STIs

On Principles and Desires

Submitted by Stefanie B on Thu, 09/17/2009 - 21:45.

Over the summer I met a guy and we hit it off. We had a lot of great conversations together and I grew to really like him and look forward to those conversations. Finally, we decided to make an attempt at dating.

It didn’t work out.


Why am I so paranoid about sex?

alsexnikkah asks:

Mmkay I'm 13. I want to have sex really bad but I still don't have a boyfriend and blah blah blah. I KNOW how to not have sex with a guy that I JUST met. I like to go out with a guy for awhile before I do anything like sex. But when I do have a boyfriend for like a year I would like to have sex. But I am always freaking out about getting pregnant! But I can't wait if I find someone that I like for awhile and stuff! And like I would like to do oral. But I am scared if I will get herpes or something. I'm always so paranoid about this! :|

In which we're reminded, again, that abstinence pledges don't work.

Submitted by Heather Corinna on Wed, 04/29/2009 - 15:48.

From PEDIATRICS Vol. 123 No. 1 January 2009, pp. e110-e120 (doi:10.1542/peds.2008-0407): Patient Teenagers? A Comparison of the Sexual Behavior of Virginity Pledgers and Matched Nonpledgers, Janet Elise Rosenbaum, PhD, AM; Health Policy PhD Program, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.


Is it safe for him to taste my menstrual blood?

theredmarker asks:

I know having your partner finger you during your period is perfectly safe (while a little messy), but I do have another concern: my boyfriend often puts that finger in his mouth to taste the fluid after he's done fingering. So I was wondering, is it safe to do that while on your period? Like, are there any health risks involved with ingesting the blood? Now I do realize this would be a very small amount of blood, but I'm just curious.

I'm not sure I can live with herpes

Seeker asks:

I am currently living with my boyfriend (who is considerably older than I am) and he gave me genital herpes. He has supported me through the initial outbreak (which was terrifying, painful, and life-altering), and has continued to comfort and discuss our relationship with me. However, I have become quite depressed and feel that I have discarded my body's purity and feel that if I ever leave this man, I will not be worthy of a regular or healthy relationship.

I want to be married and have children at some point in my life, but feel like I don't deserve that since I was so cavalier and thoughtless when it came to my sexual health. I have been thinking about hurting myself or ending my life (of which I have a history), and have also considered hurting the man who I am beginning to feel deliberately infected me as a means to entrap and emotionally destroy me.

I am 20 years old and alone. I have no familial support and don't feel like I can tell my friends I am infected because they are healthy and may reject me. Any encouragement or advice will be greatly appreciated.

FDA Panel Unanimously Approves the FC2 Female Condom

Submitted by Jill on Tue, 12/16/2008 - 21:51.

An FDA advisory panel unanimously approved the FC2 female condom. The FC2 is very similar to the current version of the female condom and is in fact intended to replace it. The primary difference is the FC2 is made of nitrile instead of polyurethane, making it cheaper to manufacture. As that one of the primary barriers preventing women from using female condoms is cost, this is excellent news.


If i didn't have it, and he didn't have it, where did this STI come from?!

Kayla asks:

My question is, I was tested for Gonnerhea and Chlamydia at the end of April of 08 and I was negative. I just got another test done when I was refilling my birth control three months later and came out positive. I know I surely have been faithful, and so has my partner, but we can't understand where it would have come from between the last test and this test. We've had intercourse since November of 07, and I was checked twice being negative. I know for a fact there aren't any faith issues, could I have had it without it being detected the first time? Please help! He's of course thinking I'm cheating. Blaah.

Sexualityandu.ca

This is a Canadian website that contains information on a variety of topics like Scarleteen does. It also has resources for adults, parents, teachers and health professionals, as well as videos and games.

