Women often derive sexual pleasure by rubbing their fingers on their vulva or vagina. The act, is, “fingering”. Though simple, it can sometimes lead to damage to your genitals. So, does this pleasure come at a cost?
Are you observing brown discharge after fingered?
First off, don’t get scared or ashamed. Fingering is mostly safe but it may lead to minor tears. The more important thing here is, infection!. Also, notice if the blood is fresh or aged? While fresh scratches or tears are likely to form red discharge, if there’s chronic bleeding eg: in STIs or irregular bleeding, the aged blood can cause a brown discharge.
Let’s dig deep to know about the causes in details.
Table of Content
What Is Fingering?
Fingering basically implies using your fingers or hands to sexually stimulate the vulva, especially the clitoris. The vulva or the openings in your vagina has a collection of nerve endings especially in the clitoris, which can stimulate pleasure when rubbed or massaged with fingers.

Other than the vulva, anal fingering can also stimulate orgasm among women. The act of fingering is usually considered safe for most users. However, rough handling can lead to tears in your vulva leading to brown discharge after fingered.
Brown Discharge After Fingered
Commonly, most discharges caused by an act of fingering are likely caused by acute conditions and bear a reddish color of fresh blood. Suppose you see a brown discharge from your vagina. What could this mean?
A few causes include:
- Old Blood: Sometimes, blood from any scratch or tear in your vagina could remain there and later be discharged. The old blood may have a brownish color to it.
- Chronic Bleeding: Chronic bleeding states eg: spotting between periods, iron deficiency anemia can also cause brownish discharge from the vagina for outflow of old blood.
Basically, red and brownish discharges come from the same set of clinical conditions. Depending on the period before discharge, you may experience brown or discharge after fingering.
What Causes Discharge After Fingered?
A few probable conditions that can lead to abnormal discharge from your vagina after fingering includes:
Tear in Vagina
Rough or improper handling of the vagina can easily cause a tear. Long fingernails are also a probable cause for tear. You are likely to get a fresh, red discharge in such cases.
Tear of Hymen
The hymen is a very thin covering of the vagina. It is only 1-2 cm thick. In the case of women who had no prior sexual experience i.e virgin women, masturbation can cause tears of hymen which can lead to bleeding.

Irregular Menstrual Cycle
In some cases, the discharge may not be related to your action of fingering. In some people, spotting or bleeding between menstrual cycles is actually quite common and also, hormonal imbalance in certain cases can lead to abnormal discharge after fingering.
Infection
The vagina is a very common site for infection. In cases where there’s inflammation of your vagina eg: in cervicitis, your vagina remains very fragile and can easily lead to bleeding even after normal sexual activity or masturbation.
A typical infective condition will also show symptoms as cervical pain, vaginal burning.
Lack of Lubrication
Dry skin is more likely to bleed. So it’s better to ensure lubrication of your vagina before engaging in any sexual activity.
Cervical Tumors
There might be some ingrowths in your vagina without your knowledge. If you or your partner rubs against them, the resulting irritation can cause bleeding from those growths.

Treatment
For a proper treatment of brownish discharge after fingering, it’s essential to find the cause behind such discharge. If, your discharge is just a simple scratch or tear, allow a period for healing before fingering again.
With vulnerable organs such as female genitals, there is always an underlying risk of contracting infections. If your abnormal discharge goes on for a prolonged period of time and you also experience symptoms as painful cramps, discomfort, or itching in the days following, Be Aware! It might not be something as simple as a tear or a scratch.
In such cases, consult with your doctor and get all the necessary tests for STI and get the required treatment accordingly.
Remedy and Prevention
Brownish Discharge After Fingered! Might seem quite an alarming situation to many. But, as you may have already realized a few very simple methods can very easily prevent such conditions. Those include:
Maintenance of Hygiene
Keep your and your partner’s nails short and clean to prevent any wear and tear of your vagina. It’s also essential to maintain all forms of basic hygiene practices to prevent the spread of any infections.
Ensure Proper Lubrication
Lubricating the vagina is essential as in most cases, the dryness of the vaginal skin causes more friction formation between the nails and the vaginal skin.
It is important to know here that, some degree of foreplay before fingering actually helps women to produce natural lubrication. In cases of masturbation fingering, use water-based lubrication to keep friction formation to a minimum.
Avoid Rough Play
It’s important for women to know when and where to stop fingering to prevent any damage formation in their vagina. Stop inoculating foreign particles into your vagina for pleasure if it gets too itchy or uncomfortable.
Also, make sure to stop your partner if the fingering gets too rough and uncomfortable.
Precaution for Virgins
Women who have not experienced sexual intercourse, have an added risk of rupturing their hymen while masturbating or fingering. So, such women should exercise precaution by appropriate lubrication and hygiene practices to prevent any internal injury from happening.
FAQ
Can bleeding after fingering indicate pregnancy?
Answer: Bleeding after fingering is mainly caused due to a tear in your vagina and it most certainly is not related to pregnancy as that would require the entrance of sperm into your vagina and subsequent fusion with the ovum.
When should I consult a doctor after experiencing discharge after fingered?
Answer: It’s best to consult a doctor and get checked for STI if your vaginal discharge continues for more than a few days and is associated with some added symptoms as:
- Extreme pain
- Fever
- Hematuria
- Urinary incontinence
What’s the difference between red and brown discharge?
Answer: While the cause in most cases is similar, a brownish discharge can actually mean that the bleeding is not recent and it might be a few hours or days old. In infectious conditions or in menstrual irregularities, chronic bleeding is a common manifestation and so don’t ignore the signs and visit your doctor immediately.
Can I get pregnant from fingering?
Answer: Though it might seem absurd, you can get pregnant from fingering in very special, rare cases. To get pregnant, there must be the entrance of sperm in your vagina. If you masturbate after handling your partner’s penis eg: giving a handjob, the ejaculate containing sperm might enter your vagina and ultimately contact your ovum.
Final Words
Brown discharge after fingered! Might seem, and in most cases is, a very simple condition that self-limits quite easily. Even so, BEWARE! Not all things may be as simple. Consult your doctor and get checked for STI or even pregnancy. Reach out to people, you might not be as alone as you might think.
While maintaining hygiene practices and self-discipline can prevent any and every complication from ever occurring, there remains a chance for the unconscious to pay its price.