Use these.

Well, it’s back to school time again. Along with new teachers, new classes, and new assloads of work, we’re also going to be finding ourselves in a sea of new faces – which means one thing: fresh meat.

Whether you’re a freshman or a senior, college campuses everywhere will be packed with new people to party with, new people to study with, and yes, new people to have sex with. We all know the first few months of school are typically when the hormones of many kick in (this goes back to the “fresh meat” thing), and people everywhere are gettin’ busy. A lot.

So before we all pack up our stuff, say goodbye to free food and laundry and head back to school, here are a few STI facts to keep in mind when checking out all those new sexual prospects come September.

1 in 5 Americans are infected with an STI – That’s right, folks, 1 in 5. That means, in your class of 100, there’s a chance that somewhere near 20 people could be infected with some sort of STI. See now why it’s important to always use a condom?

The three most common STIs include Chlamydia, Gonorrhea and HPV. Luckily, many of us are eligible for the HPV vaccine which will almost completely eliminate our chance of contracting the forms of HPV that can lead to nasty genital and cervical cancers.

While most STIs can be treated with antibiotics and other medications, HIV, HPV, hepitits-B and herpes are incurable. While these diseases can be managed with the help of medication, you will (typically) carry the virus for life. Now, imagine having to have the “just so you know, I have herpes” talk with all of your future partners. Not so fun.

While most of us associate an STI with changes in our genitals (itching, burning, weird discharge), oftentimes there are no symptoms. The only way to be sure that you are STI-free is by getting tested regularly by your doctor – a simple routine that can be conducted at the same time that you get your annual PAP (or whenever it’s possible that you’ve been exposed to something). Women should be seeing a doctor for their annual physical/PAP smear once a year beginning when they become sexually active. If you do have symptoms, be sure to get to your doctor – your symptoms won’t go away just because you pretend they’re not there.

The good news is that most schools and health clinics offer free condoms to students and patients – some even offering a polyurethane alternative for those with latex allergies. We all know that condoms can be a little pricey, but stopping by the clinic and taking what you need is a perfectly reasonable alternative. Colleges go out of their way to make these resources available to their students because they know the importance of safe sex.

There is no excuse for putting your health at risk by having unsafe sex. Go out and have fun, but remember to get tested regularly and always, always, always use a condom.

Question for La Tuff? Email her at TuffyLuv@collegecandy.com for a chance to be featured in this column.

Dear Tuffy Luv,

The last two years have been a whirlwind for me. I was really overweight pretty much all throughout high school and was really shy/awkward towards anyone who I didn’t know very well. A year after I graduated high school, I decided to start losing weight and since then have lost nearly sixty pounds. I still have a little weight to lose, but this new body of mine has definitely caused me to feel more comfortable with myself, and the male attention has increased drastically. I didn’t date in high school because I felt so bad about how I looked, and only until this year did I start going on dates. Since then, I have dabbled in oral sex with a few different men I knew casually but I never get off from receiving it. Actually, it has never felt good receiving, but I still continue to do it in hopes of that changing. I never went all the way with any of these guys, partly because I am not still not 100% okay with how I look yet and I would silently freak out and back off. I am turning 20 in August and did not want to be a virgin when my teen years came to an end.

So, after not being able to go through it with any of the men I had gone down on, I decided to take action and find a random guy I would never have to see again on Craigslist. Well, I found the right man, we talked for about a week, and we met up, hung out and had sex. That’s where the next part, and my problem, comes in. It didn’t hurt at all, but it didn’t feel good either. I could feel him but there was no pleasure. I saw him again a few days later and nothing, even though I’m highly attracted to him not just physically but I felt mentally as well from what I did know about him. I even suggested he take off the condom the second time we were together thinking maybe that was the problem, but nothing! That was nearly six weeks ago, and I have since slept with two other guys who have approached me and it is the same thing. I am attracted to them and I like going down on them, but I have yet to receive any pleasure when it comes to receiving oral and intercourse. I feel hopeless. I was not expecting fireworks or anything, but no pleasure from any of these encounters is leaving me frustrated and insecure. Is there something wrong with me? I finally have had sex and it is such a major let down.

Can’t Enjoy Sex

P.S. I forgot to mention that I have had orgasms before, plenty actually, with the help of a vibrator. I started using one more than a year ago and was (obviously) still a virgin at the time. I know that I may have to take a break from it since I am probably used to the strong vibrations to get me off, and that could be a part of the problem, but I still don’t know why I can’t at least feel some sort of pleasure from oral and/or intercourse.

