32 FACTS ABOUT VAGINAS
- The
vagina is a potential space, meaning that if nothing is holding it open, it
collapses, like a sock without a foot in it.
- Some
companies sell heavy metal balls, such as the Ben Wa Ball, that are used to
tighten vaginal muscles. The ball is simply carried around in the vagina.
- The
word “vagina” is Latin for “sheath” or “scabbard.” The plural of vagina is vaginae orvaginas.
- The
vagina begins at the opening of the vulva (from the Proto-Indo-European *wel- “to turn, to
revolve,” and is related to walzan “to waltz”) and ends at the cervix
(from the Latin cervix, “the neck, nape of
the neck”).a
- While
each woman’s vagina is different, the average length of an unaroused vagina in
a mature woman is between 2.5-3.0 inches wide and 3.5 inches long. The vagina
can expand up to 200% during sexual intercourse and giving birth.
- Inside
the vagina is a series of ridges produced by folds of the vagina called thevaginal rugae. They allow the vagina to extend and
stretch.
- Hair
around the vaginal area grows only for three weeks. However, the hair on a
person’s head can grow for up to seven years.
- The
vagina is self-cleaning and, consequently, physicians discourage douching. The
vagina has colonies of mutually symbiotic flora and microorganisms that protect
against dangerous microbes. Disrupting this balance can cause yeast infections,
abnormal discharge, and more.
- The
vagina is not an open conduit to the abdominal cavity. While tiny, microscopic
sperm can swim through the opening of the cervix, a tampon will never fit. So
it is impossible to lose a tampon, condom, or anything else in a vagina.
- In a
condition called pelvic prolapse, a woman’s vagina can literally fall out and
hang between the legs. Pelvic prolapse, however, can often be fixed.
- Both sharks and vaginas have a substance called
squalene. Squalene exists in shark livers and is also a natural vaginal
lubricant.
- A
27-year-old woman in 2011 was charged with possession of heroin after 54 bags
of the drug were found inside her vagina.
- While
rare, it is possible for a woman to develop an allergy to the proteins in
semen. This condition is known as human seminal plasma protein
hypersensitivity. Most cases only involve itching and swelling after sex, but in
some cases it can be life threatening. Research shows that certain women are
allergic to certain men but not to others.
- While
vaginal discharge can help lubricate the vagina, it is different from the
vaginal lubrication produced during sex. The lube comes from special, pea-sized
ducts called Bartholin’s glands, which are located around the vaginal opening.
- Vaginas—like
breasts, knees, and bottoms—can get saggy. Pregnancy, childbirth, age, hormonal
changes, genetics, and years of gravity can weaken the supports of the female
genital tract, which causes sagging. There are several ways to avoid sagging:
1) Kegel exercises, 2) maintaining a normal weight, 3) avoiding constipation,
and 4) not smoking.
- Vaginal
discharge does not contain any waste products. Instead it contains the
following: fluid that seeps through the walls of the vagina, cervical mucus,
uterine and tubal fluid, secretions from glands in the vulva, oil and sweat
from vulvar glands, old cells from the walls of the vagina, and healthy
bacteria. Vaginal discharge contains mostly salt water, mucus, and cells.
- The
average amount of vaginal discharge a woman of reproductive age secretes over a
period of eight hours weighs 1.55 grams (1 gram=¼ teaspoon). Every woman
makes different amounts of vaginal discharge, though it varies depending on
where a woman is in her cycle. A woman procures the greatest amount of
discharge (1.96 grams) around the time of ovulation.
- While
vulvas typically vary between women, most vaginas look alike.
- One
gynecologist reported that a patient of hers regularly used her vagina as a
purse. The woman would stuff it with a plastic baggie of pills, a wad of bills,
a tube of lipstick, and a pen. The woman later admitted that she had been
sexually abused as an eight-year-old.
- According
to one gynecologist, the most unusual vagina she had ever seen was on a woman
who had come in for labor and delivery. She actually had two vaginas, with two
cervixes. One cervix was eight centimeters dilated. The other was completely
closed. She had had no prenatal care, but her husband had told her for years
that having sex with her was like having sex with two different women.
