Yep.

The thing about certain sexually transmitted diseases and infections is that some can take years to rear their ugly heads. You may feel absolutely fine, especially if you aren’t experiencing any symptoms, but you could actually have an STI, and you could spread it to your partner.

HIV

• Can take up to 10 years before symptoms of AIDS develop.

HPV

• 3 out of 4 women have it at some points in their lives and most don’t know it.
• HPV infections that don’t go away on their own can hide in the body for years.

Chlamydia & Gonnorrhea

• Often have no symptoms
• Can be easily spread to partner

The only way to be sure you don’t have an STI is to Get Yourself Tested (GYT).
Call 1-866-476-1321 to find a Planned Parenthood Health Center in your area.

Until you know your status, we say don’t give up on condoms. When used correctly, condoms are extremely effective at preventing pregnancy and reducing your risk of contracting a sexually transmitted infection. They come in many fun colors and you can pick up free condoms at any Planned Parenthood Health Center.

Planned Parenthood of Northern New England’s Education Department carefully selects all weekly questions. All questions are actual inquiries made to PPNNE by college-aged students.

Do you have a question you would like to see included?  Ask us anonymously!

A 21-year old man from Iran had the words, “good luck on your journeys” permanently inscribed on his shaft along with his girlfriend’s first initial. Though the pain started to diminish, his erection did not.  It turns out the tattoo artist had damaged blood vessels in his penis causing blood to pool.  And so his perma-boner was born.  

After all was said and done, he was still able to have sex and declined any surgeries.

 ABORTION MYTHS: 

1.  Emergency Contraception (EC) is an abortifacient.  Despite what Nick Cannon said recently, emergency contraception does not cause an abortion. EC prevents pregnancy, while the abortion pill (mifepristone) terminates an existing pregnancy. Check out NARAL’s great fact sheet for more info.
2. Women use abortion as a form of birth control – Actually, 54 percent of women who have abortions had used a contraceptive method (usually the condom or the pill) during the month they became pregnant. Birth control methods fail, and inconsistent contraceptive use, as well as life changes, contribute to unplanned pregnancy. There is no research that states that women depend on or use abortion as a method of birth control.
3. Abortion causes post-traumatic stress and other mental health disorders. A 2008 report by the APA Task Force on Mental Health and Abortion concluded, “the best scientific evidence indicates that the relative risk of mental health problems among adult women who have an unplanned pregnancy is no greater if they have an elective first-trimester abortion than if they deliver the pregnancy.”  This is also made clear through the fact that “postabortion traumatic stress syndrome” is not recognized by either the American Psychological Association (APA) or the American Psychiatric Association.
4. Women who have abortions will never be mothers. There’s a big misconception out there about who has abortions. Many believe there are two types of women in this world—those who have abortions and those who have children. The fact is 61% of women who have abortions already have one or more children.           
      
5. Abortion causes breast cancer. In 1997, the New England Journal of Medicine published the largest-scale study ever on this subject–with 1.5 million participants–which concluded that there is no independent link between abortion and breast cancer.
   
6. Making abortion illegal will stop women from having them. Abortion was prevalent in the United States long before the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade. Because it was an illegal procedure, women who needed abortions had no choice but to obtain them from illegal practitioners. The “back-alley” abortion was dangerous and is listed as the official cause of death for almost 2,700 women in 1930.
7. Pro-choice means pro-abortion. People who are pro-choice believe in the right for a woman to choose what happens to her body—whether that be an abortion, adoption, or carrying the pregnancy full-term. Being pro-choice means a lot of things and women and men who are pro-choice believe in choice for many reasons.
8. All Planned Parenthood does is abortions. As long as there is a need for abortion services, Planned Parenthood will continue to provide those services for women. We work diligently to decrease the need for abortions by providing access to family planning services, comprehensive sexuality education, programs that promote communication and good decision making skills, and strong advocacy on policy decisions that protects all of the above.
9. Women who have abortions can’t get pregnant, or will have a harder time conceiving.  Abortions performed in the first trimester pose virtually no long-term risk of such problems as infertility, ectopic pregnancy, spontaneous abortion, congenital malformation, or preterm or low-birth-weight delivery. Most women have abortions in their first trimester.
10. Women having abortions are young, irresponsible women who can’t be bothered to take birth control.  Women of all ages have abortions for many reasons including financial, ability to provide care, the health of the fetus, the health of the pregnant woman, the lack of a co-parent, and many other legitimate reasons. Women of all reproductive ages have abortions – it has nothing to do with age or responsibility.
    

Actually, no.

Let’s clear some things up. A Pap Test or a Pap Smear is a cervical cancer screening. Pap Tests can detect early cell changes in the cervix before cancer develops. Usually these changes can be treated and cancer can be prevented.

STD tests are a whole different ball of wax. You have to ask to be tested—it’s not done automatically. Also, there is no single test for every STD; tests are specific to each infection. Your health care provider will decide which test makes the most sense for you.

Planned Parenthood of Northern New England’s Education Department carefully selects all weekly questions. All questions are actual inquiries made to PPNNE by college-aged students.

Do you have a question you would like to see included?  Ask us anonymously!

For many years, doctors wanted to see what parts of the human brain light up during intense moment of bliss. Sukel’s task was to have an orgasm while doctors monitored her brain with an MRI scanner.  “Will I use a vibrator? No, most vibrators have metal, which is a no-no in the magnet. I’ll have to rely on my own hands to get the job done,” says Sukel.

