According to one of those articles, which came from the European Journal of Pediatrics, hymenal abnormalities are found in 1-2% of females. The imperforate hymen is actually the most common abnormality. While it didn't specify the least common, the infamous septate hymen occurs in .7% of females. 0.7%!!!!!!!!!!
This number is small. Think about it this way, for every 100 baby girls born, less than one of them will have a septate hymen. So you're probably thinking that 1) I have the worst luck ever or 2) that what I went through will only be experienced among a handful of girls. Statistically, I'm here to prove the latter wrong.
According to Worldometers, there are 7,162,119,434 people in the world today. This number, however, is constantly changing as people are being born and are dying as I write this. Buuut for all intents and purposes, that is the number we are going to use here. 49.6% of the world population is female which means that there are 3,552,411,239* females in the world today.
Feel small yet?
If there are 3,552,411,239 females and .7% of those females have (or had) a septate hymen, that equals 248,668,799** females born with septate hymens...!!! That's roughly 250 million girls!
250 million girls that exist in the world today were born with septate hymens. That number blows my mind. I think back to when I discovered mine and recall how lonely I felt. 250 million might seem like a lot, but chances are, those girls aren't neighbors or friends. We are spread out across the world, often left to face the reality of our unusual reproductive system on our own.
To all of my septate sisters out there, I've said it before and I'll say it again; you are not alone! There are literally millions of girls who are just like you (and me)! Stay strong! :)
 |
| How about them odds?! |
*Actual number 3,552,411,239.26 but I rounded down.
**Actual number 248668799.6748 but I rounded up.
RESOURCES:
- www.worldometers.info/world-population/
- Watrowski, R., Jager, C., Gerber, M., & Klein, C. (2014). Hymenal Anomalies in Twins - Review of the Literature and Case Report. European Journal of Pediatrics. 173(11), 1407-1412. doi:10.1007/s00431-013-2123-3
I feel you!!
ReplyDeleteI just found out and now I'm worried, because somebody wrote once that it's possible (if you have septate hymens) to have also two vaginas
ReplyDeletei heard about that too but it doesn't really effect anything. You'll probably end up just favoring a side with the whole tampons thing but also intercourse.
Deletei heard about that too but it doesn't really effect anything. You'll probably end up just favoring a side with the whole tampons thing but also intercourse.
DeleteI found out I had a septate hymen when I was about 12 years old. I'm currently looking to have a hymenectomy (I hope I spelled that right) soon, and I'm so excited!
ReplyDeleteI had surgery to remove my septate hymen when I was 15. While I'm sad not to be in the 0.7% anymore, personally I felt it was necessary. I had so many issues with tampons not coming out and I could not imagine having sex little loan giving birth, with a septate hymen in the way.
ReplyDeleteI discovered my septate hymen when I finally got the courage to try tampons when I was 19. I was a virgin so I had no way of knowing! I had a hymenctomy under anesthesia and it was a really nice nap! It's been 10 years and I often forget it ever happened.
ReplyDeleteIm 14 years old and just descovered I have one! I was trying tampons for a couple weeks and couldnt figure out where to put it, i asked my mom to have a look and she took me to the docs. Soon ill be having surgery to get it removed! Im realy scared and knowing you had one and are now okay with it, makes me feel a little better! Thx :D
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ReplyDelete(reposting, found some typos i made lol!)
ReplyDeleteI discovered my septate hymen at age 12, right when I began wearing tampons. What a weird thing to talk to your mom about.....I had a simple procedure done (just was numbed locally and was awake, nothing major) at age 16. However, i am in need of some guidance. I have not been able to have sex without excruciating pain and lots of bleeding. There is actually a small amount of residual scar tissue septate skin still left down there. But do you think there’s another reason why things are so snug?! It’s just such a small opening and it definitely doesn’t feel normal. I don’t know what to do, any thoughts would be greatly appreciated :(
I suggest go and see a gynaecologist about it
DeleteI suggest go and see a gynaecologist about it
Deletei’m kind of worried about mine. everyone’s saying how they got surgery but can’t it just be torn while putting a tampon in? i’m 14 and i’ve put a tampon in successfully before, but had trouble removing it. that’s why i usually only wear pads... anyways do i HAVE to have surgery ?!! i really don’t want to:/
ReplyDeleteHey! I know this is a bit late so who knows if youve made your mind up on surgery or not, but i wanted to encourage you. I found out at 19 when I tried multiple times to have sex and was unable to. Id already failed repeatedly to put in tampons but assumed it would be easier if i had sex. Trust, the surgery was life changing once I was older and decided to becme sexually active. Youre only 14/15 so you have awhile before you need to worry about sex, but when youre a bit older, I would recommend the surgery if youre struggling with it. The surgery was so quick. They put me asleep for about 20 minutes and I woke up with a normal vaginal opening. I had about a week or two of healing. It did not hurt at all, just had some funky discharge for a week which I dealt with by wearing a pad. I was told that they took the hymen off with a simple snip and only put me out for comfort sake. I didnt even need painkillers after but they were offered to me. Honestly the healing process was so simple I barely remember it. Its not as scary as it sounds, so if you decide you need it later on I would highly recommend it over struggling to break it yourself (i tried that route first: it just hurt and upset me). Hope youre doing well! X
DeleteTo add; i have heard of some people breaking it themselves but if you cant, dont get discouraged and start hating your body like i did! We're all built different and some of us are unique af! :) sex isnt supposed to be extremely painful every time and neither is using tampons. So if this is an issue for you its probably time for the surgery. But dont be afraid. It's really really really not as big and scary as it sounds! Either way I hope you can do whats best for you! X
DeleteI discovered mine at age 12 after I inserted a tampon and could not get it out later. It was hung up on the skin. I told my mom and I cried because I didn’t understand my body. I never wore a tampon again and I did not want to go to the doctor. Once I was older and married I had to discuss things with my husband so he wouldn’t hurt me during sex. We learned how to function and work around the hymen issue. When I had my first child, was when we dealt with it. I made my gynecologist aware of it and at the delivery of my first baby he simply cut it with scissors and now I have no more issues! It was really that simple!
ReplyDelete