Dear Can’t Enjoy Sex,

WHAT THE FLOOP ARE YOU THINKING?!?!?!!

Seriously, I just about had a heart attack reading your stupid, foolish letter. Gurgling sounds rose in my throat. Or perhaps that was the vomit.

Look. You can’t just go around meeting strangers on the internet to have sex with. And you CERTAINLY can’t be having sex with random strangers and taking off the condom. You also should not be having unprotected oral sex. Okay? I’m serious here. You march your tushy to your OB/GYN (or to Planned Parenthood) RIGHT NOW and get tested. You can get all kinds of nasties this way.

DO NOT HAVE UNPROTECTED SEX!!!!!!!! You are opening yourself up to disease, and you are opening future partners up to disease too. I swear to Gaga. CONDOMS ALWAYS!!!

And, for real, picking up random strangers to have sex with is really, really foolish. You don’t know these guys. You could be raped, or killed. It is really, really dangerous. Please don’t do it. Herpes is almost the BEST case scenerio.

Okay, but let’s deal with your actual question now, which is neither stupid nor foolish. You are worried about not being able feel pleasure during sex. And, girl, you deserve to be feeling pleasure during sex. Pre-babies, that’s the whole point.

There’s probably nothing wrong with you. It usually takes several gos for sex to start feeling good. And in terms of oral–well, a lot of guys suck at oral (no pun intended). You just haven’t found someone who knows how to make you, the sexual person YOU, feel good.

And that’s really probably at the root of all this. Girl, one-night stands are fine (IF YOU USE PROTECTION). But for someone to know you and what feels good to you, and even what turns you on, you’d be much better off finding someone you connect with on a more personal and intimate level. It doesn’t have to be the guy you’re gonna marry. But a guy that you’d like to keep seeing–well, that might really help. That’s the guy who will be willing to find out what sex stuff works for YOU. Those are the kind of guys you should be sleeping with.

Of course, that said, if you continue to find that sex is uncomfortable or just never ever good at all, it couldn’t hurt to get checked out by a gynecologist, just to make sure everything is running smoothly. Especially since you WILL be going there anyway to get checked for STDs.

More importantly, you gotta ask yourself–why are you being so reckless with your body? You are literally putting yourself in harm’s way by being with random guys and having unprotected oral and intercourse. I suspect it’s because, as you yourself said, you’re still feeling bad about your body. But you worked so hard to lose all that weight! Don’t squander it on some random guys who may leave you hurt or diseased. Save that good body for the guys who are worth it. And, more importantly, respect yourself and not just your body but your heart and mind.

Seriously, please be more careful with yourself. Aunt Tuffy’s over here having conniptions.

Hearts & Skulls,
Tuffy Luv

Careful friend, he's got herpes.

…Or at least that’s what CNN is saying in a recent article entitled “The Downside of ‘Friends With Benefits.’” If reading about FWBs on CNN isn’t disturbing enough, perhaps this will make you WTF:

“When Jennifer Nicholas sees television shows or movies where characters “hook up” or have sex with “friends with benefits,” she cringes, because that’s how she got herpes.”

Seems to me like Ms. Jennifer is just hanging out with the wrong crowd.

I agree there are many downsides to the FWB – awkward mornings, awkward silences, generally awkward encounters – but I’m fairly certain there is no direct relation between drunkenly doin’ it with your former BFF and needing a prescription for Valtrex.

Poor Jennifer, though. Girlfriend needs some new friends.

Got a health question? Don’t trust those “Doctors” at the University Health Center? Are you scared of Web M.D. because it always tells you you’re gonna die? Ask a real doctor, our friend Dr. Lissa Rankin. She’s here every Thursday to answer whatever you throw at her – like the getting over your fear of sex– so ask away. Leave your question in the comments or send it over to us. Don’t be shy; she’s waiting for ya!

Q: I recently started hooking up with a boy who has, well, gotten around. I asked him if he’d been tested recently and he said he did (and he was “all good!”), but I don’t know if I trust him. Maybe he’s just saying that to get in my pants? I obviously plan on using a condom when I sleep with him, but are there any things I can look for before I go down that path?  Any visible signs I should pay attention to so I know if he’s telling me the truth or not?

A: Honey, if you can’t trust the guy, do you really want to sleep with him? I mean- yeah, there are some things you can do to check him out, but it’s not necessarily enough to protect you.  Make sure you care enough about this guy that, if you do get a sexually transmitted infection, it’s not the end of your world. Because the truth is- even if he got tested for “everything,” you may still be at risk.

