Tag Archives: stds

Doin’ It With Dr. V: Dating A Guy With The Herp

Dr. VApril 5, 2009 //

Hi, I’m Dr. V. I’m not a real doctor, I just play one on the Internet. What I am is a lady, a lady who is a fool for love! And I love nothing more than sex. My deepest desires have happily led me on many adventures in the sack, but they have also, sadly, made me one of my gyno’s most valuable players. But I’ve lived to tell the tale(s)! So, from time to time, I will dish the dirt on everything from getting freaky to getting freaked out. Now, let’s get this party started…

April is STD Awareness Month, but I can tell you, I, Dr. V, do not need a special month to become aware of STDs. Unfortunately, I’ve had brushes with almost every bacteria and virus in Bum Town. What can I say, I’m a Frisky gal who has challenged a lot of cowboys to whip out their guns. So, over the course of this month I’ll be speaking up about some of my more dangerous showdowns. Keep reading »

How I Got The Clap And Other STD Stories: The Man Who Wouldn’t Pee

The FriskyApril 5, 2009 //

April is STD Awareness Month, and we asked you to share your STD-related stories so we could learn from ~~your~~ each other’s mistakes. If you have a tale involving sores, Valtrex, or a judgy gynecologist, send an email to tips@thefrisky.com. We will keep your identity anonymous.

I picked it up from a girl one drunken, unprotected night at the New Jersey Shore (figures) over Labor Day weekend. Symptoms appeared, on schedule, the morning of the fourth day. While there wasn’t any discharge, urinating was excruciatingly painful — like no other pain I have felt before or since. It was so painful that I stupidly refrained from urinating for about 24 hours. At that point the pain from my swollen bladder began overwhelming the pain I would felt while urinating, so I starting going in little spurts. That was taking too long, so I decided to try to numb my penis by placing it in a bowl of ice water. Again, dumb idea. Not only was that separately excruciating, it did nothing to ease the pain of my inflamed urethra. Keep reading »

Handle It: How To Tell Your Partner You Have An STD

Chelsea KaplanApril 3, 2009 //

Passing along the info to your new honey that you’ve got an STD is something you’re probably looking forward to about as much as attending your nephew’s 5th birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. Need hints on how to deliver the dirty truth? We asked Jill Grimes, M.D., author of Seductive Delusions: How Everyday People Catch STDs for some tips, after the jump… Keep reading »

AIDS Gels May Offer Women Protection

Annika HarrisFebruary 10, 2009 //

AIDS researchers are one step closer to finding another method of protection that can help stop the spread of HIV and AIDS among women. Dr. Salim Abdool Karim of the Center for the AIDS Program of Research in South Africa and his colleagues have tested two protective gels, one called PRO 2000 and the other called BufferGel, in trying to find a microbicide (that’s the fancy scientific word for something that reduces the chance that you’ll be infected by a virus or bacteria) that will protect women from HIV/AIDS when their partners aren’t wearing condoms. Among the 3,000 women tested, PRO 2000 reduced the rate of HIV infection by a third. “We do not regard it as a definitive conclusion that PRO 2000 is a microbicide but we certainly view it as very promising,” said Karim at a conference of AIDS experts in Montreal. Unfortunately, his team was unable to find any evidence that BufferGel helped. The study was only designed to determine whether the gels were safe, since other, similar studies revealed that gels and creams like PRO 2000 and BufferGel actually increased the likelihood of infection. [Reuters] Keep reading »

Doin’ It With Dr. V: How To Tell Someone They Need To Get Tested For STDs

Dr. VJanuary 16, 2009 //

This week, I got an alarming phone call. My most recent ex-boyfriend went to get tested like a sensible young man and I’m so proud of him — but I’m sorry he had to call me with his results. While it wasn’t good news, I’m truly grateful he talked to me about it openly. Sex is dirty, and sometimes you can’t totally clean up the mess, but you can always take measures to stop it from spreading! I know my ex was not so thrilled to have to call me to tell me to get tested too, however, it made me realize why I was with him in the first place. He’s respectable and responsible for divulging what he knows with me, for better or for worse. Although it can be a tearful inspiration, I’d like to dedicate this installment of Dr. V to all the men and women, like my ex-boyfriend out there, who are brave enough to pick up the phone and show someone they still care by telling them the truth about their health and the risks they shared. According to the CDC, who just this week reported 19 million cases of STDs in 2007, there are a lot of people who need to make a similar confession. So, here’s how you do it, as pain-free as possible.
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CDC Releases Latest STD Statistics

