Lesbian secured Sex 101: the physician is actually (Also, the Cartoonist) | Autostraddle

Here is a handy self-help guide to safe girl-on-girl intercourse! health staff ended up being consulted because of this article, but it is not a substitute for healthcare advice/attention.

Our very own

Technostraddle publisher Taylor

has furnished some cartoons for you to boost your reading experience. For lots more of Taylor’s cartoons, you need to have a look at
DoodleShroom
!

+

---

Before writing listed here portion, we read

Natalie’s


Why Are Gay Women So Scared Of the Gyno?

Everybody appeared to have plenty of questions regarding sexual health insurance and I happened to be wanting I could assist respond to a lot of them! Regrettably, In addition noticed some antagonism towards health practitioners typically, which seemed to be powered of the adverse experiences many you have got got. Believe me, I have it – I’ve been truth be told there.

But, speaking from viewpoint of someone that is inside system, choosing not going to the physician is not the solution! While medication is actually a patriarchal and hierarchical organization, there are many all of us that are trying to alter that.

I know conduct a lot of LGBT wellness knowledge and there’s a genuine push to make sure that the next generation of doctors is certainly one that will recognize that not absolutely all women can be heterosexual baby-makers (no problem with those!). Change needs time to work, certain, but your health shouldn’t suffer considering a doctor who’sn’t because enlightened while you’d hope.

Female You Have To Get Yourself Checked

It could be quite hard to discuss queer ladies’ problems ‘cause there just has not been a lot research done regarding the costs of intimately sent bacterial infections (STIs) and HIV in females that like to ride the hobby-horse along with other women.

I learned merely from talking to my friends and various other sapphically-inclined females that most of y’all commonly having secure sex! We do not be concerned about unexpected pregnancy & most lesbians apparently think we don’t need to bother about contracting STIs from your lovers either.

Howevs,

research reveal that at the very least 75per cent of women whom identify as lesbians experienced intercourse with males and roughly two-thirds of that time period, those females happened to be doing non-safe sex


1

.

Which means if you or your lover have obtained the Sex with a guy, and has nown’t already been tried, the threat for STIs and HIV resembles regarding a heterosexual woman!

Therefore hayyy you should get tried. As Natalie mentioned within her articles, queers (like many marginalized groups of females) will constant the gyno less usually for a lot of factors.

But don’t let unfavorable experiences with narrow-minded suppliers keep you from having responsibility for your sexual health insurance and to suit your partner’s sexual wellness. If you don’t have insurance rates, the majority of free of charge centers perform STI evaluating at little expense, and for free of charge. Take action!

Preview: grannyshagdate.com/find-sexy-cougars.html

STIs: Acquiring These & Reducing Them

This might be certainly not an extensive listing of the STIs on the market, but i do want to strike on some of the more prevalent problems and the ones that stay with you after you get diseased.

HPV

Human Papilloma virus has become the most common STI in the USA, with stats estimating that

to 75% of sexually active adults in america demonstrate a brief history associated with infection


2

. HPV is carried by skin-to-skin contact. Which means even although you just have sex with women, you are still at risk for infection. This virus is sneaky too, because it can lay latent in the human body, thus without having to be analyzed, you might never know you may have it. If you have had sex with one in the past, you’re at increased risk for contracting (and transmitting!) HPV. This is very important, because a history of HPV infection could be the solitary most important risk element for establishing cervical malignant tumors.

Some strains of HPV reason penile warts as well as 2 pressures in particular have-been recognized result in over 75% of cervical cancer. Butttt some pressures aren’t cancerous. In reality, some even solve on their own!

But exactly how do you realize which stress you’ve got? Get a pap smear! Cervical cancer takes many years to produce, so going to the gyno and having them take a look-see provides a darn pretty good possibility of never ever having the illness progress any more.

In addition, if you are under the chronilogical age of 26, you may want to think of obtaining Gardasil, the HPV vaccine, which takes care of two pressures of HPV being accountable for 75percent of cervical disease and another two pressures that cause to 90% of vaginal warts and it is covered by lots of insurance firms today. But it is well worth noting that becoming vaccinated is an individual decision and may be the best one, therefore inform yourself — there’s been lots of debate around Gardasil. Perhaps you have feelings?

