# Menstruation and orgasm **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 25, 2009, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menstruation-and-orgasm/518851 "2009-11-25T00:38:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ryzhaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Ryzhaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryzhaya)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menstruation-and-orgasm/518851/1 "2009-11-25T00:38:07Z")
It seems to be widely agreed upon among females that having an orgasm during menstruation will 1) help with cramps; and 2) make the menstrual flow heavier. My question, then, is: if having an orgasm makes one’s flow heavier, does that mean it will make one’s period done sooner? In other words, is there a certain amount of material that must be sloughed off which orgasm speeds along, or does orgasm just increase the total amount that one bleeds? Sorry if this is sort of icky - - but I think it would be of great interest to a lot of other women out there! ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menstruation-and-orgasm/518851/2 "2009-11-25T00:54:02Z")
I never found that it increased or decreased the total amount of bleeding. ---
**Author:** ![MitzeKatze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ad7895/32.png) [@MitzeKatze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MitzeKatze)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menstruation-and-orgasm/518851/3 "2009-11-25T01:05:22Z")
> [@ratatoskK](#): > > I never found that it increased or decreased the total amount of bleeding. Ditto. I don’t think it affects the total amount. But what could be responsible for the thoughts in the OP is that it might seem heavier immediately following the orgasm, which makes sense if you think about what is happening. The muscle contractions associated with an orgasm can push out some of the fluid more rapidly than just waiting for it to drip out (okay- that’s gross, I know but you know what I mean). So right after having such an experience, the menstruating woman notices a heavier flow and thus a myth is born (orgasms make your period heavier). There is a certain (limited) amount of sloughing and material to be expelled during the menstrual cycle, so in theory at least pushing some of it out faster (through orgasms) could seemingly shorten the period, but in practice I have never noticed this to be the case. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menstruation-and-orgasm/518851/4 "2009-11-25T01:09:14Z")
Yes, there is a certain amount of tissue that must be sloughed off every month, but if having an orgasm does increase the flow (and I don’t know that is does) then it can’t be by a great enough measure to make much difference. I don’t have particularly heavy periods, but they last about five days. A couple of minutes (at best) of somewhat increased flow isn’t going to change that in any significant way. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menstruation-and-orgasm/518851/5 "2009-11-25T01:55:27Z")
IANA dude who knows about icky things, but doesn’t arousal and orgasm increase blood flow to tissues down there regardless of menstruation? If there’s more blood to be lost than more will be lost without necessarily healing quicker. ---
**Author:** ![Sebastienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Sebastienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sebastienne)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menstruation-and-orgasm/518851/6 "2009-11-25T03:50:03Z")
> [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](#): > > IANA dude who knows about icky things, but doesn’t arousal and orgasm increase blood flow to tissues down there regardless of menstruation? If there’s more blood to be lost than more will be lost without necessarily healing quicker. Menstruation is not a wound. The “blood” is actually uterine lining that’s grown specifically to provide nourishment for a fertilized egg, that is then expelled if no egg implants. It’s not actual “bleeding” in the sense of ordinary blood flowing from a cut that needs to heal over. ---
**Author:** ![sweeteviljesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menstruation-and-orgasm/518851/7 "2009-11-25T05:41:56Z")
It sure tastes like blood. Rob ---
**Author:** ![Sebastienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Sebastienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sebastienne)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menstruation-and-orgasm/518851/8 "2009-11-25T06:08:45Z")
> [@sweeteviljesus](#): > > It sure tastes like blood. > > Rob The lining that is shed is rich in blood vessels, yes, but there’s a heck of a lot more to the endometrium than just blood. Point is, aside from whatever very minor vessel breakage occurs when the lining detatches, there’s nothing to heal from during menstruation, and increased blood flow to the genital area would be unlikely to increase the amount of menstrual fluid expelled. Anecdotally, in my extensive kinky dyke experience, menstrual flow tastes very different from blood-from-a-cut. I’ve had at least one man concur on this. ---
**Author:** ![chromaticity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@chromaticity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chromaticity)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menstruation-and-orgasm/518851/9 "2009-11-25T15:31:01Z")
> [@Sebastienne](#): > > Anecdotally, in my extensive kinky dyke experience, menstrual flow tastes very different from blood-from-a-cut. I’ve had at least one man concur on this. Yes! I know, because I was pretending to be a vampire at the time (I was an idiot and thought it was funny). It has a more metallic taste, and is frankly quite nasty. I never tried to be the vampire again.. But on the flip side, menstruation does seem to make women more excitable than usual. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menstruation-and-orgasm/518851/10 "2009-11-25T15:55:12Z")
Thinking of the smell/taste of menstrual blood, a friend of mine was recently planning a scuba diving trip, and posted the following link on her blog: [Will I Get Eaten By a Shark?](http://travelblog.viator.com/will-i-get-eaten-by-a-shark/) Sharks are apparently uninterested in a woman’s menstrual blood, because it isn’t really “blood” at all. It’s a mixture of fluids that, although it includes some blood, is chemically quite different from what we’ve all got running through our veins. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menstruation-and-orgasm/518851/11 "2009-11-25T20:12:00Z")
Aaaaand, Stephanie Meyer is vindicated. ---
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menstruation-and-orgasm/518851/12 "2009-11-25T21:09:13Z")
> [@sweeteviljesus](#): > > It sure tastes like blood. > > Rob How do you know what blood tastes like? ---
**Author:** ![MitzeKatze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ad7895/32.png) [@MitzeKatze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MitzeKatze)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menstruation-and-orgasm/518851/13 "2009-11-25T21:20:28Z")
> [@chromaticity](#): > > But on the flip side, menstruation does seem to make women more excitable than usual. I’ve found this to be true, but I am pretty sure it has more to do with hormones than the bleeding. In fact, at the risk of TMI, the “excitable” aspect of menstruation seems to peak immediately before any “flow” begins. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menstruation-and-orgasm/518851/14 "2009-11-25T21:22:14Z")
Presumably, by tasting it. Do you mean you’ve never sucked on your finger after cutting it accidentally, or bit your tongue? ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menstruation-and-orgasm/518851/15 "2009-11-25T21:49:23Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > Aaaaand, Stephanie Meyer is vindicated. Not quite. I have yet to see any evidence that sharks can SPARKLE! ---
**Author:** ![kimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f0a364/32.png) [@kimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kimera)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2009, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menstruation-and-orgasm/518851/16 "2009-11-26T23:25:09Z")
Orgasm opens the cervix which facilitates the ease of passage of materials. If you have several orgasms, more material can pass through in a shorter amount of time, and you will have less pain as much of the cramping comes from the passage of the material through the cervix. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2009, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menstruation-and-orgasm/518851/17 "2009-11-26T23:55:54Z")
> [@ratatoskK](#): > > I never found that it increased or decreased the total amount of bleeding. However the percieved volume may be increased by a partners contribution to the event.