Why? Because condoms don’t protect you against all STI’s, and testing doesn’t always test for everything. Most testing will not reveal whether a guy carries HPV, and often, it will not represent whether he might be infectious for herpes.

So what’s a girl to do? Here are a few tips:

1. Ask your partner to be honest about whether he has really been tested. Explain that you value the health of both of you, and that if he cares about you, he needs to demonstrate this. Ask for a copy of his test results if you can’t trust him but want to sleep with him anyway. Offer him a copy of yours first. Then inspect him.
2. Look for cauliflowery warts on and around his penis.
3. Inspect the tip of the penis for funky discharge (anything greenish or yellowish) that may represent gonorrhea or chlamydia. (Wetness in this region should always be clear).
4. Hunt for reddish ulcerations that might represent genital herpes.
5. Check for little round bumps that can represent molluscum contagiosum.
6. Take a gander at his pubic hair to make sure there are no pubic lice or little white eggs.

Remember, a clean inspection doesn’t mean you’re good to go. Most sexually transmitted infections have absolutely no signs on a clinical exam. Which is why it all comes down to trust. At the end of the day, do you really want to hook up with someone you can’t believe?

Hope that helps!

- Dr. Lissa Rankin’s book, What’s Up Down There? Questions You’d Only Ask Your Gynecologist If She Was Your Best Friend, will be published by St. Martin’s Press in Fall 2010. She invites you to join her Pink online community (www.owningpink.com/forum) or read more of her writing at Owning Pink (www.owningpink.com).

Watch out, grams. That game could kill you!

Swine flu is ruining everything. I can’t eat, I can’t sleep, I can’t kiss without thinking I’m going to contract the disease of the pigs. And now, apparently, I can’t play beer pong.

Officials at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (yeah, I’ve never heard of that place either) have reported 21 cases of swine flu that they have cleverly traced back to a game of beer pong. One single game! But is anyone really surprised? What can’t you contract from a game of beer pong?

The first time I swore off beer pong was during an outbreak of mono at my school. I thought I was being proactive about warding off the disease. That is until I came back from Spring Break in Cancun and was immediately rushed to the hospital with an extreme case of mono paired with dehydration and probably a little bit of alcohol poisoning. So, much for that.

Next, it was oral herpes. If you play beer pong, you will get oral herpes, and DIE. Fantastic. I spent half the party staring at people’s mouths and strategically placing myself a team ahead of the dude with the suspicious lip sore. I was like the Nancy Drew of STDs. No one likes that girl.

Swine flu, mono and a multitude of STDs later, I’m beginning to wonder if my love of the game is worth it.  If you’re going to contract the kissing disease, it might as well be the result of a great makeout session, not a game of beer pong. Especially if you lose.

Am I right or am I right?

And I guess I could say the same for STDs, but I’d rather just avoid them altogether, thank you.

I think the world is trying to tell me something: Beer pong is the game of the devil. To be honest, I’m not even that good. Flip cup is more my thang. I think I will be respectfully declining any pong tournament invitations from here on out and stick to my favorite drinking game: pouring myself some vodka…and drinking it.

Remember when you were little, and your parents gave you that “Don’t talk to strangers” lecture?  Well, approximately a decade or so later, we find ourselves in college. At bars. Talking to strangers.

And by “talking” I mean… letting a few rounds of Patron turn into a one-night-stand. What’s up with that?

Look, I’m not a slut. But I have certainly made some bad decisions. And with one in four college students carrying an STD, it’s really important to follow Mom’s advice.

There are plenty of reasons why it’s best to actually get to know someone before you go home with them. You don’t want to run into any “surprises” in the sack- e.g. you think he’s a nice fellow, until you’re astride him and he’s requesting that you spank him and call him Sally. You also don’t want to feel awkward about things in the morning. Let’s face it, it sucks to wake up to a selfish stranger who doesn’t even care about your walk of shame because he wants to get a few more Z’s, even though he has a car parked right outside and could easily give you a ride home.

And then there are the urban legends. You know, the guys who seem like quite a catch, when in reality they are dating/married/married to five women/gay/a transsexual… you name it. My roommate recently shared the most hideous tale I’ve ever heard. She insists this happened to “a friend of a friend” at work, which leads me NOT to believe it, but you know what? I’m going to share it for the amusement of the many CC readers out there.

