Cyber Doctor
Your answers to sexual and reproductive health queries

An initiative of CyberSansar & Health Support Systems for Youth Awareness

What is masturbation?

Masturbation is when you touch your genitals and other parts of your body for sexual pleasure and release. A lot of people, both guys and girls, do it. Surveys say that 80 percent of males and 59 percent of females have masturbated by the age of 18. Some do it more than others. Some never do it.

Masturbation is a safe way to enjoy sexual touch. There’s no chance of disease, pregnancy or broken hearts.

And, it’s a good way to relieve the pressure, without jumping into the world of sexual intercourse with another person. In your early teen years, your body changes. Hormones make you feel tension in your penis or vagina. This tension can get really uncomfortable until you find a way to release it.

Masturbation not only helps in releasing tensions, it is also a good way to get used to your body and your sexual feelings without any complications. It can help you learn how your body reacts to sexual touch. When you’re ready to have sex with another person, knowing this can help you tell your partner what you like and what you don’t.
Queries asked by our viewers. We have not mentioned the name of the person to maintain anonymity.

1. For men, does masturbating often affect how fast you reach orgasm? Does masturbation have any effect in the premature ejaculation?

It may or may not. Many men (and women) who masturbate are more familiar with their sexual arousal cycles — with what turns them on and off, and how fast they get excited — which can somewhat help them control how fast they reach orgasm. But remember, people respond differently to different kinds of stimulation, and masturbation is usually somewhat different from sex play with a partner.

2.Is blindness associated with masturbating too much?

Total myth! Masturbation does not cause blindness. Masturbation is a perfectly healthy activity. Although some people may think that masturbation is harmful, it is actually one of the most effective ways to relieve the stress of the body.

The majority of girls and boys masturbate. In fact, women and men masturbate throughout their lives irrespective of their sexual relationships. But because masturbation is so misunderstood, the majority of people who masturbate have unnecessary guilty feelings and shame about it. This shame and guilt can lead to difficulties in a person's sense of self-esteem and in a person's relationships with other people.

While many religious leaders teach that masturbation or any other sexual activity outside of marriage is sinful, it is entirely a matter of personal belief. Their claims that masturbation is physically and emotionally dangerous for young people, however, have no basis in fact.

3. Does masturbation have involvement in the size of the penis?

No. Masturbation has no permanent effect on the size of a penis. If a guy masturbates and gets an erection, his penis will fill with blood, get hard, and grow in size but when the penis becomes soft again, it will return to its regular size. Flaccid (soft) adult penises are usually between 3-1/4 and 4-1/4 inches long. The average length of an erect penis is five to seven inches long.

4. I heard it from somebody that if the females masturbate a lot, their reproducing eggs get wasted and cannot conceive in the future. Is it true?

No, this is a total myth. Masturbation does not cause a woman's ovary to release an egg and it has no affect on her fertility. Eggs are released during ovulation, which usually occurs about 14 days before a woman's period begins although there's a chance that it may occur at any time during her period. Ovulation happens whether a person masturbates once a day, once a month, or not at all. For women, masturbation is one of the most common ways to learn how to have orgasm, and it can be used to ease menstrual cramps.

5. Is it true that if a guy doesn't masturbate enough, he has more chance of a wet dream?

Guys tend to have wet dreams less often if they ejaculate while they're awake, either from masturbation or sex play with a partner. Wet dreams are one of the ways the body gets rid of the semen that builds up. Wet dreams are healthy, naturally and pleasant. There's nothing to be embarrassed about. Most teenagers have them, and a lot of adults have them too.

6. How do I know if I masturbate too much?

Many people worry about whether they masturbate too much. Truth is, there’s no right or wrong here, unless you masturbate so much that it interferes with your life. Some people masturbate once a day, several times a day or only once in a while, when the mood strikes.

Masturbating becomes a problem if it stops you from doing other important things, like working, having friends or going to school. This rarely happens. You also want to avoid masturbating so much or too hard that your genitals get sore or irritated. That would be a signal to give it a rest.

7. Will masturbating a lot make a guy’s sperm less potent?

No. The male body makes new sperm all the time, so masturbating often does not mean he’ll be all out of sperm and unable to start a pregnancy. This means that masturbation is definitely not a form of birth control.

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