Sexual Illness

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…

Yeast infections actually get their start in the intestinal tract, not in or on your genitals. Small amounts of yeast are normal and healthy in the body, but when certain factors cause that yeast – specifically candida albicans – to overgrow, that’s when you wind up with a yeast infection, which…

You know, as a culture we’ve somehow developed an awfully funny idea of what is “sex” and what isn’t “sex” that seems pretty darn arbitrary. Think about it, manual sex, oral sex, anal sex…all those things have the word sex in them. So quite honestly, from a sexual health and public health…

You will need to tell new partners about a sexually transmitted infection you have or have had, particularly one like human papillomavirus (HPV) where condoms reduce the risks of transmission, but not as well as they do for other kinds of infections. Putting someone knowingly at risk of an infection…

Absolutely! Oral sex poses the potential for STI transmission for both the giver and the receiver. So it’s wise to make sure you’re using a condom (or a dental dam for oral sex on a woman) each time. One of my favorite examples of the risks associated with this is that of herpes. Many many many…

Here are the possibilities, in order of most likely to least: He WAS with someone else over this last year. I know that’s certainly the least easy possibility to look at, but if he really tested all clear before the last round of tests within the amount of time you two have been together, and you…

Yes, coldsores are the oral herpes virus, or HSV-I. Your friend has it right. Understand that most people do not contract oral herpes sexually, but through casual contact, and the majority of people with oral herpes contract it in childhood, just by doing things like sharing glasses with family…

Understand that most sexually transmitted infections and diseases are asymptomatic. In other words, most often do not show symptoms, or symptoms any of us could easily notice. Some do, sometimes, and some do, but not until a person has had the infection for quite some time. Please also understand…

While gloves are helpful for making sure that no ejaculate reaches your genitals during manual sex, the primary benefit is that things are both clean and smooth. Obviously, hands tend to carry tons of bacteria. Just think about all of the things that your hands or your partner’s hands come into…

You most likely got the kidney infection because of not treating your urinary tract infection soon enough. Kidney infections almost always arise from a urinary tract or bladder infection, which come about from bacteria introduced to the urethral opening (which, unfortunately, happens to be mighty…