Birth control pills: the placebos, period timing and condom backup

Anonymous asks:

Hello, I love your site very much as it offers straight and honest answers to questions that we ask ourselves every day. Thanks a lot for that ^_^

I am 23 years old, and I have 1 1/2 questions. I am currently taking Loestrin24 Fe and have been on it for about a year and a half. My main use for it was to help with painful cramps I would get every month, but now I have become sexually active with my fiance. We were both virgins who believe that sex should only be shared by two people who are truly in love and I know that I can trust him 100%. So STDs are really not an issue and I have been having sex without any other form of contraception other than birth control. My first question is as follows, is it possible/more likely to get pregnant while taking the inactive pills of the birth control cycle pack? Is it absolutely necessary to use a condom as a secondary form of birth control while I am on the inactive pills?

My next and main question is this, currently I start my pill pack on a Monday, and with this specific birth control I start the inactive pills on a Thursday therefore I get my "period" on a Saturday. I don't want to get my period on a weekend anymore, so what is the best way to restart my cycle so that I get it say on a Monday or Tuesday. Would it be okay to just take the inactive pills up to Sunday which is the last day I am currently taking them, go without taking ANY pills for two days and start the new pack on a Wednesday-- or should I just skip some of the inactive pills altogether? Thanks a lot for your time, your site is very helpful :)

I got herpes and other infections from anal-to-vaginal sex before: how do I play it safe now?

Anonymous asks:

I have been with my boyfriend 2 years now, we have had anal sex before. I was not aware of the safety factors of it, and we had anal to vaginal sex...alot. I ended up with a horrible UTI and kidney infection. I also had anal herpes outbreak (never had one before.) This was all over a year ago. Anyway, we are trying to introduce anal play back into our sex life.

I am paranoid (as you can imagine) I need your professional advice, and opinions. Do we need to use a condom for anal since we have been together so long, and already figured out that we have herpes? Also...I am paranoid about the infection thing, obviously I'm not even thinking about anal to vaginal sex, but I am still nervous. Please set my mind at ease.

Is this spotting from menstrual suppression or implantation bleeding?

Amber asks:

I usually take my birth control pill continuously and skip periods for 2-3 months at a time due to bad PMS (ok'd by the Dr.) This month I missed a pill on a Friday and took it Saturday with my Saturday pill but I had started spotting so figured it was time to have a period so I waited a week before starting a new pack and during that time had a period. 2 weeks later I had some strange pink spotting that I hear could be implantation bleeding. Does stopping the pills for a week to have a period put you at greater risk for pregnancy? Normally, besides skipping the periods, I am a perfect user and take it every day at exactly the same time.

Long-term menstrual suppression: is this why I have brown discharge?

johnny asks:

About a month ago my boyfriend and I decided to get serious into foreplay. He broke my cherry and ever since then i have been experiencing a slight brownish clear colored discharge. I'm also on birth control (marvalon 28) a close friend of mine said that as long as I'm on the white pill I do not ovulate. I havent had my period regularly for 2 years, I have been picking and chosing when to have it. But over the last 5 to 6 months I chose not to have it and I'm wondering if this could be the source of my problem. I have decieded to take the green pill which allows me to have a period and I have not yet experinced any blood flow, let alone any of this browish discharge!

all about condoms

J asks:

I'm 16 and I've been thinking about having sex with my girlfriend for awhile now: she is ready, I'm still deciding but I think I will with her eventually when I'm ready. When we do there is no doubt in my mind that I will use a condom and I already have one but I really dont know much about them because everything I hear from programs at school or whatever is dont have sex, sex is bad, your not ready, etc. I never hear anything about having sex but with a condom really I know there is a chance of the condom breaking but exactly how big of a chance are we talking about here because a 10% chance and a 90% chance are two totally differnt things also is there a way for her to get pregnant if the condom doesnt break? I don't know how that would be posible but thats why I'm asking because I don't know, also can stds be transmited while using a condom even if it doesnt break?

College & Condoms

jakerug asks:

I'm a 17 yr old male and thinking hard about sex because I am going to college in the fall. My parents were not clear with me on sex so I am asking you: is sex fast like in pornography or nothing like that and slow and romantic? Also what are the chances you could get a STD or infection with out using a condom?

Contraceptive Guide

Contraceptive Guide is a comprehensive list of the birth control methods available currently. It includes a questionnaire on "What is the right method of birth control for me?" as well as a section on alternatives to vaginal intercourse.