My vagina is swollen on one side

By Aunty Julie Aunty Julie, I’m ashamed of telling you this because it is very embarrassing but I have masturbated for a few years now and I’m now 26. My vagina used to be completely normal looking but over the years the inside of my vagina, when I open the lips, is really swollen on one side. I am trying to stop masturbating and have now gone a month without doing it but the swelling stays there permanently and I also have discharge all the time but it is more like cum sort of consistency. I just want to be normal and I’m still a virgin but when I do want to have sex I can’t because I’m so embarrassed! What do I do? Adiele, Enugu Dear Adiele, Don’t be ashamed because a lot of people masturbate. So you don’t need to feel embarrassed. Masturbating is not likely to have caused the swelling on one side of your vagina. It is hard to say without a doctor or nurse examining you but sometimes glands around the vagina get blocked and this can cause swelling called cysts. These can be very painful. You are still a virgin so we know you don’t have a sexually transmitted infection. I know it can feel embarrassing to go to a doctor about vaginal problems or to be examined down there. Would it help if you saw a female doctor or took a friend (or a sister or your mother) with you for moral support? You haven’t done anything wrong. These glands create the fluid that moistens this area of our body and sometimes they get blocked causing a swelling on one side. The doctor may need to give you treatment, such as antibiotics if it’s infected or to do small surgery to help drain the swelling. The sooner this is checked, the sooner the swelling can be treated and fixed so when you do want to have sex, everything will be normal again. What is great is that you have realised there is this problem happening and have asked some good questions about it.