Tag Archives: condom

I Think It’s Time We Talk About…

CHLAMYDIA. Chlamydia is the most frequently reported bacterial sexually transmitted disease (STD) in the United States. It can be transmitted during vaginal, anal, or oral sex. 1,307,893 Chlamydia infections were reported in the United States in 2010. However, the CDC estimates that 2.8 million people in the United States are infected with Chlamydia each year. Why the big difference? Most people with Chlamydia don’t know they’re infected or don’t get tested. Untreated Chlamydia can result in serious complications for both men and women.

In women, untreated Chlamydia can cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), which is the infection of the uterus, fallopian tubes (tubes that carry eggs from the ovaries to the uterus) and other reproductive organs. PID can lead to serious consequences including infertility, ectopic pregnancy (a pregnancy in the fallopian tube or outside the uterus), and chronic pelvic pain. Though complications in men are rare, they are still possible. Infection can sometimes spread to the epididymis (the tube that carries sperm from the testis), causing pain, fever, and, rarely, sterility.

So now that you know what happens if Chlamydia isn’t treated…(1)How can you prevent yourself from falling into the gap of not knowing your infected? (2)What do you if you have Chlamydia? and (3)How can you prevent yourself from getting Chlamydia in the first place?

1. How can you prevent yourself from falling into the gap of not knowing your infected?

Get Yourself Tested. Most people infected with chlamydia don’t have symptoms. So, the only way to know you have Chlamydia is if you get tested. If symptoms do occur, they usually appear within 1 to 3 weeks after exposure. 

Symptoms in women include:

  • Abnormal discharge from your vagina
  • Burning when you urinate
  • Pain or discomfort during sex
  • Pain in your lower belly or back, sometimes with a fever
  • Bleeding after sex or between periods
  • Pain, bleeding, or discharge from your rectum if you have anal sex

Symptoms in men include:

  • Discharge from your penis
  • Burning when you urinate
  • Burning and itching around the opening of your penis
  • Pain, bleeding, or discharge from your rectum if you have anal sex

Women 25 or under and sexually active should be tested for Chlamydia at least once a year, even if they don’t have symptoms. Ladies, you should also get tested if you’re having sex with more than one partner, with a new partner, or with someone who might have Chlamydia, or if you’re pregnant.

Guys, you should get tested if your partner (current or recent) is diagnosed with Chlamydia or if you experience any of the symptoms described above. Routine Chlamydia screening is not recommended for all men, but it is important for sexually active men to see a health care provider for regular checkups. Your provider can tell you if you need to be tested for Chlamydia or other STDs, based on your individual risk.

Chlamydia can be tested in two ways: urine sample or sample (swab) from cervix/vagina or penis. There are clinics that offer free and confidential testing. To find a testing center near you, enter your zip code finder at gytnow.org or text your zip code to GYTNOW (498669).

2. What do you do if you have Chlamydia?

Chlamydia can be treated and cured with antibiotics, which is why it’s important to get tested immediately. Persons with Chlamydia should abstain from sexual intercourse for 7 days after single dose antibiotics or until completion of a 7-day course of antibiotics to prevent spreading the infection to partners.

Also, you should get tested again about three months after you finish your treatment, especially if you’re not sure whether your partner was also treated. This is to make sure you are cured and have not been re-infected. And make sure to tell your partner(s) that he or she might also be infected.

3. How can you prevent yourself from getting chlamydia in the first place?

  • Use latex condoms consistently and correctly
  • Abstinence
  • Be in a long-term mutually monogamous relationship with a partner who has been tested and is known to be uninfected

For more information, check out Check Up: Chlamydia by MTV: It’s Your (Sex) Life.

By ALYSSA LLAMAS

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Remember, What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas

booking.com for the win. Photo by Alyssa Llamas

“Except for herpes. That sh*t will come back with you.”

Not only will herpes hitch a ride back with you from Sin City, but it will stick with you forever (forever, ever, forever, ever?). There’s still no cure for herpes (fingers crossed that the future doctors and scientists discover one asap). But for the meantime, the best thing to do is to prevent yourself from getting it.

Genital herpes is an STD caused by the herpes simplex viruses type 1 (HSV-1) or type 2 (HSV-2), but most cases are caused by HSV-2. Most people infected with HSV-1 or HSV-2 have no or only minimal signs or symptoms. Usually, one or more blisters form on or around the genitals or rectum. The blisters break and then POOF! tender ulcers (sores) are left, which can take 2-4 weeks to heal the first time they occur.

