Talking sex with your doctor isn’t always easy. Whether you are afraid she will judge you,  you just don’t feel comfortable sharing the intimate details of your life between the sheets, or you can’t think straight with a speculum between your legs, many people get tight lipped in the doctor’s office. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have questions.

We thought we’d help and every Thursday our friend Dr. Lissa Rankin will be answering your questions. The ones you couldn’t ask your doctor in person. Just leave your questions in the comments, or send em over to us. (We’ll keep it all anonymous for you.) Dr. Lissa will answer anything – really, anything – about sex and other lady things. Don’t be shy; she’s waiting for ya!

Q: I recently found out that I have HPV. I was so shocked and upset by the news that I couldn’t really think of anything to ask my doctor. So, I was wondering what I should do. This was the first time I’ve ever been tested, so do I have to tell every guy I’ve ever been with (even those I didn’t actually have sex with)? And do I have to tell all future partners?

A: First of all, I’m sorry you have Human PapillomaVirus (HPV). If it makes you feel any better, I have had it too. You didn’t say whether your HPV is the type that causes genital warts or abnormal pap smears (they tend to be different strains but may travel together). But I’d be happy to educate you about HPV in general, since you were too freaked out to ask your doc. Read More »

Here at CollegeCandy, we’ve long urged our readers to go get tested for STDs.  Getting tested for STDs is extremely important, especially when you’ve had multiple partners or have had unprotected sex.  Many STDs take a while to show any symptoms and some people never show any signs of having one, so getting tested is the only way to be sure that you’re healthy and to ensure that you’re not spreading any around.

Ok, so you’ve gone and gotten tested–and the test came back positive.  Now what?  After you talk to your doctor about treatment, the next thing you should do is to tell your partner.  And not just your current boyfriend/hookup buddy, I mean ALL your ex-partners, too, because there’s the chance that they’ve been infected and don’t know it, either.  I know, I know… it’s super embarrassing, but it’s your responsibility to make sure they don’t spread an STD, either.  And, who knows? It’s possible you got it from them and they should know to be checked.

But don’t stress–there are some things that you can do to make the whole ordeal less painful. Read More »

Talking sex with your doctor isn’t always easy. Whether you are afraid she or he will judge you,  you just don’t feel comfortable sharing the intimate details of your life between the sheets, or you can’t think straight with a speculum between your legs, many people get tight lipped in the doctor’s office. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have questions.

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. Check out the first batch of questions she answered and get the rest of the info below:

1. If you have a high risk strain of HPV and so does your current partner, will my chances of it progressing to cervical cancer increase if we do not use a condom, and just use birth control? I am positive he is also monogamous.

Bummer about the HPV, but rest assured, you’re so not alone. As many as 80% of sexually active young people will test positive for HPV, even in the absence of symptoms.  If you and your partner already have a high risk strain of HPV and you’re both completely monogamous, using a condom probably won’t help you unless there are other strains of HPV or other STDs that the two of you have not already transmitted to each other.  Whether or not your high risk HPV leads to precancerous changes of the cervix, or worse, cervical cancer, has much more to do with how well your immune system functions.  The best thing you can do to avoid cervical cancer once you have high risk HPV is to eat a whole foods, healthy diet, exercise regularly, get enough sleep, take a multivitamin, manage your stress in healthy ways, and generally take good care of your body – all things that strengthen your immune system.  If you have access to an integrative medicine physician or a naturopathic doctor, there are herbal formulas that can help your body naturally fight the HPV.  Read More »

[The following post is courtesy of Vanessa Cullins, M.D., Vice President of Medical Affairs at Planned Parenthood. If anyone knows anything about the importance of testing and sexual health, it is Dr. Cullins.]

Here’s a disturbing tidbit:  A U.S. government study found that an average of 14 percent of college women become infected with a human papilloma virus (HPV) each year. At the end of a three-year study, 43 percent of college women were infected.  Why should you care?  Because in some cases HPV can lead to cancer. To avoid HPV infection, girls and women should be vaccinated with Gardasil, which prevents infection of the types of HPV that cause 70 percent of the cases of cervical cancer in the U.S.

Here’s another: An estimated 19 million Americans are infected with a new sexually transmitted disease (STD) each year and, by the age of 25, half of all sexually active young people will contract an STD. In fact, at least one in four teenage girls already has an STD.

Read More »

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. Read More »

While all STDs are serious, HPV might be the most important for young college women to know about. HPV is the most common STD in the U.S. today and a reported 5.5 million new cases are diagnosed each year. 20 million Americans already have it and most have no idea!

As you very well know by now, HPV is much more than just a few genital warts; it can lead to cervical cancer if left un-treated!

OB/GYN Dr. Lissa Rankin is passionate about educating women about and protecting women against HPV. She shared the following information with us:

Do you guys all know about HPV? It’s the Human PapillomaVirus, the virus that causes genital warts, abnormal pap smears, and cervical cancer. If it helps you remember it (or maybe just if it makes you laugh) call it Hot Pox of the Va Jay Jay. Whatever you call it, it’s important to fully comprehend the scope of this sexually transmitted disease, since, unless you vaccinate yourself, 75% of you will get it before the age of 50, if you haven’t already. Do ya hear me? 75%!!

