It’s Tough, But do it – Assess Your Risk: STIs

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Adina Rivers

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Lover of Life, Love & Sensuality. Optimist. Believer. Natural Beauty Advocate. Minimalist. Living life outside the box; where the magic happens.

Have you had a hot One-Night Stand lately? Does your partner has sex with other women/men? Did you had a juicy foreplay with a stranger? If you had, you are at risk for a sexually-transmitted infection (STI).  Now, I don’t want to scare you, but the fact is, about 50% of all people are likely to have an STI at some point in their lifetime.

A STI is a disease that can be passed from one person to another by sexual contact (anal, oral or vaginal)

And if you think: ” yeah, but I only did some foreplay and touching here and there” I have to tell you that even a STI can be passed on to you or your partner through foreplay or genital touching. Most STIs are passed on through infected body fluids e.g. blood, saliva, vaginal secretion or semen. Very few are passed on through skin-to-skin contact. STI’s can even be passed on from a mother to her baby during birth.

So whether you are an expecting mother and want to make sure you and your baby are safe or you are unsure about your last sex partner or you have a strange vaginal discharge or vaginal itching and aren’t sure what it is I recommend to read this article, then see a doctor to make sure what exactly you are dealing with and then use nature and common sense to heal or prevent any STI or Vaginal Infection.

Must Read: The Most Common Vaginal Infections

There are some things that increase your risks for contracting an STI:

• Unprotected sex – Anytime you have sex without protection, you are increasing your risk of getting an STI.
• Sex with multiple partners – The more people you have sex with, the more you up the chances of getting an infection. And that goes for sex with multiple partners at the same time, as well as serial monogamy.
• Using drugs or alcohol – It is true that sharing needles greatly raises the risk of infection. But it is also true that using drug or alcohol lowers judgment, and increases chances of participating in other risky behavior.

 There are also things that reduce your risks for STIs:

• Get tested – Include testing for STIs with your annual exam.
• Get them tested – Ask a new partner to get tested before having sex.
• Safe sex – Always use a condom and practice safe sex.
• Avoid drugs and alcohol.

STI Symptoms

Sometimes, it’s hard to tell if you might have an STI. Some infections have little or no symptoms. Your best bet is to get tested regularly. There are some symptoms that can occur:

• Abnormal vaginal discharge – Discharge that is grey, yellow or green and has a strong odor can be a sign of an STI
• Pain when urinating
• Abnormal bleeding between periods
• Unexplained fever
• Swollen or painful glands in the genital area
• If untreated, some STIs can cause pain during sex, muscle aches and back pain

And don’t worry too much.

In most cases it is just another “normal” vaginal infection, such as a vaginal bacterial infection or urinary tract infection. But if you do have an STI, early detection is key. If you want to know more about your risks, you can take a risk assessment questionnaire at here.

There are so many different STIs, and the risk and symptoms vary so much, it can be confusing. Visit this great chart that lists different sexual activities and what you might get when performing them if you’re partner is infected.

There’s a lot of information about STIs, but the clearest is that if you are having sex, you are at risk. Know the risks, get tested, and practice safe sex…it’s the only way to reduce the risk.

Did you ever had a STI? If so, please let us know what you did to heal it? What was the first sign of the Infection? Please help other women by sharing your thoughts.