Sexual Health And STDs
Is it possible to catch AIDS through oral sex?
Anything that involves contact with genital secretions can lead to someone catching AIDS. The AIDS virus is in high concentrations in genital secretions, and hence if the genital secretions involved in oral sex are the ones that contain high doses of HIV, meaning that as the patient that has HIV, it can be transmissible. However, if the person who is using their mouth during oral sex is the patient who carries HIV/AIDS, then it is unlikely to be transmitted, because the concentration of HIV/AIDS in saliva is far lower.
Is it possible to catch a sexually transmitted disease through a hand job?
In order to contract a sexually transmitted disease by masturbation - let's say, when another person masturbates somebody else - the sexually transmitted disease has to be present in the genital area of the person who is receiving the masturbation, and there have to be poor hygienic measures in the person who is performing the masturbation. For example: the bacteria which might have been left in contact on the skin of that hand could be transmitted to a mouth, an eye or other more sensitive areas where it could develop. This happens extremely rarely, and usually is not the case. But it is not impossible to catch a sexually transmitted disease from a hand job or other forms of mutual masturbation.
Is it possible to catch an STD from kissing?
An STD is a sexually transmitted disease. By definition an STD is usually not caught by kissing, because in essence there is no sex involved. Having said that, if there has been oral-genital sex in one of the persons involved previously, and they have got a sexually transmitted disease in their mouth, lip or other areas involved in kissing from a previous oral-genital sex relationship, then obviously kissing could transmit that STD.
Can a vagina become loose after childbirth and is there a treatment?
The pelvis contains a muscle at its bottom which can be stretched or become weak or dilated as a result of childbirth. Weakness of this muscle can give rise to vaginal laxity and, therefore, exercises to this muscle can help vaginal tone and could certainly help vaginal looseness. However, this is not always fully effective, and sometimes an operation may be indicated in order to increase vaginal tone or to raise the vagina higher up into the pelvis, which is often an associated problem with vaginal laxity
Is it safe to have sex with a pregnant woman?
In the vast majority of cases, it is absolutely safe to have sex with a pregnant woman. Pregnancy is not a disease; it's a natural process. Right up until the last couple of weeks of pregnancy, sex during pregnancy is absolutely safe. However, sex during pregnancy is unsafe if there is a problem with the pregnancy. In other words, if anything has happened during the pregnancy that has put that pregnancy at risk or is a particular illness of pregnancy - a low placenta, some intermittent bleeding during pregnancy, something like that -then safe sex may become unsafe. Provided the pregnancy is normal, sex is absolutely safe.
What can I do if I can't get an erection?
Erectile problems, or impotence, carries a wide variety of causes. Generally, erectile problems can be classed or grouped into three or four different types. In younger patients, by far the commonest cause is a psychological cause. Patients are stressed, they are anxious, and the problem with erections is, if during one sexual relationship, you are unable to perform the way the man would like to, the next time around, he is going to be much more aware of his problem and, therefore, much more likely not to be able to have an erection simply because of his concern. That is the most common cause of erectile problems in younger patients. Another cause to consider in younger patients is alcohol. Under the influence of an excessive amount of alcohol, it is sometimes difficult to have an erection, and many men are not aware of that. That's a second consideration. However, more physical causes of erectile problems tend to take more importance in older patients - hormonal problems, such as inadequate or insufficient testosterone production, but maybe more importantly, blood supply and blood flow to the penis. Erectile problems are often caused by circulatory problems within the penis in older patients. Patients who will be more susceptible to this are patients who are diabetic, who have had high blood pressure, who have been smokers or who might have another reason for circulatory problems. This can be assessed by Doppler Ultrasound techniques, and there are a number of medications that can help with this erectile problem.
Is masturbation good for you?
Masturbation is neither good nor bad for you. Masturbation is a relatively normal event in most people but it's not necessarily good for you. There was a case study that I saw recently that suggested that less sexual activity caused prostate cancer.
Can men get thrush?
Men can commonly get thrush. When they do get thrush, it is often non-symptomatic, which means that they can carry an excessive amount of yeast on their genitals. Thrush is an overgrowth of Candida, which is a yeast, like a fungus, and it can occur in various parts of the body. Thrush can be on the mouth, the genitals or the intestines. Women most commonly have this problem. They can transmit it to the man. If the man is carrying an excessive amount of Candida, he can reinfect the women. It is sometimes worth treating partners of women who have recurring problems with Candida and thrush.
What is HPV and why is it serious?
HPV stands for Human Papillomaviruses, and it is the causative virus for genital warts. In men, genital warts warrant treatment because it is an infectious disease and therefore should be treated. In women, they should not only be treated for the same reason but also because a few of the strains of Human Papillomaviruses or HPV are now known to cause cervical cancer. It is particularly important to treat Human Papillomaviruses, or to investigate the type of HPV involved in that patient in order to be more concerned in terms of follow up with the patient for cervical cancer. With regard to Human Papillomaviruses, it's important to know that we now have a vaccine available against Human Papillomaviruses. The studies suggest that it can prevent up to 70% of cervical cancers in the future if the vaccination programs are carried out adequately. It is certainly a serious consideration for adolescent girls or even younger. The HPV vaccine is licensed after the age of nine and it involves three vaccines separated out over about six months.
What is chlamydia?
Chlamydia is an infection. It's normally considered to be a sexually transmitted disease because, in the vast majority of cases, it involves genitals and is transmitted sexually. Chlamydia is a very small bacteria-type organism which responds to sudden antibiotics, but we sometimes don't manage to get rid of it completely from the system. Because it's a type of organism that in some ways can imitate a virus, Chlamydia treatments are inevitably short and will control the acute attack. However, the patient may experience recurrent episodes through his lifetime because we haven't managed to eliminate the infection completely. Sometimes Chlamydia is involved as a conjunctivitis, particularly in babies, and they might have picked it up through the birth canal from the mother. Similarly, it will respond to treatment, initially sometimes, but more rarely, so will they develop recurrences.
What could be wrong if your penis bleeds during intercourse?
With the bleeding of a penis, it is normally easy to establish where the bleeding is coming from because the penis is an external organ and hence easy to inspect. The most important thing is to establish where it's coming from on the penis. It may be that the bleeding is coming from inside the urethra, in which case you will be noticing the bleeding coming from the urethral orifice. You then need to consult with a doctor. Sometimes there's just a little vein that is a little bit thickened which can sit on the foreskin, or near the fraenulum, and sexual activity can make it bleed. However, if a patient can't identify where the bleeding is coming from on the penis, they should certainly be seen by a doctor.