“Typically, another outbreak can appear weeks or months after the first, but it almost always is less severe and shorter than the first outbreak.  Although the infection can stay in the body indefinitely, the number of outbreaks tends to decrease over a period of years” (CDC). The first outbreak usually occurs 2 days to 2 weeks after the infection (NIH). If you think you got infected or experience any symptoms, get checked out by your health provider asap.

For the most part, a person can only get HSV-2 during sexual contact with someone who has a genital HSV-2 infection. The infected partner may or may not have a visible sore. So choose wisely my friend. On the other end, HSV-1 generally causes infections of the mouth and lips, so-called “fever blisters.” Genital HSV-1 infection is caused by (you guessed it!) oral-genital or genital-genital contact with a person infected with HSV-1.

Complications with herpes can happen. Genital herpes can cause recurrent genital sores in many adults. For people with suppressed immune systems, a herpes infection can be severe. Also, it’s very important that pregnant women avoid contracting herpes because it puts the baby at risk of getting the virus as well. If a pregnant woman has genital herpes, a cesarean delivery is usually performed. Fortunately, the chance of a baby getting herpes from the infected mother is rare. In addition to the physical discomfort, herpes also causes psychological distress for those who know they’re infected.

Like I said earlier, there is no cure for genital herpes. However, there is medical treatment. “Antiviral medications can shorten and prevent outbreaks during the period of time the person takes the medication.  In addition, daily suppressive therapy for symptomatic herpes can reduce transmission to partners” (CDC).

image source: mylot.com

With all that said, one question remains: How can herpes be prevented? The answer: Don’t go to Vegas! I’m absolutely kidding. But could you imagine if that was the only way to avoid getting herpes?! I don’t even want to think about it. Fortunately, there are effective alternatives:

  1. Abstinence
  2. Be in a long-term monogamous relationship with a partner who has been tested and is known to be uninfected
  3. Use latex condoms correctly and consistently (Note: genital herpes can also occur in both male and female genital areas that aren’t covered by a condom)

So, go to Vegas! If you have a lot of money, then stay at the Cosmopolitan. Wanna feel like money but are a little low on the funds? Then stay at PH Towers Westgate with 20 of your closest friends and split a penthouse suite. Grab a sandwich at Earl’s. Spend the day basking in the sun at the Marquee Dayclub. Then dance all night long at XS. Get your 3am steak and eggs fix. Gamble just a little so you can say that you did and maybe you’ll get lucky. Then stuff your face at the M buffet! Just don’t catch herpes!

Penthouse Suite at PH Towers. Photo by Alyssa Llamas

By ALYSSA LLAMAS

#2 Pencil Not Required

image source: The Cornerstone

SAT, DAT, GRE, MCAT, PCAT, LSAT: All tests that none of us want to take but kinda have to. They are painfully long exams that usually require hours and hours of studying. Despite the endless chemical reactions, complex math equations, and critical reading passages, these tests are worth the blood, sweat, and tears. College, dental school, grad school, med school, pharm school, law school: All are stepping stones to a better and brighter future.

Unlike the MCAT and LSAT, the HIV test doesn’t require any studying. You just need to show up. Like the MCAT and LSAT, the HIV test is so worth it. It wouldn’t just be a stepping stone. It would be a stepping boulder to a better and brighter future. A lot of us are willing to sacrifice an entire summer studying for a standardized test, so why not sacrifice 20 minutes to get tested for HIV?

In honor of National HIV Testing Day, here are 5 reasons why you should get tested for HIV:

1. Knowing your status is empowering. If you test positive, you can seek medical treatment that will help you live a longer and healthier life. If you test negative, then you can take steps to stay negative, such as using condoms correctly every time you have sex. Take the test and take control of your life.

2. HIV has no boundaries. Regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, sexual preference, home address, job, etc., HIV doesn’t care. HIV is primarily transmitted through unprotected sexual contact, which includes vaginal, anal, and oral sex. It could have just been that “not so smart decision” you made that “one time.” Just get tested.

3. There is no vaccine or cure for HIV yet. Medication, however, is available. The only way you will know that you need medical treatment is if you get tested.

4. It takes 20 minutes. You can watch an entire episode of Modern Family commercial free and still have 1 minute and 34 seconds to spare. The rapid test, which is an HIV screening test, usually uses oral fluid to detect HIV antibodies. It’s absolutely painless.

