T O P I C R E V I E W
soccer06
Member # 92108
posted 08-20-2012 03:47 PM
Really quick question: Can the sweat on your hands make a good environment for sperm to stay alive? I got a little semen on my hands (i think...) probably combined with spit and my hands were pretty sweaty. I wiped them onto my shorts, but my sweat was still there...could there still have been live sperm on my hands? I didn't touch my bare vagina, just the outside of my shorts, but I was just totally wondering!
Heather
Member # 3
posted 08-20-2012 04:02 PM
First things first, just a reminder that when people wash their hands with the frequency advised for basic, general hygiene, anything like this is a non-issue. Handwashing is important for your overall health, and is pretty much a no-brainer. But here's the thing: stay alive for what? If you mean stay viable for a pregnancy, you already know that wasn't an issue here since without a vagina involved, there's not ever going to be a pregnancy.
soccer06
Member # 92108
posted 08-21-2012 08:06 PM
That's true. I guess I was just more worried that maybe he touched something, wiped it off (but his hands might have been a little sweaty) and a little later fingered me. I always wash my hands and we just didn't think about it a couple nights ago. I guess I might just be overthinking things.
Heather
Member # 3
posted 08-21-2012 08:08 PM
Sounds like. Well, if nothing else, your title put a very amusing image of sperm jogging with little sweatbands on their heads in my mind, and that was fun for me.
Heather
Member # 3
posted 08-21-2012 08:14 PM
Oh, but one more thing? Hopefully, before anyone is putting their hands on or inside your vagina, they are washing them. That's about avoiding infections more than anything else, but BV and UTIs can really suck, so who wants one? And if you don't think a partner is engaging in that kind of super-basic-care-of-you, then by all means, remind them to please wash their hands first.
soccer06
Member # 92108
posted 08-22-2012 11:48 AM
Haha, I thought about that when I went online today...(with the jogging sperm). And again, We always do (ever sense I was nervous before), i just didn't realize how worried I would get this time since we didn't. So, I shouldn't be worrying about sweat being able to keep sperm alive after a few minutes and the fact that It would have never been fresh, dripping ejaculate and I'm on the pill (I was 7 hours late once this month--middle of my pack). I guess for the last two months I've gotten my withdrawal bleed on the 4th morning--so after 3 white pills and it didn't come today. I did switch pills last month, and i've only taken them for 3 months, but it just freaks me out when it's not when it was last month.
Heather
Member # 3
posted 08-22-2012 11:52 AM
I can't tell you what to worry about or not, but I can tell you that a) worrying doesn't actually do anything for us, and b) you can worry about this, but like we've talked about, realistically, only certain situations present risks of pregnancy. This isn't one of them. But like we've done before, I'd check in again and ask if you really feel like you feel comfortable engaging in the sex you have been if you find that despite using two methods of contraception and having access to all this credible information you are still worrying like this.
soccer06
Member # 92108
posted 08-22-2012 12:00 PM
Well, I haven't been engaging in sex. We've just been playing around. Some days I'm completely fine thinking "I haven't even had sex, and nobody ejaculated on or near my vagina, AND i'm on the pill" and other days I seem to just not care about it and get nervous (if..my withdrawal bleed...doesn't come as planned). I've been seeing some whiter thicker discharge, and If I remember right, that usually means my period is almost here...
Heather
Member # 3
posted 08-22-2012 12:13 PM
When I say sex, I mean anything we do with someone else that's about expressing or exploring sexual feelings, including things like manual sex (which is why sex is on the end of that phrase ). Intercourse is one kind of sex, but only one kind of many.
soccer06
Member # 92108
posted 08-23-2012 07:36 AM
Tonight would be my 5th white pill (I've taken 4 and no bleed). Would a pregnancy test be accurate today? Thanks
Robin Lee
Member # 90293
posted 08-23-2012 10:59 AM
Pregnancy tests can be taken when a period or withdrawal bleed is late, so if you'd like to take one you can do that and know you can trust the result. You mentioned above that you recently started taking the pil, and that you switched brands after that. Sounds like this is probably the culprit for this withdrawal bleed being late.
soccer06
Member # 92108
posted 08-23-2012 12:12 PM
Yeah, my cousin was talking about that I have to let my body get used to the different doses of hormones which can account for it changing. Is it normal for your withdrawal bleed to change when switching pills? I just assumed that since it was okay to switch and not wait again (a month) like the first month ever taking the pills, that my withdrawal bleed would still be coming on the same day. Thanks so much for your help. That definitely eased my mind a little:)
Heather
Member # 3
posted 08-23-2012 12:31 PM
Your withdrawal bleed can change in many ways even when taking the SAME pill you've been taking for years. Sometimes people have the idea that the pill like totally hijacks your whole reproductive system and makes it some kind of machine. It doesn't: it simply influences that system in some ways, but it still operates on it's own in most ways, too. And it still can have changes and fluctuations.
soccer06
Member # 92108
posted 08-23-2012 12:34 PM
Thanks so much!
soccer06
Member # 92108
posted 08-24-2012 10:18 AM
Well, I still don't have my withdrawal bleed today. I bought the clear blue pregnancy tests and was wondering if I could take them tonight? My bleeding should have been here on Wed. so I was wondering if I could trust the result if I took it tonight? I'm going to a camp tomorrow for a few days and would really just like to either ease my mind, or know before then. Also, It's the cross country season. I know that exercise can make your period extremely light. Would that have an effect on making your withdrawal bleed light? Or is it just for your period?
Robin Lee
Member # 90293
posted 08-24-2012 10:45 AM
Exercise can certainly change the way a period is, and could have an effect on withdrawal bleeds too. There are still plenty of hormonal processes that go on inside the body that aren't controlled by the pill. Has cross Country season affected your period in the past? Pregnancy tests can be expected to be accurate 14 or more days after a risk, or when a period (or withdrawal bleed) is late.
soccer06
Member # 92108
posted 08-24-2012 11:04 PM
And now because my withdrawal bleed was 2 days later than what i've had in the past- my test came out negative- I can trust the result? It doesn't make sense where my withdrawal bleed has gone...and I don't know if it's effected it much before...I ran some in the summer and now this month practices have started so I've really kicked it into gear. Should I take a test when I get back if I still don't have a period? or does the test today prove for saturday and sunday (that i'd be on the white pills---taking my first active one sunday night) that i'm not pregnant?
soccer06
Member # 92108
posted 08-25-2012 09:49 AM
Also, I was reading a few articles about the pill online. They say if you've been taking them correctly, some people may have a tiny withdrawal bleed or none at all because the uterine lining is so thin that there's really nothing to shed. Could this happen within the first 4 months of using the pill (that is what i've been doing). Again, I'm not having vaginal sex (just oral and manual) so I know now that there isn't a chance of pregnancy from transporting through hands..I'm just so confused on what is going on.