GONORRHEA & CHLAMYDIA

Two pretty common STIs and one other reason getting tried. Gonorrhea and chlamydia tends to be sent through revealing toys, body fluids, and vaginal contact. These attacks are quiet, or can provide with symptoms like burning once you pee, discharge and tummy pain. Thank goodness, both can be addressed with a simple amount of antibiotics. With no treatment, but gonorrhea and chlamydia can progress to pelvic inflammatory illness, that may result in infertility, ectopic pregnancy, and major infections, on top of other things.

BACTERIAL VAGINOSIS

Bacterial vaginosis is an additional effortlessly curable sexually transmitted illness. Surprisingly adequate, queer females seem to be at increased risk for sending and getting the infection. This 1 can certainly be hushed, or may declare alone with white-ish discharge and a fishy odor, but is usually not itchy or distressing. We’re not just sure how it’s sent, although most likely channels tend to be through adult toys, dental and oral-anal intercourse

5

. One important notice about any of it disease: frequently when one spouse features it, others spouse is usually contaminated also. In the event you get because of this illness, push your partner along with you to the physician, and also have this lady get tested as well.

FUNGUS INFECTIONS/CANDIDIASIS

Unique Comment: THIS PART OF THE CONTENT WASN’T PUBLISHED BY A HEALTH PRO. It contains conversation of natural home remedies and viewpoints about personal attention. It is really not supposed to be medical health advice and does not claim to be.

HEY BITCHES! The doctor is out for some and you are going to have to pay attention to myself, your own anonymous expert on yeast infections and how to get rid of them. This is really important ‘cause lesbians provide both YIs the damn time.

It really is a touchy subject with ladies’ health specialists: the majority of docs won’t prescribe Diflucan (the YI medicine) unless you come in for an appointment, regardless if they’ve successfully diagnosed you in past times. COME ON today. (See:
Tales of my personal Vagina, Or the reason why Women’s wellness is entirely F*cking unjust
) Butttt… obviously some one only created a
Vagisil Screening Equipment
, so possibly the chance is evolving?

Really, i came across my personal persistent yeast infections cleared up whenever I quit males and also the medicine, except for this package time my lady-lover and I offered one another yeast conditions which is kind of an extended story. In addition, she had a boyfriend. You probably know how it’s.

Anyhow, many gay ladies get YIs for many explanations, like taking antibiotics or chilling call at your Dinah Shore bikini for a little too long, and 75percent of most females are certain to get at least one inside their lifetime. I’ve never ever skilled the release the majority of women do, nevertheless irritation and inflammation tends to be poor sufficient in & of itself, espesh ‘cause it is taboo so that you cannot whine about any of it as you can when you experience a migraine or something like that.

The next circumstances never aided

:
Monistat
, AZO,
Gyne-Lotrimin
, tea-tree oil, natural yogurt, thread underpants, acidophilus, peroxide douching, garlic, etc.

Diflucan, a prescription-only tablet, requires a couple of days to work, but it is worth it ‘cause there’s no mess. Howevs, as aforementioned, you’ll frequently require a health care professional’s consultation which’s a pain in the ass then and getting a pain within the vadge.

Some pals let me know their particular YIs go-away independently. Happy bastards.

There was clearly one suggested Doing It Yourself remedy that sounded particularly fake for me, and trust me it shocked my socks off whenever it turned into the thing that works: BORIC ACID.

You
get «0» unused veggie supplements
at your neighborhood wellness grocery, pick up a tub of
boric acid
(in dust form) just about anyplace, and check out to not freak-out that it is typically advertised as a roach-killer. Fill a capsule or two utilizing the powder and pop those babies inside you every night ‘til the infection goes away. It can also be utilized preventatively if you believe a YI coming-on, this is the best benefit!

You should surely read this site
, its an excellent reference because whilst the writer highlights, »

to my brain, the standard therapy of genital yeast conditions is actually a nutshell of what is actually incorrect together with the means our world addresses wimmin’s health conditions.»

Okay, back again to the physician now…

These Things Never Ever Leave

Therefore, we spared a and also by best after all worst problems for final! Herpes! And HIV! ‘Cause see after you have HIV or Herpes, you have got it for life.

