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5 myths about living with HIV, busted
Today in the U.S., about 1.2 million people are living with HIV . Just like other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), there is no way to tell if someone is living with HIV just by looking at them. And just like other STIs, there are plenty of other myths about what it means to live with […]
What you need to know about UTIs
By Lindsey Ellefson. Growing up in a small Midwestern town, my public school sex education was full of plenty of colorful, unflattering metaphors for girls who have sex before marriage (think licked lollipops and used Kleenex) and no information about how to prevent pregnancy and STIs if or when one of us lollipops did decide […]
Getting tested for herpes can be a pain… in the finger
About 1 in 6 adults in the U.S. has the herpes virus, and about 776,000 more get it each year. How can you be sure you’re not one of them? Get tested. Getting tested, old school The old-school options for herpes testing are swab tests and blood tests . They each have pros and cons. […]
Yes! 20 things you may not know about orgasms
Today we’re putting the “O” in information. (Um, there are two o’s in “information”—even better!) After an orgasm, prolactin is released. It’s a hormone that gives you deeper, more peaceful sleep. Women who have orgasms on a regular basis tend to have shorter, less painful periods. 47% of women have their first “O” through self-exploration. […]
Research takes a closer look at pubic hair
There are only a few scientists who take the study of sexual pleasure seriously, and the team at the Indiana University Center for Sexual Health Promotion is among the best of them. A few years ago, they measured how U.S. women style their pubic hair , and now they’re taking a closer look at this […]
My BFF has genital herpes
On the morning of my 26th birthday I went to work thinking about seeing my friends at the bar later. My best friend Abby* had just returned from visiting another friend out of state and I couldn’t wait to see her and hear what they had gotten up to together. I knew I wouldn’t be […]
Yup, the pill prevents uterine cancer
Uterine cancer is common. Among women in the U.S., it’s the fourth most common type of cancer —about one in 35 women will be diagnosed with it at some point in their lives. (BTW, uterine cancer is also sometimes called endometrial cancer since it often starts in the lining of the uterus, the endometrium.) But […]
LGBTQ health research? There’s an app for that
A team of researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, is conducting the first large, multi-year study of people who consider themselves LGBTQ. They’re calling it The PRIDE Study . It’s a 21st century version of the Framingham Heart Study all about the health of the LGBTQ community. Where do I sign up? Anyone […]
Calling all women with Essure
UPDATE: Essure will no longer be sold after the end of 2018. Find out more here . There’s been a growing campaign to get the FDA to review the permanent birth control method Essure. Essure is a set of coils that a health care provider inserts in the fallopian tubes, where the coils cause the […]
Can you get an STD from oral sex?
While you can’t get pregnant from oral sex , you can get a sexually transmitted infection (STI, a.k.a. STD). The risk of getting an STI from oral sex is a little different from the risk of vaginal sex, so let’s go over the details. First, the basic biology STIs are bacteria or viruses that rely […]
