I'm a 13-year-old girl who uses a vibrator five or six times a day. Could that harm me in any way?

A.H.

While exploring your sexuality is normal, I am concerned about you using a vibrator so often every day. Most 13-year-olds have never even seen a vibrator, so my first question is, how did you get access to it? Also, if you are using a vibrator that often, how do you have time for anything else? I also must wonder whether you are sexually active. If so, there are a host of risks associated with having sex at such a young age (pregnancy, STDs and increased risk of cervical cancer, just to name a few).

Masturbating is certainly normal. Use of a vibrator falls into that category and could be considered normal, too. But using a vibrator every day, five or six times a day, is outside the range of normal adolescent sexual development. There are a few risks with using a vibrator, the main one being infection if it is not cleaned properly, or transmission of an STD if someone else is using it. You should discuss this with a local gynecologist or family doctor. If you have had sex, you definitely need to be seen to rule out an STD and to begin having Pap smears.