Because HPV is a virus, there’s no real cure the way there is for most bacteria. Chlamydia, for example, requires only one dose of an antibiotic to cure it. But antibiotics don’t work for viruses. It’s basically up to your immune system to try to fight it. Sometimes the immune system wins and the virus goes away. Other times, the HPV is too strong, and BOOM. There it is. Cauliflower crotch. But warts are small potatoes as far as HPV goes; HPV can also cause abnormal pap smears, which, left untreated, can become cervical cancer.

Usually, it all starts with an abnormal pap smear, caused most commonly by HPV types 16 and 18. This is the type guys can give you which doesn’t cause a flippin’ thing for them. That’s why it’s SO important to get pap smears regularly. As long as you get your pap smear once a year, you shouldn’t ever get cancer, since we can treat it before it goes that far.

Read More »

Jill Grimes, MD, is a board-certified family practice physician in Austin, TX. She is an associate editor for the 5-Minute Clinical Consult textbook, and clinical instructor at UMASS Medical School.  Her book, Seductive Delusions: How Everyday People Catch STDs, proves how serious STDs are for all of us – yes, even you! We had a chance to speak with Jill and she had this to share with everyone at CollegeCandy:

Okay, ladies, it’s time for a sneak peak behind closed exam-room doors. Outside, we are bombarded with the constant message that sex is all about fun, excitement, and personal empowerment – our bodies, our choice. Inside, however, we see a disconnect between these choices and unexpected consequences. People like “us”- whether that’s preppy Greeks, computer geeks, scholarship athletes, nurturing elementary ed majors, intense pre-law or pre-med majors, or any other student – these aren’t the kind of people who would be at risk of carrying a sexually transmitted disease, right?

WRONG!

As a private practice family physician located near a major university, I’m here to give you the REAL scoop about the STDs we diagnose every day, in women just like you.

The majority of my patients have had fewer sexual partners than they can count on one hand, and yet my colleagues and I diagnose genital herpes, chlamydia, and HPV (either obvious genital warts or abnormal Pap smears) like crazy! To be honest, one of the most common things we hear when we diagnose someone with genital herpes is “but there’s NO WAY I can have herpes, because I haven’t even had sex yet!” Of course, they’ve had oral sex, but they didn’t realize that cold sores = Herpes and cold sores in the mouth + genitals = Herpes down low. Read More »

When I found out that 25% of college students have a Sexually Transmitted Disease, I laughed. Surely that statistic referred to the more promiscuous students, or those who were dumb enough not to use a condom during 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: Read More »

As we all know from our high school sex ed classes–and some of you from experience– it’s a basic fact that some guys are circumcised, while others aren’t.  It’s been long debated whether or not it makes too much difference in terms of sensation for guys, and for girls, whether they prefer a circumcised or uncircumcised dude is simply a matter of personal preference (and some don’t care either way).

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. Read More »

When’s the last time you took a trip to visit your good old friend, the doctor? Chances are you’ve missed some really important appointments! It’s time to suck it up and face the music, sister.

Here are three necessary dates you need to jot down in that calendar of yours:

Your Gynecologist:

You’re probably used to a getting a little more romance prior to anyone coming near your cookie, but you’re gonna have to make an exception here! You should have your first pap test done once you become sexually active or once you turn 21, whichever comes first. The doctor will use a device called a speculum to widen the opening of the vagina so that the cervix can be examined for cancerous cells. This will only be uncomfortable for a minute as they take a swab of your cells. You should get your results within 3 weeks. If you don’t have this test done annually, you are putting yourself at risk for undetected cervical cancer. Hey, and while you’re at it, go get yourself the HPV vaccine and give cervical cancer the one-two punch!

Your Dentist:

Those needles, that drilling, the disappointing absence of this month’s Cosmo in the waiting room. No one likes making a date with the big D! (Well, that big D.) But if you don’t go for your 6 month checkup like you know you should, your dentist won’t be able to catch a small issue before it turns into a huge (not to mention painful and expensive!) problem. Say you do have a cavity; if your dentist finds it quickly, he can fill it right away. If you let a cavity hang out in your tooth for too long, you will end up having to suffer a crown and root canal. Your dentist also needs to regularly check you for periodontitis, oral cancer, gingivitis, and decay. So, catch up on your flossing and give Dr. Giggles a call.

Your Optometrist:

Staring at a computer for hours, not wearing eye-wear in the tanning bed, binge-drinking, and smoking cigarettes are all ways we damage our eyesight on a daily basis. An annual check up with your Optometrist can help determine if you are at risk for glaucoma or macular degeneration (a slow progression of blindness. Remember Amanda from ANTM season 3? She had macular degeneration!). A quick visit will determine if you have either of these conditions as well as evaluate your vision. You’ll take a puff of air to the eye, have a flashlight waved over your pupil and read some letters off a poster. Way easier than any exam you’ll take in class!

So, if you want to avoid resembling a guest on Jerry Springer (blind, toothless and probably full of vadge cancer), you need to get your bum to the doc. It may not be the greatest way to spend an afternoon, but it sure beats developing a serious disease! And if you just can’t bring yourself to go alone, have a friend tag along. She probably needs to go too.