Doctors are clapping back at a now-viral TikTok video which claims that if you don’t use your clitoris enough it will simply shrink away and disappear.
Yes, really.
Ovira, a drug-free period pain relief brand, shared the video last month and has now amassed a whopping 94.2k likes and over a million views.
In the video, a woman warns viewers: “Use your clitoris before it disappears – if the clitoris is not regularly stimulated, it can lose its function and this is called clitoral atrophy.
“It occurs when there is inadequate blood flow to the clitoris and this can significantly decrease your sex drive – so make sure to use your clitoris or you can lose it forever.”
Before you rush to send this to your partner or race online to buy the latest sex toy, don’t worry – doctors have debunked the brand’s claims and not all is what it seems.
Responding to the video, gynaecologist Dr Karen Tang replied: “Woah, so this video makes it sound like if you don’t use your clitoris regularly it’s just going to disappear.”
Dr Tang explains that while clitoral atrophy is real, it’s not quite as extreme as what the video makes out.
″There is such a thing as clitoral atrophy, it’s mostly in people who are post menopausal or whose hormones have dropped significantly for whatever reason.
“Your clitoris can become smaller, less sensitive, there could be less blood flow to it and on the flipside, using it and stimulating it regularly can help maintain sensitivity and healthy blood flow.”
Okay, but if it is real – do we need to worry about it?
“Don’t be scared if you’re having a dry spell or if you just don’t particularly feel like using the clitoris, you’re going to do some sort of irreparable harm to your body,” Dr Tang continues.
“Use it if you want to, there are health benefits to it, it makes everyone happier – but don’t feel like if you don’t you’ll lose it forever.”
So, no, your clit is not about to shrivel up and vanish forever if it’s not getting used enough (but excuse us while we send the original video to our sexual partners anyway).