A: Don’t get yourself too worked up over it, but yes, you should get tested. Really, you should get tested after every new sexual partner (yes, oral sex counts). I’ll preface this by saying that I’m not a doctor–which is especially why you should see one–but I do strongly urge you to go get tested, for your health and more so, your peace of mind.

The greater the quantity of infected semen you’re exposed to, the greater the chances are that you may have something–of course, that’s assuming in the first place that the guy even has an STD. Since he didn’t ejaculate, you were at most, only exposed to pre-cum–so yes, it’s technically possible you caught something if he was infected, but the risk is low.

For something like HIV or hepatitis B, which is passed through the bloodstream, you would have to have had abrasions or cuts in your mouth (from a dental visit or biting your tongue, for example.) The same isn’t true for genital warts or herpes, which can spread through contact with the lesion. Even if you inspected his package with a microscope before going downtown, and you’re sure you didn’t see anything suspicious, remember that it’s still possible (but not super likely) to catch something even if there is no active, visible outbreak.

Haven’t convinced you yet? Let’s put it this way–even if you do end up testing positive, it’s not a death sentence. But not getting tested at all can be. We all know how HIV ends, but there are other STDs, like HPV and clamydia (both of which often have no symptoms at all), which if left untreated, can lead to cervical cancer or infertility. I’m assuming you plan on having sex at some point again the in the future. Something like chlamydia can be easily treated, but if you don’ t know you have it, you’ll just end up passing it back and forth with your partner, until it may be too late.

The purpose of all that was not to scare you, but I think having the facts reminds us how easy it is to spread infections to others, and how important it is to use protection and get tested regularly. So make an appointment and get tested–when it comes to your health, ignorance is not bliss.

My first thought? What is HPV? My second thought, if there’s no signs of symptoms, how do I know I don’t have it?

In school, Sex-Ed visuals of puffy soars, warts, and growths scared me so much I barely wanted to touch a penis (though, I still did) but THAT was the connotation I had of sexually transmitted diseases. I figured it there was ever a burning sensation, I should seriously get my stuff checked, otherwise smooth sailing.

Being the smart woman I am, I “maned up” and got tests, visited my lovely gyno-lady and thankfully that all came out super clean, but here’s the thing;

With diseases like HPV, there are no signs of the virus–only rarely are there types of warts. And the scariest part about it, there are 30-40 types of the disease and the most commonly transmitted HPV types may lead to HPV-induced cancer. Cervical cancer being one of them. Hi, terrifying.

Though the body can fight off low-risk types of HPV, about 10% of women infected will develop long-lasting affects. Approximately 20 million American’s have the infection.

SO my advice to you ladies: GET TESTED and quit putting off that appointment to the gyno; pap smears are there for our safety!! And if you can, get the vaccine. HPV is something we can prevent ahead of time if we’re smart, and I know it’s always scary and easy to put off making a trip to Planned Parenthood to get a tests or to avoid the uncomfortable shifting in the waiting room of a doctor’s office, but it’s better to know, than to deal with a high-risk of cervical cancer for the rest of your life. Besides, imagine if you passed it to one of your partners unknowingly?

BE SMART, stay informed, see your doc and prevent yourself from this entirely too common infection.