The following is adapted from a question and answer session help with Chico Jensen, Sexual Health Education Coordinator for Purdue University Student Wellness Office.
I’ve had mild symptoms for a yeast infection, got treated and they’re back again! What’s happening?
If you have a regular partner, make sure you are both being treated for a yeast infection or other diseases that can be transmitted sexually. Often, males can be carriers of the infection and will not realize it because the symptoms do not manifest like they do in females. With every reinfection, the infection becomes more likely to become drug resistant, so be sure to complete rounds of medication, even after the symptoms have gone away.
I’ve heard touching the inside of a condom is bad?
Digital sex (as in your fingers, not having sex on your cell phone) is the most common way sexually transmitted diseases are transmitted. By touching the inside or outside of the condom you and your partner are using, you expose yourself to STDs.
What’s the recommended usage of vaginal douches?
None. Douches affect the balance of the vaginal flora and most of them are scented, and those scents are made with sugar. Women have internal organs which are breeding grounds for bacteria and if you kill the vaginal flora and deposit food (the sugar) into the area, your chances of infections increase greatly. The only time a douche should be used is under the supervision of a doctor for a specific purpose.
How effective is the pull-out method?
It’s not effective at all. It fails 99 percent of the time because of user error. The male still ejaculates inside the female, even if he is planning on pulling out (you’re busy thinking about other things; it happens.) There’s also the problem of pre-ejaculation, which is not supposed to contain live sperm, but sometimes does.
What are some of the best ways to prevent STDs, besides condoms?
Wash right after. It might seem awkward, but make it fun. The longer you are in contact with the bodily fluids after sex, the higher your risk of infection. The other is urinating after sex. Urine contains vinegar, which kills microorganisms and decreases your risk of infection.
What’s something funny that’s happened while you’ve worked as a sexual educator?
The first year I worked at Purdue as a graduate student, I taught at Cary Quadrangle and they requested 2,000 condoms, which is two full cases. The next day, The Exponent published an article containing a picture of the lovely people of Cary Quad. Apparently, they had created a launcher and had filled the condoms with water and were launching them at passers-by. Needless to say, that didn’t go over well with my boss. Never again. I am a fan of free condoms, though, and that experience hasn’t dampened that.