A girl goes to a bar and gets wasted. She ends up making out with a dude, something she hardly ever does. The next morning, she wakes up with a rash all over her face. Freaked out, she goes to the dermatologist, who takes one look at her face and demands to know everything the girl has done in the past few weeks. This girl, not normally one to snog a stranger, lists everything except her chance encounter- after all, she didn’t sleep with him. The dermatologist knows she’s lying and keeps pressing until the girl admits to her makeout sesh. The doc then tells the girl to find the guy and go to the police. Somehow, she does (another reason I’m hesitant to believe this), and when the cops go to the dude’s house, they find two dead women in the apartment. The dude has been having necrophiliac sex with his victims, and when he made out with the chick, he passed their dead skin cells onto her face, causing the break out.

WHAT THE F***K???? Like I said, I don’t necessarily believe this story, but it shows that you never know what kinds of skeletons (no pun intended) a stranger has in their closet when you decide to shack up.

Sure, when you’ve been high and dry, and a McDreamy comes along and sweeps you off your feet, it can seem like a good idea to let loose. But sometimes one bad decision can lead to a scarlet letter that lasts forever. Why do you think herpes is (rather sickly) referred to as “the gift that keeps on giving”?

Take mom’s advice. If you are in a well-lit place with your girls, you can share polite convo with a stranger. But don’t go home with him until you know his last name, are familiar with his roommates, and hold no reasonable doubt that he could have a criminal record….or dead people under the bed.

Do you have that burning, itching, inflamed, oozey feeling south of the border? Maybe you don’t see or feel anything obvious but you just have that nagging suspicion that last week’s man-whore frat-guy gave you more than his number. Either way, it’s time you got checked out.

Even if you don’t suspect any foul play but just want to be on the safe side, you should set up an appointment. Not sure where to start? Here’s everything you need to know before you put on the paper gown.

Where to Go: Taking that first step can be a little scary. Even just trying to find a testing sight can seem overwhelming, not to mention difficult. Sometimes religious activists set up websites mimicking health facilities in order to preach their message. But lucky for you, the Center for Disease Control and Planned Parenthood are the only websites you’ll need on your quest for sexual health. Plug in your zip code or state and watch as your screen gets flooded with every test site in a ten mile radius. The CDC also has a great feature that tells you who offers free testing.

What you should know before you go: Know the difference between “anonymous” and “confidential” HIV testing. Anonymous tests won’t link your name to your results, whereas confidential information could be made available to medical personnel. Be sure to ask about financial costs, how you’ll receive your test results and how long those results will take. It’s always good to know what to expect that way there will be no surprises later.

Testing: I am terrified of doctors, I don’t like the smells, the instruments, their crisp white coats, even the terminology creeps me out (I’m going to apologize for using said terminology below, but hooha and peen just didn’t seem appropiate). The whole experience gives me that pre-diarrhea feeling but I learned the best way to cope is to know what to expect before going in. Here are all the different tests that are out there. It seems like a lot, but different tests are specific to different infections so chances are you’ll be finished after a quick swab and a blood test.

• Blood test: This can test for hepatitis A, B and C; herpes (Although most blood tests for herpes cannot distinguish between type 1 and type 2), syphilis, and HIV.
• Urine test: This can be used to test for chlamydia, gonorrhea, and HIV.
• Swab cell culture or discharge sample from the throat, anus, cervix, or urethral opening of the penis: This is used to test for bacterial vaginosis, chlamydia, gonorrhea, and trichomoniasis.
• Swab DNA test from the cervix or urethral opening of the penis: This is used to test for chlamydia, gonorrhea, and HPV. The HPV DNA test is used for women as follow up to an abnormal Pap smear that indicates HPV infection. It is not reliable for testing HPV in men.
• Swab sample from a sore or lesion: This can be used to test for herpes and syphilis.
• Swab sample from oral fluids: This can be used to test for HIV.
• Visual Exam: This can detect crabs, herpes, and HPV.

The Results: So let’s say you did the right thing, got tested, and the results were less than perfect. Don’t freak out. Your doctor will set you up with a treatment plan. There are magic little pills that can clear that mess right up, or at least treat any uncomfortable symptoms and help prevent further infection.

If you still have questions be sure to Ask the Experts and have a Happy STD Awareness Day!

We took the embarrassment (and speculum!) factor out of the equation and asked you, the CollegeCandy readers, to submit the questions you had regarding STDs and sexual health to our new pal, OB/GYN Dr. Lissa Rankin. She shares her experience and knowledge below. There were so many questions that we had to break it into two parts, so come back later to read the rest!

