What is Herpes?

Posted on By tyronebattis
Safe Sex, Sex, STI

Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted disease caused by two herpes simplex viruses (HSV type I and type II). Herpes is transmitted from person to person via direct skin-to-skin contact during unprotected oral, anal and vaginal sex. HSV I usually causes fever blisters and cold sores on the mouth, but can also cause sores on the genitals. HSV II usually causes sores on the genitals (vagina, penis, anus) and the skin around those areas but is not usually transmitted to the mouth area. IN college students, most genital herpes is actually caused by HSV-I, transmitted during unprotected oral sex. HSV is different from other common viral infections because once it is introduced into your system, it lives there forever, often with periodic symptoms or without symptoms at all.

Why worry about Herpes?

Genital herpes is seldom a severe or dangerous infection by itself, although it can cause psychological distress because of the nature of the sores and the length of time the virus stays in your system.

The open sores of herpes do play a role in the spread of HIV. A person with a herpes sore is three to five times more likely to acquire HIV if exposed to an HIV-positive sex partner. Also, people with HIV and herpes have an increased amount of HIV fluid in their open herpes sores, which increases the risk of transmitting both diseases to a partner during unprotected sex.

Pregnant women who have a first episode of genital herpes near delivery may transmit herpes to their infant, which could be a serious, even deadly, problem. Fortunately, infection of infants is rare among women with recurrent genital herpes.

Herpes

What are the symptoms of Herpes?

Many people have genital herpes but don’t know it because they have no symptoms. Others have very mild symptoms. For people who do have symptoms, who are symptomatic, the first outbreak is usually the worst. It lasts the longest, is most severe and often very uncomfortable. The initial sores can last five to ten days, first “weeping”, then scabbing over, then healing. In addition to blisters or open sores, a person may have swollen glands, fever, and body aches. Women tend to have more severe symptoms than men.

Genital recurrences after the first outbreak seem to be linked to stress, fatigue, lack of sleep, menstruation, and genital friction (new sexual partner after a time of no sex), although more research is definitely needed about this subject. Usually recurrences are more frequent in the first year after the initial outbreak. Some people have tingling or itching at the site of the sores before they appear, which can help them prepare for an upcoming outbreak. For some people, the recurrences are so mild that they have been mistaken for jock itch, razor burns, insect bites, ingrown hairs, and the like. Outbreaks can appear in different locations over time.

What is a Herpes test like?

Even experienced clinicians cannot reliably diagnose an initial herpes outbreak by its appearance alone. There are good viral culture tests available that can tell if herpes is present and which type (HSV I or HSV II). These tests use fluid from an open sore and are most accurate during initial outbreaks and when blisters are present.

There are several new blood tests that are very accurate for diagnosis. These tests also distinguish type (HSV I or HSV II). Speak to your medical provider about these tests if you’re interested.

How is Herpes treated?

There is no cure for herpes. However there are currently three FDA-approved antiviral medications available to treat herpes: Zovirax (acyclovir), Famvir (famciclovir) and Valtrex (valacyclovir). Using medication to treat genital herpes can help speed the healing process of an outbreak or be used as a preventative (when taken daily) to help reduce the frequency of future outbreaks.

Valtrex has also been proven effective when taken daily to reduce the risk of herpes transmission to sex partners. The most common short-term side effects of these drugs are nausea and headaches. Thus far, no long-term side effects have been found.

What should I do if I have Herpes?

In order to reduce outbreaks, keep your stress levels low, eat well, exercise regularly and get lots of rest. Learn to recognize the symptoms that occur during the period before the lesions appear. People often describe a tingling or burning feeling during this time. Taking medications in this time period before an outbreak can abort or reduce its duration. In order to avoid transmission of the virus to your sex partners, we advise discussing your herpes diagnosis with a prospective partner before you have sex. A potential partner would need to understand that it’s possible for him or her to become infected even if you’re using condoms since not all affected areas can be covered by a condom. Most good relationships can weather the news. Your partner may want to gather information and take some time to adjust to the fact that you have herpes. If you’re in a serious, long-term relationship, your partner might want to test for herpes as he or she might already be infected, but without symptoms.

How do I avoid getting Herpes?

Condoms provides some, but not complete, protection against transmission of the herpes virus. If you or your partner has herpes, abstain from sexual activities when sores are present. Communication is a wonderful tool to help you and your partner(s) make decisions about what’s right for each of you at any given time. However, be aware that herpes can be transmitted to a partner even when there isn’t a current outbreak.

