Oh, what a tangled web of myths we weave when we are trying not to conceive! Growing up, my neighborhood friend began having sex relatively early. While drinking our Capri Suns on my front porch, I vividly remember her recounting the frequent sexcapades she engaged in and saying things like, 0Oh, we don0t use condoms0he says it won0t feel as good.0 I would stare at her slack-jawed and wide-eyed since I was never quite able to wrap my mind around the concept of sex until much, much later when I actually began having it myself. Needless to say, my childhood friend had two children by the time she dropped out of high school in the 11th grade. She was a casualty of the condom myths.
Myth #1: Condoms make sex unsatisfying OR Condoms hurt when they are on
If a condom is uncomfortable for a man, chances are it is simply the wrong size or not using enough lubrication. Like clothes, condoms come in different sizes. If you were a 280 pound man, why would you buy a toddler boy0s t-shirt to wear? Same concept goes for condoms. Look for a size and style that fits comfortably. If the sensation of […]

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Though sexually transmitted diseases or STDs are often in the news, you don’t hear much about genital warts.  Many people have no idea that this condition is an STD and can have serious consequences if left untreated.

Signs and Symptoms of Genital Warts

Most people who contract genital warts have no symptoms.  Signs and symptoms of genital warts may appear within a few weeks of exposure, a few months or not at all.  The genital warts will appear as soft lumps of flesh that are on or near the genitals and anus.  You may not even see that you have genital warts as they can be hidden in the anus or vagina. Consequences of genital warts can be serious if you are not aware you have this disease.

Though you can receive treatment for this condition, the virus that causes genital warts, HPV may not.  It has been shown that more than 50% of women will spontaneously recover from HPV and all symptoms can disappear within two years of infection.

How are Genital Warts Transmitted?

The spread of genital warts is by vaginal sex or anal sex.  It can be transmitted from oral sex but it is rare.  You can also get genital warts from having contact with a person who is infected warts.  In rare cases, consequences of genital warts can be a mother with the disease passing it on to her newborn child.  It should be noted that consequences of genital warts can be that you can transmit the disease to someone else even if no warts are visible.  The virus is present and wearing a condom can protect both men and women from the consequences of genital warts.

Complication and Consequences of Genital Warts

If you let genital warts go untreated you can spread the virus that causes the disease to other sex partners which results in them passing along genital warts. This is a very serious consequence of genital warts.

Some strains of the virus that can cause genital warts can make a Pap test come back abnormal and can put many women at a higher risk for developing cervical cancer. Consequences of genital warts in men can leader to an increased risk for penile cancer.  It is said that these particular strains don’t cause any warts that are visible.

How You can Prevent Consequences of Genital Warts

There is a vaccine that is now available to females between the ages of 9 and 26 that can help to protect them from the consequences of genital warts as well as protect against the 4 kinds of HPV that are the cause of many cases of cervical cancer and genital warts.

Using a condom whenever you have sexual intercourse is another way you ensure you don’t have to deal with the consequences of genital warts.  Using a latex condom will offer you the best protection against the consequences of genital warts.

If we lived in a perfect world, every person would go to the doctor before they decided to embark on a sexual relationship and get tested for sexually transmitted diseases. Then, each person would stock up on condoms and dental dams and use them properly for each sexual encounter. There would be no AIDS epidemic, no HPV, no chlamydia, no gonorrhea. Unfortunately, we do not live in that utopia. More than likely, most people about to begin a sexual relationship do so at a moment0s notice and barely have time to get the condom out of the package (that is if a condom is even available). Many people will likely need to get tested for various sexually transmitted diseases in their lifetime. Here is a rundown of several sexually transmitted diseases and the methods used to test for them.
Chlamydia/Gonorrhea
Both of these diseases are tested in the same way. A physician can test for chlamydia either with a swab test or a urine test. With a swab test, the sample is obtained from a woman0s cervix or from a man0s urethra with a swab. It is suggested that if a woman is sexually active, these tests should be administered annually. […]

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