STI Risk Assessment: The Cliff's Notes

Need to check out what your sexually transmitted disease or infection risk might be in a jiffy?

Condom Basics: A User's Manual

Using a condom is generally easier than it looks (especially if you can relax about it), but the first few times, it can be tricky, especially if you're nervous about knowing how to use one.

Safe, Sound & Sexy: A Safer Sex How-To

Because of the way that sexuality works in all of us, the more responsible we are, and the more safe and protected we feel, the easier it is to be really aroused and to enjoy sex: which is the point, right?

What Safer Sex Isn't

Maybe you know what safer sex is. But do you also know what it isn't? Take a minute and fact-check your ideas about what can protect you from STIs and what cannot.

The STI Files: Human Papillomavirus (HPV)

As many as one in ten Americans have HPV, and some studies show that at least one-third of all sexually active young adults have genital HPV infections. It is often stated that more than half of all college-age women wil become infected with HPV during their college career.

Misconception Mayhem: Separating Myths from Facts

Ever wonder if what you've heard is fact or fiction? Have trouble finding the truth in statements? Then put your finger to your mouse and start clicking through some of the most common misconceptions surrounding sex and sexuality education.

Misconception Mayhem: Separating STI Myths from Facts

Is it possible to have more than one STI at a time? When you and your partner both have HIV you don't need to use a condom right? How can you tell someone had an STI? Scarleteen’s taking the time to debunk some of the most common misconceptions surrounding Sexually Transmitted Infections in one handy place.

Positively Informed: An HIV/AIDS Roundup

What do you really know about HIV and AIDS? How sure are you that what you know is correct or complete, and how much do you think it matters that you know about HIV and AIDS at all?

The STI Files: Trichomoniasis

Trichomoniasis is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases, mainly affecting 16-to-35-year old females.

The STI Files: Syphilis

Syphilis has been called "the great imitator" because many of its signs look like other diseases. It is also difficult to know if someone has syphilis because a person might not have any symptoms at all.

The STI Files: Scabies

This disease has bothered humans for thousands of years, but it seems to come and go in unexplainable cycles. Scabies used to be very rare in America, but now it is coming back again.

The STI Files: Molluscum

Molluscum contagiosum -- a bumpy skin infection -- isn't technically an STI, but can be transmitted through sexual contact. The CDC states that molluscum cases in the United States have been on the rise since 1996.

The STI Files: Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)

HIV is a virus that destroys the immune system and thus weakens the body's ability to fight disease and infection, even common infections like flus and colds. HIV usually progresses to AIDS. This makes HIV the most dangerous sexually transmitted infection today. It is the fifth leading cause of death for the young under 40 in the United States. At this time, no one has been cured of HIV or AIDS.

The STI Files: Herpes

About one in five people in the United States over age 12 -- approximately 45 million individuals -- are infected with HSV-II, the virus that causes genital herpes. Around 50 - 80% of the adult population has oral herpes, which most people contracted through casual contact in childhood.

The STI Files: Hepatitis

Hepatitis is is an inflammation of the liver almost always caused by different hepatitis viruses. Hepatitis B is the type most often sexually transmitted. Worldwide, more than 350 million people have Hepatitis B.

The STI Files: Gonorrhea

In the United States, approximately 75% of all reported gonorrhea is found in people age 15 to 29.

The STI Files: Cytomegalovirus

Every year, CMV causes permanent disabilities, hearing loss and mental retardation for as many as 7,000 infants.

The STI Files: Chlamydia

Chlamydia is the most common bacterial infection (STI) in the United States, with about 3 million new cases reported annually. Chlamydia ("cla-mid-ee-ah") is so common in young women that, by age 30, 50% of sexually active women have evidence that they have had chlamydia at some time during their lives.

The STI Files: Bacterial Vaginosis

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common cause of vaginitis symptoms among women of childbearing age (15-45). However, half the women who meet clinical criteria for BV have no symptoms.

Love the Glove: 10 Reasons to Use Condoms You Might Not Have Heard Yet

You've probably heard or thought some things about condom use that might be keeping you or others from using them or from using them consistently, and I'm willing to bet you haven't heard everything I'm about to say. Even if you're already using condoms and using them every single time properly, I bet you know someone -- a sibling, a friend, a sexual partner -- who could stand to hear ten great reasons to use condoms.

Honorably Discharged: A Guide to Vaginal Secretions

Vaginal discharge and secretions are a normal, healthy part of your reproductive system. The vagina -- which is not the whole of your genitals, that's called the vulva, but the flexible tube behind the vaginal opening and inside the body -- is a passageway between the outside of the body and the internal reproductive system. The pH balance of the vagina is acidic, with "good" bacteria, by design, which helps keep infections away. Vaginal secretions are how the vagina cleanses and regulates itself -- how amazing is that? -- in the same sort of way that saliva helps keep your mouth clean and healthy.

The HPV Vaccine FAQ

A vaccine -- Gardasil -- is available to help prevent the spread of some types of HPV. The Centers for Disease Control report that clinical trials in over 11,000 young women have shown the vaccine to be 100% effective for young women in preventing cervical precancers caused by the targeted HPV types, and nearly 100% effective in preventing vulvar and vaginal precancers and genital warts understood to be caused by the targeted HPV types.

HPV & Herpes: Why Safer Sex Isn't Always Safe Enough

There are instances in which condom use alone - or the use of dental dams and gloves -- cannot offer the level of STI protection they can in other instances, with STIs which are transmitted not via fluid exchange, but by skin-to-skin contact: namely two of the most common STIs, HPV and Herpes.

Testing, Testing...

Whether you are with a new partner, or are already in a sexual relationship, getting a full STD/STI screening can give you peace of mind and ensure your physical well-being as well as your partners.

FBI Files: Candidiasis, AKA, Yeast Infections

Itching like nobody's business down south? Have a curdled discharge? Candida Albicans may be the hoodlum to blame.

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