1. How does someone get tested for STDs?
If you wish to be screened for STD’s, screening is simple.  Readily available blood tests exist for HIV, hepatitis B and C, syphilis, and herpes.  Chlamydia, gonorrhea, and trichomonas can all be tested from swabbing the vagina or cervix, as well as from a urine test, and it’s important to get tested, since the presence of these infections may make you more susceptible to contracting HIV.  HPV testing can be performed at the time of a pap smear, although this test is usually only done if your pap smear is abnormal.  Genital warts, pubic lice and molluscum contagiosum are usually diagnosed by a doctor’s visual inspection or, sometimes, a biopsy.  Most STD tests are readily available at any OB/GYN or primary care medical office.

2. How often should I get tested?
I recommend being tested any time you change sexual partners (or any time your partner does). So if you break up with your boyfriend and he hooks up with someone else, then wants to get back together, it’s time to get tested again.  If you’ve been tested once and everything was negative, it’s a good idea to get retested in 6 months, just to make sure.  After that, as long as you’re with the same partner and you know for sure your partner is faithful, you’re probably safe to just get your annual pap smear.

If you’re changing partners, you need to be tested before every new partner.  If you’re changing partners daily- or even weekly, you’re putting yourself at high risk, even with frequent testing. Always use condoms in this situation, but understand that even condoms can’t protect you from all the cooties that are out there.  Be safe!

3. How do you broach the subject with your partner?
You DON’T wait until things are hot and heavy before you bring it up.  I recommend that women initiate the discussion by getting tested themselves.  When you show your partner that you care about the health of both of you by getting tested, it will motivate him to do the same.  So go ahead and draw the line in the sand.  Tell him you don’t feel comfortable being sexual with him until you know you’re safe.  Then use condoms anyway, just to be safe.  But keep in mind that some STDs like herpes and HPV can still be transmitted, even if you use condoms, since the virus can still be shed from genital skin that isn’t covered by the condom.

If you already have an STD and need to tell your partner, bring him with you to the gynecologist. Having a doctor present to alleviate concerns and answer questions is a good way to break the news.  Or write a letter if that’s easier for you, and include website links that can help answer his questions.

4. What are the odds of catching an STD through oral sex with ejaculation? And does the likelihood increase if you spit (it’s already in your mouth) or swallow?

Many young people enjoy oral sex over intercourse specifically because you can’t get pregnant and you’re less likely to get sexually transmitted diseases, but that doesn’t make it risk-free.  As you can imagine, this is a hard thing to study. Few couples engage only in oral sex, so it’s hard to get a clean study.  It’s not like you can take two groups of people and say, “You guys have intercourse and you guys have oral sex and we’ll study the risk of STD transmission!”  No, that doesn’t work.  So all we have is theoretical data, really.

So what do we know? You can get STDs from oral sex with ejaculation, but it’s pretty rare. Several factors increase your risk of contracting a STD from oral sex.  If you have poor oral hygiene, such as oral ulcers, gum disease, or oral thrush, this makes you more susceptible to someone’s body fluids.  If you hold semen in your mouth, this also increases the risk of transmission. It’s better to spit or swallow immediately, since stomach acids inactivate most infections.

If you give a man with herpes oral sex, and he is shedding the virus from his genitals, you can get oral herpes or herpes pharyngitis, leading to ulcers in the mouth and throat. While genital herpes (HSV-2) tends to prefer infecting the genitals, there can be some crossover, so HSV-2 can still cause problems in the mouth, although this is much less common.  Transmission in the absence of genital ulcers in uncommon, although not impossible.  Similarly, oral infection with syphilis can cause syphilitic mouth ulcers, or chancres.

Certain strains of human papillomavirus (HPV) can cause warts in the throat, although this is extremely uncommon.  Some data suggests that HPV infection of the throat may also increase the risk of throat cancer, but again, this is an uncommon outcome.  Having oral sex with a man with gonorrhea can cause a gonococcal throat infection, although this is usually asymptomatic.  Chlamydia has also been isolated from the throats of men and women, although it doesn’t appear to cause symptoms.

Blood-borne STD’s or those carried in body fluids, such as HIV and hepatitis B and C, have a theoretical risk of transmission from oral sex.  Poor oral hygiene or blood in the semen may increase this risk.  Overall, a few reports of transmission from oral sex exist, but this appears to happen very rarely.

All in all, oral sex is much safer than either vaginal intercourse or anal intercourse, and transmission of STD’s is a rare but theoretical risk.  If you decide to take your chances with oral sex, the likelihood is that you’ll be just fine.  But if you wish to protect yourself, your partner can wear a condom. Flavored condoms exist specifically for the enjoyment of safe oral sex.

