Sexual Health

Sexually transmitted infections are one part of sexual health, but that’s not all! Any aspect of health or healthcare that is related to sex and reproduction is about sexual health: menstruation, common infections like yeast or bacterial infections, birth control and abortion, health conditions like endometriosis, PCOS or phimosis, vaccinations, pain with sex, safer sex and other preventative sexual health practices and yep, STIs, too.

a couple o' peaches

Highlighted content

Articles and Advice in this area:

Advice
  • Susie Tang

The dosing mostly matters depending on your body composition. Estrogen is a fat-soluble hormone. Therefore if you have a significant amount and proportion of body fat, some of that estrogen will dissolve into the fatty tissue and not make it to its receptor sites in your sex organs. If you have more…

Advice
  • Heather Corinna

No it is not. Let’s dissect this so that you understand why not. You don’t urinate from within your vagina, but rather from your urethra, a very small, barely visible opening on your vulva between your vaginal opening and your clitoris. To get a better idea of what I’m talking about, have a look at…

Advice
  • Heather Corinna

If you shaved your vulva very recently before sex, then I’d say the chances are that yes: that’s the reason for the irritation. That skin is pretty delicate, and all the more so when it’s been irritated by something, and shaving certainly does that. Add a bunch of friction and body heat to an…

Advice
  • Heather Corinna

It won’t do you harm that once, nor will using emergency contraception more than once: there isn’t any data at this time which shows single or repeat use presents health risks beyond those we see with other hormonal BC. You can take a look at this page or this one for more information on EC

Advice
  • Lauren

Good on you for being proactive! A huge marker of sexual readiness is sussing this stuff out before anything happens, so you two are definitely on your way there. The absolute BEST way to avoid the unpleasant consequences of sexual activity is to use a condom, correctly, every time. Condoms are easy…

Advice
  • Heather Corinna

Hey there, Susie. You’re welcome! Birth control pills are equally effective every single day of your cycle so long as you are taking the pills as directed, and on time every day, and without any other medications which could interfere with them. Some antibiotics, for instance, may decrease…

Advice
  • Hollie West

The closer you take your birth control pill to the ‘normal time’ the better. That said, you do have some flexibility (you have a twelve-hour window before the pill is considered “late”). You don’t sound comfortable using the birth control pill as your sole method of birth control. Have you talked to…

Article
  • Heather Corinna

If you’re considering condoms as a birth control method, or already use them and want more information.

Advice
  • Sarah Riley

First off, allow me to salute you for deciding exactly what it is going to take for you to feel comfortable about being sexually active and then taking steps to meet those conditions before continuing. Many people don’t do that and continue to have sex that they really aren’t comfortable having…

Advice
  • Sarah Riley

The first thing you need to do is take a deep breath and try to relax here. Panic rarely helps anyone, it’s just not going to do you any good. So let’s break down the situation and look at what’s really going on here. First, I know you’re worried about the manual sex (“fingering”) you participated…