She asked many questions about what to wear and about performance anxiety. Sukel was reassured by doctors she would “perform” just fine.

Check out the video below – it’s quit the light show:

If you got a kick out of this, check out our previous post about whether or not men lose their thought process during orgasm.

Oh, it’s possible (and it’s fabulous ). Although it’s not talked about much, women experience “wet dreams” and orgasms in their sleep just like the boys.

Famous sex researcher Alfred Kinsey found nearly 40% of women he interviewed experienced at least one orgasm in their sleep by the time they were 45 years old!  Fewer than 10% of women, compared to 50% of men, reported having nocturnal orgasms more than five times a year.

So what’s the deal with nightly orgasms? Why is it we sometimes struggle to come when we’re awake but can orgasm during sleep as easy as 1-2-3?  One theory is your inhibitions are lowered. You have no control over your body and are forced to “let go.” Anything you deem hot or erotic when you’re asleep can suddenly take you over the edge.

The bottom line is that wet dreams are completely normal for men and women. Here’s wishing you a great night’s sleep.

Planned Parenthood of Northern New England carefully selects all weekly questions. All questions are actual inquiries made to PPNNE by college-aged students.

Do you have a question you would like to see included?  Ask us anonymously!

The area she’s not so knowledgeable turns out to be prophylactics. In this clip below, Martha suggests an alternative, DIY use for sausage casings. Those pig intestines may hold the meat in, Martha, but not that kinda meat.

For those of you wanting to play it safe, you can pick up free (and 100% non-pork condoms) at any Planned Parenthood health center.

It depends on what type of infection you have. Medical experts believe Gingivitis, for example, cannot be spread from person to person (unless an individual has very low immunity). Other sexually transmitted infections and diseases, including herpes, can be spread during oral sex. 

When a person has oral herpes, “cold sores” or “fever blisters” can show up on the lips or around the mouth. These sores may also show up inside the mouth. Herpes can spread from an individual’s mouth to a partner’s genitals with brief skin-to-skin contact, whether sores are present or not. Because herpes may have no symptoms for years, sometimes it is very difficult to know who passed it to whom.

We encourage you to make an appointment with a medical health care professional. Call 1-866-476-1321 to set up an appointment with a trusted Planned Parenthood provider.

Planned Parenthood of Northern New England’s Education Department carefully selects all weekly questions. All questions are actual inquiries made to PPNNE by college-aged students.

Do you have a question you would like to see included?  Ask us anonymously!

Anyone who has been at risk of being infected should be tested. That means  any woman or man who has had unprotected vaginal or anal intercourse or who has  shared needles with someone. Pregnant women who are at risk can be tested and  treated so that their babies can be born uninfected. Recently, more and more medical authorities are agreeing that, in the future, routine testing for HIV during regular medical appointments will be an important public health strategy for stopping the spread of HIV.

Do you have a question you would like to see included?  Ask us anonymously!

Today we are giving thanks to all you readers!  14,000 of you have come to us this year to get honest answers about sex, or to ask an anonymous question. We love hearing from you and tackling your (always interesting) inquires. Please keep ‘em coming!

We’re also giving thanks today to our favorite thing: S-E-X. Whether you realize it or not, sex has some amazing benefits (not to mention it’s a whole lotta fun). So, grab a turkey leg, a piece of pie, or a glass of wine, and saddle up to read Top 10 Reasons To Be Thankful For Sex on Thanksgiving.

• Sex burns calories. Who cares if you just consumed half a turkey and a gallon of gravy?  The Chart says, “A good sweaty session of sex can burn a couple hundred calories.” Even a hot smooch can get your heart rate up, which also helps burn calories.

• Orgasms keep you alive. A British study revealed men who had three or more orgasms per week experienced 50 percent fewer heart attacks and strokes, compared with those who had less frequent orgasms. That’s worth giving thanks to!

• Sex toys go on sale. Big screen TV’s and digital cameras aren’t the only great buys the day-after-Thanksgiving. Many online sex shops are also having amazing Black Friday deals. Sweet!

• Sex boosts immunity.  Think all your snotty younger cousins infected you with their germs?  Better get it on. According to WebMD, “Having sex once or twice a week has been linked with higher levels of an antibody called immunoglobulin A or IgA, which can protect you from getting colds and other infections.”

• Sex (and turkey) will help you get a good night’s sleep. If you got up at 5AM to put the bird in the oven, chances are you didn’t get much sleep. The solution: sex.  Oxytocin released during orgasm is associated with sleep. Combine oxytocin with tryptophan from your turkey, and you’ll be catching zzz’s before you know it.

• Sex helps you forget & increases happiness. Can’t button your jeans? Going to max out your credit cards on Black Friday? No worries.  Web Ecoist said having sex helps you forget your troubles.  It also improves intimacy, lifts your mood, and increases your imagination. AND regular humping can keep you happy.

• Sex can help you look younger. A study found that people having sex regularly can shave between four and seven years off your physical appearance! We suggest fighting for the wishbone, closing your eyes, and hoping you get laid tonight.

• Sex keeps your skin healthy. You’ve heard about the after-sex glow. It’s a real physiological reaction, explained by Your Tango: blood circulation increases during sex, which means more oxygen is pumped into the skin. Voilà! The post- coitus radiance is born.

• Sex relieves stress. Are the in-laws staying with you? Did you just cook dinner for 25 people? If you’re about to pull your hair out, we suggest pulling back the sheets and getting it on!

• Sex is fun. Do you really need another reason?

Happy Turkey Day!