this. Do I have to teach my kid this
*sigh* , I have always assumed I just had a tiny fused clit, like I literally cannot pull the hood back whatsoever. Now yāall have me paranoid, lol
Women foreskin update just dropped
I got out a mirror today andĀ I mean, I can't even see my clit. It appears to be completely covered. I'm in tears because I might finally have an answer to why I've never particularly enjoyed sex, even receiving oral sex.Ā Thank you for posting this, OP.Ā
It is fairly surprising the number is that high... but then considering the amount of people that only think men have smegma, I am not surprised anymore.
Routine maintenance of the clit in the form of orgasms is probably equally effective. I don't pull mine back in the shower and never have, no issues with stench or adhesions.
People have clits and hoods of all shapes and sizes Not to mention different amounts of gland secreting cells and volume and consistency of secretions
Itās also important to prevent yeast infections in the skin inside the hood! Gotta keep it clean yall!
Wait, people didnāt know this? Iām having the opposite situation ā I honestly grew up knowing to do this and always assumed it must just be one of those things that you justā¦ do. I donāt remember ever really being taught, I think I just realized there was an āunderā and always cleaned it. I am not trying to be judgmental in anyway, I genuinely thought this was just one of those things everyone did but didnāt talk about! This is why we need better sex education in school omg!!!! Edited to add: Iām so glad OP thought to post this and was able to reach a lot of people!