The Surprising Science Behind ‘Blue Balls’ (And ‘Blue Vulvas’)

“Blue balls” is slang for that uncomfortable and often painful feeling in a guy’s downstairs region, and it happens to some, not all, guys. But did you know that women can get it too? Blue balls and blue vulvas are very real, and we could all learn a thing or two about them in this video.

Look, somebody’s got to talk about this stuff, so it’s great that Cristen, the charming host of the Stuff Mum Never Told You videos, clues us in on the physiological mechanism behind blue balls and vulvas, or their more sophisticated term, epididymal hypertension. For many of us, we understand that this happens by essentially not “finishing” a sexual need.

What’s actually happening in the body, though, is similar regardless of your anatomy: blood swells up and gets trapped in your genitals, where the longer it stays without circulating to the heart and lungs, the more oxygen is lost and makes the skin appear blue. After a prolonged period of time, it contributes to feelings of heaviness, pressure, achiness and all-around nope.

But there’s an easy solution to what at the time may seem like a life-or-death situation: masturbation. Seriously. Or uncomfortably waiting it out. Cristen also suggests hot or cold compresses to help ease the associated pain, if need be. The important takeaway here is that blue balls and vulvas are not life-threatening, so there’s absolutely no reason to pressure an unwilling partner to do anything they’re not comfortable with, period.

Vaginas Get Blue Balls, Too! [Stuff Mum Never Told You]