Receptive Condoms

Posted on By tyronebattis
Condoms, Safe Sex

What Are Receptive Condoms?

Receptive condoms, also known as female condoms, are a barrier method used by the receptive partner during sex. They can be used to prevent both pregnancy during male-female intercourse and the spread of STIs between partners during anal or vaginal intercourse.

How do you use a Receptive Condom?

Receptive condoms are inserted into the vagina or the anus of the receptive partner during intercourse. It is important to know how to properly use receptive condoms, because not properly using them can lead to failure, increasing the chances of unplanned pregnancy or the spread of STIs.

There are three steps to follow before opening a condom:

  1. Wash your hands.
  2. Check the expiration date.
  3. Feel for the air bubble in the package to ensure the condom isn’t compromised.

Receptive Condoms

Once this is complete the receptive condom can be inserted into the vagina or anus. Receptive condoms include a ring on the inside for vaginal use. This holds the condom in place against the cervix. To insert into the vagina, twist the ring into a figure-eight and begin feeding it into the vagina. Once inserted, there will be material left outside of the vagina, covering the vulva. To use anally, the ring should be removed. After this, the condom can be inserted into the anus using a finger or two to feed it in. Some material will remain outside the anus covering the area around it.

There are some things to consider when using a receptive condom. One is that you should “shoot for the hoop.” Make sure the penetrative object is being inserted into the opening of the condom. If it goes outside the opening of the condom, that defeats the purpose of using a barrier method in the first place. Also, if the condom is being used anally, but also vaginally, make sure it is not being pushed to far into the anus or vagina to the point at which it either needs to be fished out or fluids are able to escape the condom.

Once you’re done, the condom can be removed by twisting the material left outside the vagina or the anus so that fluids inside the condom cannot escape, after which is can be slowly pulled out and thrown away. Receptive condoms are one-time use only and should be thrown in the garbage. They will clog a toilet.

Also, remember not to double bag: the increased friction between two condoms, even between an insertive and receptive condom, can increase the chance of breakage.

How Effective are Insertive Condoms at preventing Pregnancy and STI Transmission?

A receptive condom, when used properly, is 95% effective at preventing pregnancy or fluid-spread STIs such as chlamydia or HIV. However, they will be less effective at preventing contact-spread STIs such as HPV or herpes. Usually, then they are only about 70% percent effective, but in theory they will be slightly more effective at preventing contact-spread STIs than insertive condoms because of the additional material covering the vulva and area around the anus.

What are Receptive Condoms made of?

The only brand of receptive condom available at Sex Out Loud (FC2 Female Condom) is made of polyurethane. It can be used by people who have a latex allergy, and is actually safe to use with oil-based lubricants.

Latex Golves

Posted on By tyronebattis
Condoms, Sex

What Are Latex Gloves?

Well, latex gloves are exactly what they sound like: they’re much like the ones you would find at the doctor or dentist’s office.

How do you use Latex Gloves?

Latex gloves can be used for a variety of things. They can be used for any form of manual sex, including fingering or fisting. They’re especially good if one partner has a cut or open sore on their hands or fingers, but would like to finger or fist without exchanging bodily fluids. In addition to that they can be used during kink play that may include exposure to bodily fluids that can transmit STIs. Finally, they can be used as a “do-it-yourself” sex dam. Simply cut the fingers off (not the thumb) and cut it along the side and you get a sheet of latex similar to a normal sex dam. They thumb will even create a little pouch that can be used to integrate food into your play; you can make a game of eating any sort of food (such as honey or chocolate sauce) out of the pouch.

Latex Golves

How Effective are Latex Gloves at Preventing STI Transmission?

A latex glove will be 98% effective at preventing fluid-spread STIs and contact-spread STIs.

What are Latex Gloves made of?

The gloves provided by Sex Out Loud are all latex, however non-latex gloves are available in materials such as nitrile, vinyl, and neoprene.

Condoms Use Errors

Posted on By tyronebattis
Condoms, Safe Sex

The vast majority of available literature on condom failures has focused on inconsistent condom use, ignoring the phenomenon of incorrect condom use.  Researchers tend to treat consistent condom users as consistently correct condom users, which is not necessarily the case.  Bleaker yet, people with a history of condom failure tend to become distrustful of condom efficacy, misattributing their own incorrect use of the product to the company that made the condom and deterring future use.

However, the data is quite consistent that the vast majority of condom failures are due to human error and not the manufacturing of the condom itself.  When used consistently and correctly, male latex condoms are at least 98% effective in preventing the transmission of fluid-spread sexually transmitted infections such as HIV.  Below is a list of the most common condom use errors.

