female, masturbationMany girls explore masturbatoin at a young age (puberty) and do not necessarily have much guidance or information about it. Can excessive masturbation be bad for them? Or for adult women? What might the negative effects be?
(Inspired by this question…!)
There is no amount of masturbation that will be bad for you physically (barring ridiculous quantities where even shaking hands is damaging). Almost everyone wonders about it at some point, mostly due to stigma, but there is no reason to worry. You wouldn't worry about the amount of rubbing your elbow in the shower either.
That being said, it's import to be hygienic about it: clean your hands and any toys that you use before and afterwards - you would do so if you were putting them in your mouth too. Otherwise, there is nothing to be worried about. It is, by far, the safest form of sex.
One of the more prevalent adverse effects of masturbation is yeast infection. In women that have had a yeast infection before, the reason for recurrence was found to be the use of saliva as a lubricant. Receiving oral sex carries this same risk. If you are prone to yeast infections, use an alternative lubricant to avoid this risk completely.
Keep in mind that masturbation is actually associated with positive side effects. It reduces cramps during menstruation, neural and muscular systems get regular maintenance, and vaginal atrophy after menopause is reduced. Quoting from "Is Masturbation Harmful? -- WebMD":
Some experts suggest that masturbation can actually improve sexual health and relationships. By exploring your own body through masturbation, you can determine what is erotically pleasing to you and can share this with your partner.
As far as I can tell, no negative effect of masturbation in women has ever been demonstrated. While in men the production of semen somewhat requires energy and chemicals from the body (the chinese traditionally believed it is unhealthy for men to ejaculate to often because it would weaken the body), in women this should be less of an issue.
The one significant effect I can think of is that sexual energy is something that builds up. The level of sexual desire and the longing (sexual tension) for it seems to increase over time, where as orgasm seems to release that energy.
The concept of tantric sex for example aims to postpone orgasm to let this energy build up over time. It also mainly seems to apply to men, but I think it works similarly for women albeit maybe a little bit less intense (of course depending on the person, some women having a lot of sexual desire, but on average less than men).
Some couples choose to have regular sex, but seldomly orgasm in order to keep the sexual tension between them in an upward spiral, claiming that after orgasm they feel somewhat more emotionally distant and less in love for a few days. They also report that they become more sensitive - caresses and foreplay create a much more ecstatic state of mind than after a recent orgasm.
Note that all of this mainly focuses on the frequency of orgasm, because the essence of masturbation is that it's a form of sex without a partner, but I couldn't possibly imagine why having sex without a partner would in itself be more harmful than sex with a partner.
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