5. It can save your life.

For more information on HIV, check out MTV It’s Your (Sex) Life – HIV/AIDS 101.

Click here to find a testing site near you.

By ALYSSA LLAMAS

It’s Trichy Trichy Trichy

Trichomoniasis. It sounds like a rare and fatal brain disorder, found amongst the indigenous populations of a tropical island, that leaves its victims unable to stand or eat. Or an incurable and mysterious skin disease characterized by crawling sensations, lesions, and memory loss.

Protozoa (image source: ontd)

As scary as it sounds, Trichomoniasis is not some obscure, deadly disease. In fact, Trich is the most common curable STD. Around 3.7 million people in the United States are infected (CDC). Trich is caused by  Trichomonasis vaginalis, a protozoan parasite. During sex, the parasite can jump from vagina to penis, penis to vagina, or vagina to vagina.

Symptoms can set in 5 to 28 days after infection, but only 30% of infected individuals develop symptoms. However, the remaining 70% can still transmit Trich.

Symptoms in girls:

  • Itching, burning, redness or soreness of the genitals
  • Discomfort with urination
  • Thin discharge with an unusual smell that can be clear, white, yellowish, or greenish

Symptoms in boys:

  • Itching or irritation inside the penis
  • Burning after urination or ejaculation
  • Some discharge from the penis

Trich can be cured with a single dose of antibiotics. Unfortunately, 1 in 5 people are reinfected within 3 months after treatment. So make sure that your sex partner(s) get treated too and refrain from getting your freak on until all symptoms disappear. If left untreated, Trich can last for months to years and can increase chances of getting or spreading other STDs.

How can you prevent yourself from getting infected?

  1. Abstinence. It’s the only way to be 100% safe.
  2. Use latex condoms correctly every time you have sex. This reduces your risk but is not 100% full-proof. Despite the elasticity of condoms, they just don’t cover everything. Trich can still jump from point A and infect point B.
  3. Talk it out. Yeah, it might be uncomfortable but if it’s gonna save you from itching and burning in places that shouldn’t be, then the 5-10 minutes of awkwardness are worth it.

    image source: funcrunch

In case you were wondering, the blood-curdling illnesses described above are real! During the 1950s and ’60s, the brain disorder, Kuru, occurred at epidemic levels among the Fore Tribe in New Guinea and was caused by cannibalism (NINDS). It was a ritual to eat the tissue and brains of deceased family members. With the decrease in cannibalism, Kuru has now mostly disappeared. According to mayoclinic.com, the mysterious skin disease, Morgellons, is very controversial. Some doctors believe that Morgellons is caused  by a mental illness. So far, scientists  have not yet discovered its cause, treatment, or if it’s even contagious.

I’ll end this on an interplanetary, megastellar, hydrostatic note. To all the ’90s kids that grew up watching Disney Original Movies, this one’s for you: Super Nova Girl (Zoom Zoom Zoom)

By ALYSSA LLAMAS

bow chicka wow wow

Louis Vuitton Condom. THIS IS FOR REAL (image source: page-31.com)

Don’t be a ding-dong, cover your schling-schlong. In other words, WEAR A CONDOM or MAKE SURE YOUR PARTNER USES ONE before you get your bow chicka wow wow on.

Condoms act like a super forcefield and prevent sperm from entering the vagina. Thus, they prevent pregnancy and lower the risk of STIs. If you can master the art of condom-wearing, male condoms can be 98% effective. To refresh your memory, check out this how to guide. It’s better to be safe than sorry!

Magnum, Ecstasy, Bareskin. You might be more familiar with these different Trojan condoms. But did you know that there are 4 types of condoms?

$68 per condom! (image source: page-31.com)

1. Condoms w/ spermicide, which is a chemical that kills sperm. Not recommended for oral or anal sex.

2. Spermicide-free

3. Latex. Did you know that latex can stretch up to 800%? Used w/ oil-based lube will cause breakage and slippage.

4. Non-Latex. OK w/ oil-based lube

Condoms are THE cheapest and most accessible form of birth control. According to bedsider.org, 1 condom can costs as little as 18 cents! 18 cents vs. all the expenses of having a baby? Is that even a question?! Use a condom.

No money? No problem. Check your local family planning clinic and see if they offer free or low cost condoms.

By ALYSSA LLAMAS