Preventing STIs To Ensure Sexual Health 

PREVENTING STIS TO ENSURE SEXUAL HEALTH Sep,29,2022

A sexually transmitted infection is one that spreads via sexual contact, which includes skin-to-skin contact. Generally, sexually transmitted infections are preventable. As per the data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 20 million new sexually transmitted infection cases are diagnosed every year in the country. Being mindful of sexual protection and health can help avoid these infections. 

As per the experts in free STD And HIV testing centers, a guaranteed way to prevent STIs is to abstain from sexual contact. But, when engaging in sex, there are a few things that you can do to limit the risk of infections. These are explained below. 

Ensuring Protection Before Sex 

Some steps that can help you decrease the risk of STIs are: 

  • Discuss openly with potential partners regarding both of your sexual histories. 
  • Get tested before having sex.
  • Make sure to avoid sexual contact when you are under the influence of drugs or alcohol. 
  • Get vaccinated against hepatitis A, HPV, and hepatitis B viruses. 
  • Consider having pre-exposure prophylaxis, which is a medication taken to reduce the risk of contracting the infection. If you are a female, you can get in touch with any women’s free clinic in your area to have pre-exposure prophylaxis. 
  • Make use of barrier methods each time you do sex. 

It is important to have a conversation with your partner about sexual health, but everyone with an STI infection will not know that they have an infection. This is why you have to get yourself tested. If you or your sexual partner has an STI diagnosis, make sure to talk about the same. 

Practices To Ensure Sexual Health 

Making use of barrier methods can help reduce your risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections. Some of these methods are: 

  • Making use of internal or external condoms while having intercourse. 
  • Using dental dams while having oral sex. 

Ensuring very good hygiene before and after sexual contact is also a very good way to prevent sexually transmitted infections. This can include: 

  • Properly washing your hands before and after sex. 
  • Rinsing off after sexual contact. 

Using condoms and other barrier methods is very effective in preventing the exchange of body fluids with the bacteria or virus. In addition, these barrier methods can help reduce the risk of skin-to-skin contact, even though these methods will not completely prevent the risk.

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    About the Author

    Dr. Ghassan M. Al-Jazayrly, MD

    A graduate of University of Aleppo Faculty of Medicine, Dr. Al-Jazayrly or, as he is colloquially known: Dr. AJ, is an oncologist and hematologist of a Complete Care Community Health Center (CCCHC) with more than 36 years of experience. In recent years, he’s been involved with a non profit organization known as Every Woman Counts (EWC) which provides free breast and cervical cancer screening and diagnostic services to California’s underserved populations in order to eliminate health disparities for low-income individuals.

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