STD Studies, HPV DNA Test, And Birth Control Suspension

This Week In Sex News

Posted by: Catherine Strawn Filed in: sex
10:30AM, Tuesday April 7th 2009

There has been a lot of sex-related stuff in the news over the last couple days, which makes complete sense because April is STD Awareness Month, and, you know, the S in STD stands for sexually.

A new DNA test for HPV has been much more effective than Pap smears, which means that we might have a fighting chance at beating cervical cancer, which is caused by HPV. Not only is it better at identifying instances of the virus, but scientists say women over 30 could start getting this test just once every three, five, or maybe even 10 years, rather than having a yearly Pap. [NY Times]

If you thought oral sex was a safer option than intercourse, shame on you! Not only can you get the usual STD suspects from mouth-genital contact, but now a study published in the International Journal of Cancer says that the incidence of tonsil cancer has tripled in Stockholm since the ‘70s, perhaps as a result of increases in oral sex over the years. Tina Dalianis, a professor of tumor virology at the Karolinska Institute has directly linked this tonsil cancer increase to HPV. Basically, it’s possible that you might contract HPV in your mouth, and then that could develop into throat cancer after 20 to 30 years. [USA Today]

This doesn’t affect your life, unless you’re in high school, but it probably will send you into an outrage. A female student in Fairfax County, VA, was suspended for two weeks for taking her birth control pills at lunch. The school does not allow students to take any drugs—over-the-counter or prescription—so she was breaking the rules, but she was just trying to be safe! [Washington Post]

And, finally, if your partner has a problem with premature ejaculation, help is on its way. A new anesthetic spray is being developed by the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, and the men who tested it were able to last 6.3 times longer, on average. According to the BBC, “PSD502 helped 90 percent of the men enjoy sex for up to four minutes, where they had previously only lasted for seconds.” This calls for victory sex. [BBC]

comments

PinkRanger
wrote on April 7 2009 @ 10:39 am: [report]

geez, when I was in highschool it was unbelievable how many drugs students got away with doing in the bathrooms and the parking lot, the fact that such a severe penalty is being enforced on a young girl *who may be very embaressed by this whole thing making national news* who is just being safe, or even just following doctors orders literally made my jaw drop as I read this. how about students that they have seen taking aspirin and tylenol? did they get two weeks? or is Virginia this sensitive about sex related issues? I’m offended as a woman, and as a safe-sex advocate.