- One
patient came to a gynecologist complaining that vines were coming out of her
vagina. The doctor examined her and found that vines were indeed coming out.
When the doctor removed the object, she found that it was a potato that had
sprouted vines. The patient told the doctor that her mother told her to put a
potato in her vagina to prevent pregnancy.
- One
patient visited a gynecologist complaining of vaginal itching and feeling like
“something is moving around inside.” The examination revealed that there were
two to three live maggots in her vagina. The gynecologists had no idea how the
worms got into the vagina, but treated her with worming pills, cleaned the
vagina, and told her not to put food products into her vagina. At her two-week
checkup, the woman was free of maggots.
- When
one gynecologist was asked what it was like looking at vaginas all day,
she replied “Really, it’s just a bunch of different haircuts.
- A vaginal “fart,” also called a “queef” or “vart,” is
common. Unlike gas expelled from the rectum, which contains fecal waste and has
an odor, vaginal flatulence is odorless and unrelated to the rectum (unless a
woman has a rare rectovaginal fistula).
- The
vagina has over 1,000 nicknames, including “passion flower,” “pink pearl,” “ya
ya,” “fish taco,” “crotch mackerel,” “cod canal,” “fish factory,” “fuzzy lap
flounder,” “tuna town, “ “penis penitentiary,” “cum pocket,” “yoni,”
“warehouse of warmth,” “warm slurpee,” the “V” thing,” “apple pie,” and
“yum yum.
- Each
vagina has its own smell. The smell depends on a variety of factors, including
the combination of normal bacteria that live in the vagina, diet, types of
fabric a woman wears, level of hygiene, how much a woman sweats, and gland
secretions.
- Bacterial
vaginosis (BV) causes the classic fishy smell in a vagina and is sometimes
associated with discharge, odor, pain, itching and burning. It is the most
common vaginal infection in women of childbearing age. Researchers do not fully
understand how a woman develops BV, but know it is associated with an imbalance
of the bacteria that are normally found in a woman’s vagina. Increased risk
includes having a new sex partner or multiple partners and douching. A woman
cannot get BV from toilet seats, bedding, or swimming pools, and women who have
never had sexual intercourse can also be affected.
- Different
vaginas have different smells at different times of the day. Right out of the
shower, a vagina may not smell. After running or exercise, a vagina might smell
musky from all the sweat glands. A menstruating vagina may smell like iron, and
when a vagina has an overgrowth of yeast, it may smell like bread. After
intercourse, a vagina may smell faintly like bleach, as semen has a smell of
its own. If there is an overgrowth of bacteria, the vagina may smell like fish.
- Gynecologists say that there are natural ways to make a
vagina smell fresher without douching, including 1) eliminate pubic hair; 2)
wipe with baby wipes instead of toilet paper; 3) drink cranberry juice, which
is a natural antibacterial; 4) go panty free or wear cotton panties to keep the
vagina aired out; 5) take probiotics to keep vaginal flora healthy; 6) avoid
panty hose and tight jeans; and 7) eat a healthy, vegetable-based diet. Foods
such as coffee, asparagus, beets, alcohol, broccoli, onions, garlic, and curry
can affect the smell.
- One
patient was so worried that she had lost something in her vagina, she used
pliers to try to find it. She ended up pulling on and tearing her cervix, which
required hours of surgery to repair. Most gynecologists recommend that if a
woman thinks something is in her vagina, to lube up the fingers with K-Y jelly
or olive oil and stick them all the way inside. If she or her partner can’t feel
anything inside, chances are good that there’s nothing there. A woman should
not be embarrassed to call a gynecologist for help.
- The pH
(acid/base balance) of the vagina is around 4, which is the same pH as wine, tomatoes, and beer. Some things that change the pH of
the vagina are vaginal infections, douching, soap, and exposure to semen.
- The
largest vagina in history most likely belonged to Anna Swann (1846-1888). She
was 7 feet and 5 inches tall and weighed 350 pounds. She gave birth to a
23-pound baby with a 19-inch head.