Smart. Sexy. Fun.
Yesterday the Centers for Disease Control announced two of the three STDs it tracks are on the rise. While gonorrhea continues its steady decline to all-time lows, dropping another 10 percent last year, chlamydia and syphilis rates are ticking up. Chlamydia, which is rampant among young people but curable with antibiotics, surprises me far less than syphilis, which I thought was contained to Read more
Dear Sugar, My boyfriend of five months just told me that he has chlamydia. He swears he hasn't cheated on me, but after researching STIs, I found out that symptoms usually surface within a week or two. I talked to a doctor and was told that while it's possible for symptoms to show up months after being infected, they usually show up within seven to 21 days. We are together all the time, so his Read more
A couple days ago I posted Handle This: He Has Herpes and some of your comments let me know that we could all use a refresher course on this STI. Genital herpes is highly contagious, and is passed on through sexual contact. It's caused by a strain of herpes simplex virus (HSV), which enters your body through small cuts in your skin or mucous membranes, and then causes outbreaks of painful sores Read more
I hate to bring up this not-so-fun topic, but I'm concerned. Many of my friends have dated guys that they wouldn't have sex because they were worried about STIs, but they didn't seem the least bit worried about having oral sex. When your mouth has contact with someone else's business, you can very well get a whole plethora of STIs — the problem is that many of these sexually transmitted Read more
Talking about STIs isn't the most fun topic in the world, but as they say "knowledge is power," so the more you know, the better protected you'll be. Chlamydia is one of those STIs I learned about in my high school sex ed class, but I seriously don't remember much about it. Do you? Let's find out! Take the Quiz Read more
Since Spring has arrived and romance is in the air, I thought I'd take the time to talk about Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs). Not your favorite topic, I know, but definitely worth knowing about. STI stands for "sexually transmitted infection." The reason this term is used instead of STD (sexually transmitted disease) is because the word "infection" is more accurate since many are Read more
Our neighbors up north are having more problems down south. In Canada, syphilis and chlamydia rates have risen and some public health experts point to the popularity of online dating as a likely culprit. When you meet someone online, you probably know a good amount about his or her interests, background, and personality before you get in bed thanks to the profile and communication that happens Read more
Deb Levine, the founder of Internet Sexuality Information Services (ISIS), kicked off the annual Sex::Tech conference today in San Francisco, an event dedicated to advancing sexual health of American youth. Deb unveiled the findings from ISIS's just-released white paper on how youth and young adults use technology for their sexual and reproductive health. While the teen pregnancy rate is Read more
DrSugar is in the house! And she's answering your health-related questions. DrSugar, I have no specific reason to believe that I have an STD, nor do I have any symptoms. I've been in a monogamous relationship for almost four years. I've been to the gynecologist for exams (including pap) on an annual basis since I was 18 (eight years), and have had my blood tested by my general practitioner as Read more
DrSugar is in the house! And she's answering your health-related questions. DrSugar, I just read your post about getting off of the pill and having irregular periods afterward. I am thankful for your article as I had experienced two to three months of no period! I am looking to conceive possibly in the next three to four years and wondering if you were able to do so after being on the pill for Read more
