Sexual Illness

Yes, there are health risks associated with ingesting or being exposed to menses, because this is both fluid sharing and also blood sharing, even though menses is more than just blood. Overall, what you’re looking at are the risks associated with unprotected – without a latex barrier like a condom…

When I was in high school, I was – as I still am now – in the habit of hugging friends and warmly kissing them on the cheek, the sides of their mouth or on the mouth entire when greeting them, passing them in the halls, or just because I loved them and liked to demonstrate my affection. You can…

Cigarettes are bad for you, but they’re still sold all over the place. I was at the store just the other day and saw a frozen breakfast meal that contained 115% of your sodium intake for the day! There’s no way that can be good for you, but it’s still on the shelves. In fact, for many years in the…

If your boyfriend has Chlamydia, you can get it yourself via either oral sex or vaginal intercourse. Using condoms for both those activities, however, greatly reduces your risks of contracting Chlamydia and other sexually transmitted infections. So, if your partner has it, and you don’t use a condom…

If that’s truly the case – if any two people have had NO sexual contact of any kind with other partners – then, for the most part, either of them having a sexually transmitted infection is highly unlikely. It’s never sage to just presume someone has no STIs without having had any testing, but in…

Whenever you or a partner are being treated for an STI or any infection, it’s best to hold off all sexual activity until you are sure everything is clear and healed up. Even if your symptoms seem to have disappeared, it can take your bodies a while to completely clear the infection and get back to…

Hi Kayla, While you can be sure that YOU have been faithful, there is no absolute way you can know that your partner has been faithful. Has your partner been tested for gonorrhea or chlamydia in the past? If not, there is no way for you to know that he didn’t have it when you started dating. If your…

How about something like this: “Hey, I know we should have talked about this before, but since we’ve been having sex without condoms, I need us to talk about safer sex now. I don’t want either of us to be taking risks when we don’t have to, or when we should reduce them, so can we talk about this a…

Did your doctor have a discussion with you about the fact that your boyfriend may already have HPV? If you have been with him for a long time, and only recently was your HPV detected (particularly if you’ve been good about your STI testing and pap smears before now), you may well have gotten it from…

Before I answer your questions, I’d like to commend you for even getting yourself to the doctor for your yearly check up (a chore that many of us seem to avoid!) I’m also glad that your gynecologist tested you for Chlamydia because the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) recommends yearly Chlamydia…