  • Neglecting to check for an air bubble: 83% of the time
  • Neglecting to check the expiration date on the packaging: 71% of the time
  • Applying the condom after commencement of intercourse: 25-50% of the time
  • Putting the condom on the wrong way: 10%-30% of the time
  • Applying an inadequate amount or no lubrication: 25%  of the time
  • Not pinching the tip: 42-75% of the time
  • Not leaving excess space in the tip of the condom:  24-46% of the time
  • Not rolling the condom all the way down to the base of the shaft: 15% of the time
  • Removing the condom before finishing intercourse: 15% time
  • Not holding on the base of the condom when withdrawing to prevent slippage or spillage: 27-31% of the time
  • Other nuanced errors included unrolling the condom all the way before applying to the penis and re-using the condom: 7% of the time

[Note: “Percent of the time” refers to the collective sample pool of all condom uses by all participants in the included studies, not condom mistakes per participant.]

Most studies found that increased experience with using condoms did not improve competency.  If a person learns to apply condoms incorrectly, they are not likely to unlearn their method.  Others found that self-reported lack of information was a contributing factor to incorrect condom use.  The CDC reported that 37% of health teachers in the United States are “inadequate” in teaching proper condom application and use.  Misinformation and rumors are another source.   A review of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health found that a third of youth believe that they should not leave space in the tip of the condom and Vaseline is a recommended lubrication; one-fifth incorrectly believe that lambskin condoms are more effective in preventing the transmission of HIV than latex condoms.

One major gap in the literature is the minimal acknowledgement of the social and emotional factors of incorrect condom use.  “Heat of the moment” syndrome may take precedent over lack of education or information.  The literature also ignores that demonstrated condom ability in the laboratory—under lights, cameras, and supervision—may present differently than in the bedroom.

Please contact sexoutloud@gmail.com if you are interested in the bibliography for this piece.

The Myth of the Loose Vagina

Posted on By tyronebattis
Sex

“It’s like throwing a hotdog down a hallway!”

“Can you let me stretch that pussy out or nah?”

Vaginas vary by person; and having a loose or tight one, or one in-between, is neither a good nor bad thing. However, many people associate having a “loose” or “stretched out” vagina with having a lot of sex, and use this as a way to shame people with vaginas for having lots of sex, which is very not okay.

So, it’s pretty important to establish that, contrary to popular belief, having an active sex life does not permanently loosen the vajayjay at all! And here’s why:

You see, the vagina is a fibromuscular, tubular canal, meaning that it is made out of a tightly folded, elastic muscle. When the vagina is resting (in its normal, usual state) the vaginal muscles remain tightly folded. When the person with the vagina is anxious, the vagina tightens even more, hence why sexual first-timers, first-time tampon users, etc., are usually so tight (because these can be anxiety-producing things). However, when the vagina is relaxed or sexually aroused, the muscles loosen in order to make way for whatever’s coming!

Loose Vagina

But, after the deed is done, the vagina reverts back to its original, resting, tightly coiled state.

Think of it sort of as a mouth: if we were to take our index fingers, pull the opposing corners of our mouths and let go, what happens? It goes back to its original state! Whether we do it one time, or 50 times. Our mouths and our vaginas, go back to their original state, every time.

I won’t lie to you and say that the vagina can never permanently loosen, ever. Muscle fibers tend to lose their elasticity over time, so old age does cause the vaginal muscles to loosen gradually. Now, the first time a young person (late teens/early twenties) gives birth, the vagina is likely to revert back to its original size after the birth. However, in combination with aging, the vagina does tend to gradually loosen after giving multiple births.

That’s it, Badgers. The only natural occurrences that have the potential to actually loosen the vagina: old age and multiple births, NOT intercourse. So, unless we’re inserting and exerting an infant-sized dildo/dick/finger/toy/cucumber into our vaginas, we have nothing to be concerned about when it comes to our tightness. So, let’s all make an effort to debunk this myth! Disassociate lots of sex with vaginal muscle loosening and love and accept all vaginas, mmkay? Love to all! 😀

P.S. Just because old age and multiple births can loosen our muscles, doesn’t mean we can’t take matters into our own hands if we want to. If we, for ourselves, want to take control of our tightness, then we have the natural option of doing Kegel exercises! These exercises involve the clenching and unclenching of our P.C muscles, which we find by peeing and then stopping midstream. We can clench and unclench rapidly, or clench and hold for 8-10 seconds, and/or use Kegel balls! Whatever feels most comfortable to us. Happy vaginas, everyone!