Then I found out that two of the eight girls living in my house (25%) had contracted an STD. These two girls weren’t promscuous – one was a virgin! – and the other was always safe. And that was when I realized just how serious STDs were for all women on college campuses.

The problem with STDs is that people don’t talk about them. We all think that by practicing safe sex – using a condom – we are safe from everything and because we have this false sense of safety, many of us never get tested. And that is why 1 in 4 college students currently have an STD.

April is STD Awareness Month and in conjuction with that, we at CollegeCandy decided to stop regular posting and turn today into STD Awareness Day. We have teamed with with many experts in the field – doctors, nurses, STD specialists, etc. – to bring you the information you need to protect yourself and start a necessary dialogue on a serious issue.

We urge you to learn a little bit and make an appointment to get tested!

Below are some pretty serious and scary facts about STDs that we never knew. Chances are, you don’t know about them either and that is dangerous. Knowledge is power and when it comes to STDs, it is the power to protect youself:

• Sexually transmitted diseases are among the most common infectious diseases in the U.S. today, especially among our youth. The CDC estimates there are approximately 19 million new cases of STDs each year, almost half of them among young people ages 15 to 24.

• Women are 6-7 times more likely to acquire Herpes than men are.

• Over 80% of women will be exposed to HPV.

• Many women have STDs without ever knowing it — 70% of women with chlamydia and up to 50% with gonorrhea never get symptoms.

• It’s possible to get infected, recover, and never find out, but even these invisible infections could cause infertility: about 30 to 40% of women with untreated chlamydia get pelvic inflammatory disease which sometimes causes fertility issues later in life.

• A person who has never had a symptom can have an STD, and is therefore still able to transmit STDs.

• Younger people are more vulnerable to chlamydia and HPV (the two most common STDs in the US) than older people.

• 20% of all Americans over age 12 test positive for genital herpes virus in their blood.

• Women who have sex with women are at risk for many of the same STDs as women who have sex with men. Women may transmit bacterial and parasitic infections of the vagina to other women and there is also evidence of HIV transmission. In theory, women who have sex with women may also transmit HPV and may transmit oral herpes to the genitals.

• Even if you’ve been tested for STDs and told you’re disease-free, you may still be at risk: STD testing practices vary by doctor, and doctors often choose which STDs to test for based on the patient’s sexual history. Therefore, it’s important to be honest with your doctor when getting tested.

• CDC estimates that there are approximately 2.8 million new cases of chlamydia in the United States each year, and more than half of new cases remain undiagnosed and unreported.

• Most syphilis cases occur in persons 20 to 39 years of age.  In 2006, The incidence of syphilis was highest in women 20 to 24 years of age and in men 35 to 39 years of age.

• Having syphilis (or most other curable STDs) once does not protect a person from getting it again. Following successful treatment, people can still be susceptible to re-infection.

• Gonorrhea can spread to the blood or joints. This condition can be life threatening.

• Having nearly any STD can increase your risk of contracting HIV.

• Most people get genital herpes by having sex (or merely contact) with someone who is shedding the herpes virus, either during an outbreak or during a period with no symptoms. People who do not know they have herpes play an important role in transmission.

• More than 100 different types of HPV exist, most of which are harmless. About 30 types are spread through sexual contact and are classified as either low risk or high risk.

• Symptoms to STDs, such as the genital warts associated with HPV, may appear within several weeks after sexual relations with an infected person, take months to appear, or they may never appear. This makes it hard to know exactly when or from whom you got the virus.

For years, circumcision was performed not only because of certain religious beliefs, but also the idea that circumcision was more hygienic and lowered health risks.  Then, in 1999, the American Medical Association claimed it was medically unnecessary.

However, this may not be as true as once believed.  A new study has found that male circumcision can actually lower guys’ risk of getting certain STDs.  The study states that circumcision lowers the risk of HPV (human papillomavirus) by 35 percent and herpes by 28 percent.  Furthermore, the study confirmed a previous study that said circumcision lowers AIDS risk by 60 percent.

Based on the study’s findings, the researchers who conducted it believe that circumcision should be used to reduce sexually transmitted infections.  Luckily for us, 79% of men in the U.S. have had that taken care of, as opposed to 30% worldwide.

However, just because the results of this study show that STD risks can be lowered by circumcision, it’s important to understand that there is still a risk of getting STDs from any sort of unprotected sexual activity.  So even if your man is circumcised, wrap it up!