safer sex

Not having sexual contact with anyone in the past does decrease your risk of STI transmission, however it does not totally negate the risk. First of all, some STIs can be transmitted via non-sexual means. One example that works really well when we’re talking about oral sex is herpes. As is noted in…

If you had a partner before him for oral, vaginal or anal sex, that could be who you got it from and your current partner managed not to contract it from you (now or yet), or contracted it so recently that he isn’t testing positive yet. Or, your current partner’s test wasn’t accurate, or he said he…

Have you EVER had any sexual contact including sexual intercourse and dry sex with direct genital contact? And have you never been raped or experienced a sexual assault that involved genitals coming in direct contact? If you have NEVER EVER NEVER experienced any of these things, then you are the…

Second question first: Correct and consistent condom use is a highly effective way to prevent the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. As for teens and condoms there are a few issues at hand, and most of them can be remedied with the right education and information. Teens sometimes have…

The first thing I’d ask you is if you – and your boyfriend – feel too young to possibly be someone’s parent. I ask that, because one huge risk with unprotected sex is pregnancy. Statistically, in less than one year, 80-90% of people (and remember, too, teens are often far more fertile than us…

The most likely possibility is that what you’re seeing coming out of your vagina is simply semen: the sexual fluid which carries sperm. The vagina isn’t a bottomless pit: it ends with the cervix, the base of the uterus. The opening to the cervix – called the os – is incredibly small. It can dilate…

From what you’ve said here, I’m not sure the pill necessarily sounds like the best option for you at this point in your life. The pill is a good method of contraception, but it isn’t for everybody. As far as the side effects go, do understand that they’re not guaranteed to happen for everybody…

Was her partner ever treated when she was? Standard procedure when one person is diagnosed with Chlamydia is for a healthcare provider to make clear that all current or recent partners are informed so that they can also be treated at the same time. Some healthcare providers will even just provide…

You know, while five years isn’t a big age difference between people who are, say 35 and 40, it can be a lot bigger between people who are 15 and 20. Think abut it like this: at 20, your boyfriend has literally already lived 25% longer than you have, just a little less than you’ve outlived someone…

With most sexually transmitted infections, it would be highly unlikely for a person to have one who has not had any kind of sexual contact – with genitals, hands or mouths – to have one. We call STIs – sexually transmitted infections – what we do because that is usually how they are transmitted…