SimchaJanuary 15, 2009 //

Yikes — 19 million STD infections occur each year according to the Center for Disease Control’s NEW report this week. The numbers from 2007 are in and the stats are a total bummer. Gonorrhea and chlamydia, the most common STDs, recorded the largest number of known cases to date, 1.5 million according to the most recent assessment. However, the government agency thinks that’s a low estimate, and suspect that there are actually twice as many people who are carrying the infections. Agh! Unfortunately, the infections often go undiagnosed because they can be asymptomatic. While gonorrhea and chlamydia frequently come together in one big STD package, they are both cured with antibiotics. However, if someone isn’t a responsible sexy time partner and doesn’t get tested regularly, the diseases can wreak havoc and even do things jeopardize your ability to get pregnant. Since young women, age 15-34, are in the highest risk categories, it’s essential that we take care of our business! Go visit the gyno and let them smear your pap, why dontcha?! [CDC] Keep reading »

NYC Health Department Releases Report On Binge Drinking & Sex

SimchaJanuary 6, 2009 //

On the cover of today’s free paper AM New York is a hard-hitting headline about how the New York City Department of Health found that…wait for it… binge drinking leads to sex. Puh-lease, after ZERO drinks I’ll do the nasty! Plus, if that was all it took to get laid, I’d get hammered in morning, I’d get hammered in the evening, I’d get hammered all over this land! According to the Health Department’s report, if you have more than five drinks in one sitting, at least once a month, you’re a big slutty drunky-drunk. [Oops. Oops again. Oops. -- Editor] And by slutty, the study means you have had two to four partners a year. Whore! Keep reading »

Safe Sex: Coming To A Cell Phone Near You!

SimchaJanuary 5, 2009 //

As sexting gets more popular, safe sexting gets a grant! A series of modern sex ed soap operas have been filmed and distributed via cell phones thanks to an endowment and the commitment of a New Jersey nurse and professor. Rachel Jones, the RN behind the video productions, has spent her career committed to preventing the spread of HIV and AIDS in young women. Sadly, her home state of New Jersey has the highest number of women living with AIDS in the entire U.S. Shockingly, 82% of infections in the 18-to-29-year-old group nationwide are heterosexual African-American ladies and Latinas. Nurse Jones is perplexed by the figures, saying, “It is astounding, it is a completely preventable infection.” So, she has labored for grants to normalize condom use by sending girls text messages. More, after the jump… Keep reading »

Doin’ It With Dr. V: Cold Sores

Dr. VNovember 30, 2008 //

As winter sets in, I just wanted to put your mind at ease because the cold sore has a bit of a misleading name. It’s a common misconception that weather more frigid than a nun could cause you to get a cold sore, but ironically, too much sun can actually increase your chances of an outbreak. While cold sores are a type of the herpes simplex virus, they are also called “fever blisters” because having the flu can up the odds of getting one. But alas, stress, hormonal changes — like getting your period, skin injuries, a lowered immune system, and added stress — can also bring it on. But what eggs on a flare up is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the real cause of the problem, the herpes simplex virus. So, here’s everything you need to know about the blister and what you can do with your mister… Keep reading »

STD’s: Say It With An E-Card!

SimchaOctober 21, 2008 //

Sexual relations are difficult. Telling someone how you feel is nerve-wracking. Breaking up with someone is hard. Trying to talk to someone about what you want in the sack is stressful. But nothing beats the awkwardness that you might have just given a sexy time friend an STD. Even if you desperately want to ignore that partner, you can’t ignore the problem. Thanks to inSPOT.org, the non-profit Hallmark for STD’s, you can avoid the uncomfortable phone call and simply send the ones you’ve loved free e-cards to notify them of the situation. They’ve got cheeky postcard slogans like “You’re too hot to be out of action.” All you have to do is select a message about what’s making you catchier than a pop song and you can even notify them of places to get tested in their neighborhood. Best of all, you can send these e-cards anonymously! So, remember, just because you like to spread your legs, it doesn’t mean you have to be embarrassed when you hit a bump. Just be sure to pass the information along!

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