Can tampons break a hymen?
Can tampons break a hymen?
It is a myth that the hymen is a membrane covering the entrance to the vagina that will be ‘broken’ by a tampon or first sex.
The hymen is made up of thin elastic folds of tissue just inside the entrance to the vagina. Hymens come in different shapes and sizes and cover varying amounts of the vaginal opening. A common shape is like a ring or crescent shape around the edges of the vagina, so these days it is often called the vaginal ‘corona’, meaning ‘crown’.
The hymen stretches and the opening usually gets larger as a young person matures.
The opening may be big enough for a tampon to go in easily. If the tampon (or anything else that is put in the vagina) is bigger than the opening, the hymen will stretch. Sometimes when it stretches there may be some small tears. Going slowly and using lubricant may help.
