# Vaginal Lubrication? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [August 13, 2012, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vaginal-lubrication/631385 "2012-08-13T15:54:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![wwwquestion1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@wwwquestion1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wwwquestion1)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vaginal-lubrication/631385/1 "2012-08-13T15:54:33Z")
I was reading Mojave66’s staff Report (How do men get sexually transmitted diseases?) and I encountered a statement that didn’t make any sense to me. “Female arousal includes a lubrication phase that squeezes water out of vaginal cells through vasodilation. The lubricant that forms is mostly water with a mix of squamous vaginal cells, cervical mucus and **small amounts of blood.** ” I do not understand where she got the information that tells her that there is blood, even just a little, in normal vaginal lubrication. I am not a GYN doctor (or any doctor, for that matter) but that just sounded weird to me. Does Mojave66 mean that there is blood on occasion (like when the vagina is torn due to trauma) or during all times when vaginal lubrication is produced. Everything I’ve encountered says that any unexplained vaginal bleeding is a cause for concern. I have just developed an interest in the female reproductive system, and I would appreciate it if someone could answer this for me. I looked through Mojave66’s sources and couldn’t find anything that supported her statement. Wikipedia even lists vaginal lubricant as made up of “water, pyridine, squalene, urea, acetic acid, lactic acid, complex alcohols and glycols, ketones, and aldehydes.” It conatina no mention of blood. Thank you to anyone who answers this question. I know it might be a strange one. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vaginal-lubrication/631385/2 "2012-08-13T16:18:50Z")
just so it doesn’t slip away. column is > **[How do men get sexually transmitted diseases?](https://www.straightdope.com/21343378/how-do-men-get-sexually-transmitted-diseases)** > > A STAFF REPORT FROM THE STRAIGHT DOPE SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD ---
**Author:** ![wwwquestion1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@wwwquestion1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wwwquestion1)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vaginal-lubrication/631385/3 "2012-08-13T16:25:03Z")
Thanks for posting the link, I was going to put it in there somewhere, but I couldn’t figure out how to edit my post. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vaginal-lubrication/631385/4 "2012-08-13T16:34:17Z")
> [@wwwquestion1](#): > > Thanks for posting the link, I was going to put it in there somewhere, but I couldn’t figure out how to edit my post. There’s a 5 minute limit on how long you can edit your post, to prevent people from dishonestly editing their posts (which I’ve seen on other boards, so I approve of this). EDIT: And you do it by clicking the Edit button next to the Quote button on the lower right of your post. ---
**Author:** ![Powers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Powers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Powers)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vaginal-lubrication/631385/5 "2012-08-14T00:52:59Z")
> [@wwwquestion1](#): > > I have just developed an interest in the female reproductive system, You make it sound like you just hit puberty. =) Powers &8^] ---
**Author:** ![gamerunknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6bbea6/32.png) [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vaginal-lubrication/631385/6 "2012-08-14T10:57:37Z")
> [@Der Trihs](#): > > which I’ve seen on other boards, so I approve of this On other boards I’ve been on, it’s far more often used for corrections and addendums. The one time I’ve seen it used maliciously was when a poster became frustrated or embarrassed with the way a topic went and deleted all their posts (the post number was still there, the posts were all just “nt”) and was immediately banned. If the board could allow posters to check all versions of a post and harshly punish deceptive editing, I don’t think there’d be a big problem. Back on topic… I can think of two possibilities. One would be [menstrual blood](http://suite101.com/article/causes-of-bloody-vaginal-discharge-a313915), the other would be cell shedding (referred to in “The ins and outs of vaginal lubrication”, _Sexual and Relationship Therapy_ Levin R. J., 2003). ---
**Author:** ![wwwquestion1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@wwwquestion1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wwwquestion1)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vaginal-lubrication/631385/7 "2012-08-14T13:12:51Z")
> [@](#): > > Back on topic… I can think of two possibilities. One would be [menstrual blood](http://suite101.com/article/causes-of-bloody-vaginal-discharge-a313915), the other would be cell shedding (referred to in “The ins and outs of vaginal lubrication”, _Sexual and Relationship Therapy_ Levin R. J., 2003). But cell shedding wouldn’t be blood right? Just dead cells. I mean, some cells are blood cells, but not all of them. Exfoliating doesn’t cause bleeding (unless you do it too hard), so the same goes for the vagina right? ---
**Author:** ![Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hershele_Ostropoler)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vaginal-lubrication/631385/8 "2012-08-14T13:55:12Z")
Mary Roach mentioned blood plasma as a component in _Bonk_ ---
**Author:** ![wwwquestion1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@wwwquestion1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wwwquestion1)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vaginal-lubrication/631385/9 "2012-08-14T15:57:51Z")
> [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](#): > > Mary Roach mentioned blood plasma as a component in _Bonk_ Maybe that’s what they were referring to. It’s still not blood. Blood is made of blood cells, platelets, and plasma. So it’s a component rather than blood itself. But I think that’s what Mojave66 meant. Maybe they just couldn’t describe it correctly. Thanks for the info.