Herpes

may be carried through dental or genital gender. There can be treatment plan for herpes, that’ll force you to have less episodes, but won’t heal you. The complicated benefit of herpes is actually, even though you do not have an energetic aching, you’ll be able to still transfer the illness towards lover. However, there are ways to predict if you find yourself transmittable, so talk to your medical practitioner.

HIV

are transmitted through blood, genital secretions and breast whole milk, yet not saliva. You will findn’t plenty of research available on risks of HIV indication in queer ladies. Overall, the general opinion is apparently that transmission can be done

3

. However, as I’ve pressured before, if you are a female having unsafe sex with males on a consistent or occasional foundation, in that case your threat for HIV illness resembles that a heterosexual girl, so if you’re maybe not tried, your partner’s danger of infection can increased.

Safe Intercourse: Not Simply For Right Individuals

Gender is actually sexy! Discussing secure intercourse, having said that, can be a bit of a drag. Conquer it! Expertise is actually beautiful and I’m going to turn you into smokin’ hot.

Oral Dams

Dentistry dams
tend to be one buffer approach that can help stop the sign of STIs.

Brief interlude between the

Editor-in-Chief Riese & Executive Publisher Laneia

, which happened while we had been tag-team modifying this short article –

Riese:

are we able to you need to be straight about dental care dams

like carry out people truly utilize them


Laneia:

i don’t know?

like, I wish to utilize one now

b/c i seriously would like to know what the bang’s up


Riese:

we have some

fond of me by planned parenthood


Laneia:

there’s a reference to dental care dams in a few erotica i browse two weeks back,

she needed it for anal

oral anal throughout the butch leading

you continue to beside me?


Riese:

oral rectal to a butch leading

not gonna lie

I am not saying probably going to be providing dental anal to any person

probs never within my life

which is good, I am not judging

but

well, bacteria

i dunno


Laneia:

however, if you DID, you’ll use a dental dam


Riese:

oh yeah


Laneia:

then you could lick from ass to vadge w/out fretting about dispersing something


Riese:

or I possibly could not do so


Laneia:

mhm or that

i’m not sure if i’d fundamentally wish often, but I am not ruling something out

especially if there is saran place involved

AND YOU MAY QUOTE myself THEREON


Riese:

i’ll do just about anything that involves saran place

package meals

eat ass

make love to AIDS

swaddle cannabis for cross-country air travel


Laneia:

mte


Riese

: do you ever see porno with others making use of dental dams inside it


Laneia:

no, but you will findn’t observed countless porn


Riese:

myself neither


Laneia:

i bet should you emailed someone who does, they are able to inform you. you could e-mail sugarbutch.


Riese:

but i don’t know basically wish to be like,

hey whats upwards, actually ever made use of a dental dam



Laneia:

noooo you would certainly be inquiring as long as they’ve actually observed PORN where a dental care dam was applied

Today back to the article…

However, if dental dams aren’t your own case, you can still find enough points that you can do to ensure a safe and hot time is actually had by all. Nearly all are practically sound judgment.

1. clean both hands prior to getting down and dirty.

2. You should not share adult sex toys assuming you are doing, make use of a condom, or correctly clean them up with water and soap before using a new individual

4

.

3. and lastly, one of the better things that you and your partner can perform to guard yourselves and another another, would be to

communicate!

Discuss your own sexual background, whether you’ve had gender with guys before, if you’ve been tried before whenever you haven’t been analyzed, (once much more, with feeling! … ) get tried!

I’m hoping that review had been informative and replied questions that some people could have had. I might like to hear any remarks, questions or any other subjects you’d like to discover!

1.

Diamant AL et al., Lesbians’ intimate record with men: implications when deciding to take a sexual background, Archives of interior drug, 1999, 159(22):2730-2736.


2.

Marazzo, JM. Vaginal person papillomavirus infectioin in women that gender with women: a concern for clients and service providers. HELPS Individual Worry STDS 2000; 14: 447.


3.

http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/women/resources/factsheets/wsw.htm


4.

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/LGBhealth/Pages/lesbianhealth.aspx


5.

Carol, NM. Gynecologic and obstetric care for lesbians. Uptodate. January 2010