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Sexual Health Secrets

9 tips to look after your sexual health

1. Get regular STI checkups
If you are sexually active it is important to get regular checkups for Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI). Getting a checkup helps to protect your sexual and reproductive health and protects any partners you have from getting an STI. Many STIs don’t carry any symptoms, making it difficult to know if you actually have one without being tested. If you ever have unprotected vaginal, anal or oral sex you are at risk of contracting an STI and should take the time to get checked. Getting tested is free and painless, and you can now also test at home yourself through the HSE.

2. Use a condom
If you have sex it is essential that you use protection to reduce the risk of getting or passing on STIs or HIV. Using a condom every time you have oral, anal and vaginal sex is the best way to protect yourself and your partners. Dental dams can also be used as a form of protection for oral sex.

3. If you can get pregnant but want to avoid it, use contraception
Contraception is a term for different methods that can be used to stop someone from becoming pregnant. There are lots of different types of contraception and it can often take time to find the one that is right for you depending on your needs.

4. Educate yourself on where to get emergency contraception
Emergency contraception is something that can prevent pregnancy if you have sex without using protection or if your protection failed. You can buy emergency contraception over-the-counter from a pharmacy.The emergency contraceptive pill can be used up to 72 hours after unprotected sex but is more effective the sooner it is taken.

Efficacy is :

95% if taken within the first 24 hours
85% if taken between 25 and 48 hours
58% if taken between 49 and 72 hours

5. Always pee after sex
After having sex it is always a good idea to pee to help stop you from getting a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI). A UTI is an infection in your urinary system that can be caused by having sex, but it is not an STI. To get a UTI, bacteria that live in the vagina, genital, and anal areas may enter the urethra, travel to the bladder, and cause an infection. This can happen during sexual activity when bacteria from your partner’s genitals, anus, fingers, or sex toys gets pushed into your urethra. UTIs are most common in people with vaginas, but people with penis’ can also get them. Peeing after sex can help to flush bacteria from your urethra and prevent you from getting a UTI. Drinking plenty of water after sex to make yourself pee can also help to flush out bacteria.

Tips to prevent UTIs:

Drink a lot of fluids (including water)
Pee when you need to. Don’t hold it
Pee before and after sex
Wash the skin around your anus and genitals with warm water
Use condoms and dental dams during sex, especially during sexual contact with your anus
Thoroughly wash anything that touches or goes into your anus, like a finger, penis, or sex toy before touching other genitals to help stop the spread of bacteria

6. PEP is available if you may have been exposed to HIV
PEP stands for post-exposure prophylaxis. It’s a month-long course of antiretroviral drugs that you can take if you think you have come into contact with HIV. If taken within 72 hours of first coming into contact with HIV, it greatly reduces your chances of contracting the virus.

8. PrEP is available if you are part of a high-risk group
PrEPis a medicine that is taken to reduce the chance of getting HIV. It works by having enough of the drug in your body that if you are exposed to HIV, it can block it before it has a chance to infect you. Taking PrEP once every day reduces the risk of getting HIV from sex by more than 90% and by more than 70% among people who inject drugs.

You can benefit from taking PrEP:

If you are HIV negative and don’t always use condoms
If you are having sex without a condomwith HIV positive partners
If you are having sex with many partners, or a partner whose HIV status is unknown
If you are using recreational drugs for sex (crystal meth, mephedrone or GHB) also known as ChemSex
If you inject drugs and share needles or equipment to inject drugs
If you are thinking about taking PrEP you should speak to a healthcare professional.

9. Understand the risks
There are many great options to help protect your sexual health, but none of them are 100% effective. Even if you use condoms every time you have penetrative sex, you are still at risk of getting genital warts and herpes, as these can be passed through skin to skin contact.

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