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Hither's what yous need to know (Moving picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)

If you lot are a woman and haven't had sexual practice for a while, you may be concerned that things have changed.

Not with the human activity itself (don't worry the basics are however the same) but with your torso and, in particular, your hymen.

Online message boards are filled with concerned women who oasis't had sex for several years and are unsure whether their hymen may have grown back.

Worries include if it means they are technically a virgin over again and if information technology is going to injure when they exercise choose to have sexual practice again.

The unproblematic respond is no, your hymen volition not grow dorsum.

To explain why, I spoke to Dr Pandelis Athanasias, consultant gynaecologist at London Women's Centre.

Dr Athanasias said many people believed the hymen completely covered the vaginal archway and breaks during vaginal penetration.

However, he said he would draw information technology as a small tear on a sparse layer of tissue which is usually accompanied by some haemorrhage.

Only why doesn't information technology grow back once more?

'The hymen can't grow back as it's just stretched and torn tissue without the ability to regenerate,' said Dr Athanasias.

'We occasionally have patients calling and requesting appointments in order to clarify whether they are still virgins.

'The hymen stretches and tears non only through penetrative sexual activity but also during exercise or while inserting a tampon or other objects into the vagina.

'Also if a woman relaxes, uses lubrication and digitally stretches the hymen, then it might not tear during intercourse.

Lots of women have shared their concerns on online message boards (Picture: Oscar Wong/Getty)

'And so, you lot can't definitely tell if someone is a virgin if they take a hymen or is not a virgin if they don't have a hymen.'

Dr Athanasias said he occasionally has telephone calls from women looking to accept their hymen restored – peculiarly if sexual abstinence earlier wedlock is of import to their culture.

'In some cultures a woman losing her virginity before marriage can have consequences, hence the requests for repair or restoration of the hymen,' he says.

'This is called hymenoplasty and tin exist performed with different surgical techniques under local or full general anaesthesia.

'I don't perform those procedures and we don't have reliable statistics regarding the number of women undergoing hymen restoration surgery in the UK every year.'

Will sex hurt if I haven't had sex for a while?

One of the other things you may be worried about before you jump back in the saddle (so to speak) is if it going to hurt?

Y'all're not alone.

Dr Athanasias said he spoke to many women who have concerns when they are resuming sex after months or years of abstinence.

If information technology volition hurt or non (and how much it may injure) will vary depending on your age.

What is a hymen?

A hymen is a sparse layer of tissue that partially covers the opening of the vagina – partially not completely.

It's commonly found 1-2 cm inside the vaginal opening.

When a adult female has vaginal penetrative sex activity for the starting time time, the hymen usually stretches and/or tears.

It doesn't but happen with sexual intercourse.

The hymen can stretch or tear during practice or tampon insertion.

'When the woman is still in her reproductive years she might experience some discomfort considering it can take longer for the vagina to swell and become lubricated during sexual arousal and the pelvic muscles aren't used to having sexual practice,' Dr Athanasias says.

'The symptoms commonly resolve soon and a vaginal lubricant is all you lot need.'

After the menopause and due to the lack of estrogen however, the symptoms volition take longer to resolve and will crave treatment.

The vaginal lining becomes thinner, drier and subsequently sore because of a condition called vaginal cloudburst.

Sexual intercourse tin exist painful and accompanied by vaginal bleeding.

And, while the average age of reaching the menopause is 51 years onetime, many women go through the modify prematurely.

(Picture: JohnnyGreig/Getty)

These women could exist aged in their 30s or 40s and go through menopause either naturally or after surgical removal of the ovaries or possibly after chemotherapy to treat cancer.

'Almost all women in this age group will be sexually active,' said Dr Athanasias (it's really thought to be 87% of 31-45-year-olds).

'Equally the vaginal tissue becomes dry out and thin, sex activity can get very uncomfortable and many women fifty-fifty describe it as impossible.'

Your sexual practice life doesn't take to be over – hurrah!

There are treatments available which mean you and your partner can continue to enjoy a healthy sex life even afterwards menopause.

Dr Athanasias explained that vaginal lubricants and moisturisers can aid merely it is the local estrogen, which is available in vaginal foam or tablets, that aims to treat the underlying crusade and non only the symptoms.

'The treatment of vaginal atrophy can be challenging when topical estrogen fails to make a difference or is contraindicated (cannot be used in sure cases),' he says.

'In the past at that place were not any available treatment options and unfortunately those women had to avert sex and larn to alive with their condition.'

Fortunately, in recent years there take been developments to aid make it more comfortable for women to have sex after the menopause.

At Dr Athanasias's clinic, he uses the CO2 vaginal light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation therapy which, he says, has shown outstanding results in treating women with vaginal atrophy and helping menopausal women to resume sexual intercourse.

Information technology has meant that women have been able to continue their sexual practice life into quondam age.

He added: 'Many of my patients are in their 70s and 80s and the satisfaction rate after the treatment is almost ninety%.

'I used to be skeptical regarding vaginal laser treatments but after traveling to the United States and Italy (pioneers in light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation handling) and talking to patients and clinicians I was convinced to innovate the treatment in our clinic.

'I'chiliad extremely pleased with the results and the large number of women we are able to assistance.'

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