Active sex life is beneficial to your body. Sure, the clitoris delivers incredible pleasure since it has the largest number of nerve endings in your body. But its benefits go far beyond simple pleasure — it keeps your clitoris healthy. Yup, an active sex life helps you maintain a healthy clitoris, and going through dry spells can… well, have other consequences, such as clitoral atrophy.
Clitoral atrophy is a medical condition that occurs when your body stops responding to arousal, making the clitoris gradually shrivel up and disintegrate. The lack of use can lead to changes in hormones and blood circulation, leading to shrinkage. Without an active clitoris, you stop experiencing female orgasms even when you try.
This article explores what happens to your clitoris when you stop having sex before menopause, after menopause, while going off birth control or using contraceptives, and in other situations. As you’ll notice, science totally supports your decision to have sex frequently, with partners or solo!
The Clitoris Gets Smaller
The clitoris is a sponge-like tissue in front of the vagina. Even though most people can only see a tiny nub poking out of the vagina, the clitoris actually has 4” roots that go into the vagina. When you don’t have sex for elongated periods or experience clitoral atrophy, the lack of blood circulation in your clitoris makes it shrink into the vagina.
As such, the clitoris does shrink and become smaller, hiding away within the vagina. However, to some, it may seem like the clitoris has disappeared altogether. Resuming sexual activity encourages blood circulation in your clitoris, making it appear prominently again.
Before Menopause
The vagina maintains much of its elasticity and lubrication because of estrogen, the primary female hormone. The lack of sexual activity leads to a decrease in estrogen levels, leading to a temporary loss of elasticity. However, premenopausal women generally have strong estrogen reserves, so the loss of elasticity shouldn’t last long. Most women regain their elasticity soon.
After Menopause
Post-menopausal women often experience the complete loss of elasticity and sensation in the clitoris if they don’t engage in regular sexual activity. Menopausal makes your body produce minimal or limited estrogen, which is often insufficient for clitoral stimulation and elasticity. Unlike in premenopausal women, menopause may lead to a permanent loss of elasticity and lubrication. As such, it’s especially necessary for post-menopausal women to stimulate their clitoris regularly.
Going off Birth Control
Women who go off hormonal birth control pills often experience several side effects. However, instead of drying up, going off birth control will make your ovaries kick in and enhance your lubrication and libido. As such, going off birth control due to lack of sexual activity can, counterintuitively, increase your sex drive, lubrication, and arousal.
While Using Oral Contraceptives
Using oral contraceptives without engaging in sexual activity might make your clitoris lose elasticity and lubrication. Birth control pills have one major side effects — loss of vaginal fluid secretion, leading to limited lubrication. Women using oral contraceptives without engaging in sexual activity are more likely to have vaginal dryness.
Changes in Arousal
Abstaining from sex doesn’t necessarily affect your sexual arousal or libido. And there’s no clinical evidence to suggest that engaging in or abstaining from sex leads to a lower or higher libido. However, you need to let yourself feel aroused rather than trying to suppress it — the continued lack of use, as mentioned earlier, can lead to vaginal dryness and the loss of elasticity.
No New Hymen
There’s a common myth that women who don’t have sex for elongated periods regain their virginity because the hymen closes up again. But that’s simply not true — the hymen is a tissue that breaks during your first sexual intercourse or while using a tampon. Once it’s broken, it doesn't regrow for the rest of your life. Your clitoris might shrink slightly due to the lack of sexual stimulus, but your hymen certainly won’t grow back.
Changes in Libido
The libido is often defined as your desire to engage in sexual activity. Contrary to popular belief, your libido won’t change, either increasing or decreasing, during long periods of sexual inactivity. You’ll still feel sexual desire, just as much as you did when you were sexually active. However, your relationship to desire and expectations may change due to the long dry spell. The eventual sexual experience after the dry spell may be more exciting, awkward, or induce other feelings.
Uncomfortable Tightness
As mentioned earlier, an elongated period of sexual inactivity can make your clitoris and vagina shrink slightly and lose their elasticity. As such, during the first few sexual encounters after your dry spell, you might feel an uncomfortable tightness or stretch. But the discomfort and tightness will gradually dissipate. However, post-menopausal women may continue experiencing discomfort and tightness due to the loss of elasticity.
How Can You Treat Clit Atrophy?
The best way to treat clit atrophy is through regular use. You can resume sexual activity with your sexual partner/s to regain sensation in your clitoris. However, if your clitoral tip has receded into your vagina, simple sexual intercourse or masturbation with dildos might prove ineffective. Dildos and other phallic objects only engage the clitoral tip, which they can no longer reach due to clit atrophy.
However, clitoral suction vibrators are the ideal sex toys to treat clit atrophy and restore normal sexual feelings. Clit suckers, such as Biird’s Namii, use air pressure to create a suction force on your clitoris and deliver sonic pulses into your clitoris without direct stimulation. They don’t just activate the clitoral tip, but rather the entire clitoral structure. As such, even if your clitoris has shrunken within the vagina, clit suckers can still activate them.
Continue masturbation with clit suckers can treat clit atrophy, restore blood circulation, and restore sexual feeling.
Read more about clitoral atrophy, what causes it and what are the remedies available here.
