Looking After Your Sexual Health

With the holiday party season in full swing, looking after your sexual health may be the last thing on your mind. However, in a time of year full of office parties, alcohol consumption, and seasonal romantic fling, it’s important to take the right precautions and be aware of the risks. It doesn’t matter what age you are, what your sexual preference is, or whether you’re in a long-term relationship, unprotected sex can bring unwanted repercussions. So, in the interest of all that’s gratifying, here’s how to protect your sexual health and look after your body over the holidays.

Enjoying Safe Sex

There are lots of ways you can enjoy sex during the party season without compromising your health. First, there are many different types of condoms and spermicide lubricants available, some of which can increase both male and female pleasure. It's best to use a water-based lubricant with condoms because spermicide varieties can wear down the latex and compromise your protection.  

Bringing sex toys into the bedroom is another great way to explore your sexuality without putting you or your partner at risk. If you’re male and you want to look after your sexual health and hygiene while enhancing your pleasure, the Bathmate Extreme is a revolutionary, water-based device that promotes penile health and allows you to achieve your desired rigidity.

What Are the Risks of Unprotected Sex?

The two main threats of unprotected sex are sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies. It’s important to remember that if you are having sex, you are never 100 percent protected from either of these outcomes. The only way to make absolutely sure you are safe is to abstain entirely from intercourse, but no one should be discouraged from expressing his or her sexuality in a healthy, consensual way. If you’re concerned about your sexual health, there are steps you can take to minimize the risks.

Understanding Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD)

It may sound obvious, but it’s true: you can only contract a sexually transmitted disease if your sexual partner is already infected, but you shouldn’t take his or her word for it. STDs like Chlamydia can be symptomless in men; however, if a woman is infected, it could carry long-term health complications and even make her infertile if left untreated. You can never fully trust someone you’ve just met or never had sex with before when it comes to your sexual health – your body is just far too important for that.

How are STDs Transmitted?

STDs are transmitted when infected fluids enter your bloodstream. For this reason, unprotected oral sex also carries risks. Sexually transmitted diseases are spread through bodily fluids, through any type of sex. You are considered at "high risk" for a sexual disease if you have had a history of multiple sexual partners (or the person you’re having sex with does), you don’t use a condom, or you are sharing needles when injecting intravenous drugs.

Protect Yourself from Sexually Transmitted Diseases

The best way to protect yourself and your partner against STDs is to use condoms until you’ve both been tested. Beware that once you stop using condoms, you will still be at risk of pregnancy if your relationship is heterosexual (man and woman). STDs cannot be transmitted in long-term relationships if both partners have been tested and cleared unless one person is unfaithful. You can minimize your risk of an STD in other ways, by making sure you set the boundaries early on, bringing your own protection, and not allowing alcohol or drugs to cloud your judgment. 

Prevent Unwanted Pregnancy

Every year, 3 million women in the U.S. have unintended pregnancies, either because they didn’t use contraception or used it improperly. If you’ve had unprotected sex, and you’re female, the first thing you should do is head to your local pharmacy, doctor’s office, or sexual health clinic and ask for emergency contraception. You usually have to pay for this, but you may get it for free if it is included in your health insurance. Some pills are available to buy off the shelf with no age restrictions.

If you’re male, your options are limited. You need to speak to your sexual partner and check that she is on the contraceptive pill. If not, you must ask her to take emergency contraception – don’t just assume that she will. Take responsibility for your part and accompany her to the pharmacy or doctor’s office and offer to pay for her prescription. The safest way to avoid this circumstance and any consequences is to use protection.

I’ve Had Unprotected Sex! What Now?

So, despite your better judgment, you’ve had unprotected sex. There’s no point beating yourself up – everyone makes mistakes, and human biology makes it easy to get lost in the moment. Perhaps your desire got the best of you, you had too much to drink, or the condom spilt. However it happened, the possible outcomes are the same, so you need to act quickly.

Once you’ve eliminated the chance of an unwanted pregnancy, you also need to get tested for sexually transmitted diseases. It doesn’t matter if you’ve known the person you had sex with for years, or it’s someone from work  – the truth is, you never know a person’s sexual history, so it’s always better to be safe than sorry. STD tests are usually non-invasive, and usually, you just have to provide a urine sample or swab.

What If I Have an STD?

When your physician tests you for STDs, you may have to wait days or even a few weeks for the results. If you’re found to have a bacterial infection, like gonorrhea, chlamydia,  syphilis, or trichomoniasis your physician will discuss the best course of treatment, which may be a series of antibiotics. Be aware that viral sexually transmitted diseases can be controlled, but not cured. If you get a viral STD like HIV/AIDS, genital herpes, genital warts, human papillomavirus (HPV), hepatitis B, or cytomegalovirus, you will always have it. After you have been tested, your doctor will probably want to educate you about safe sex and will advise you to take proper precautions  – especially if you’re now carrying an STD. Listen carefully to his or her advice, and be sure to practice better judgment next time.