Info About STIs – HealthyWomen

April 13-19, 2025, is STI Consciousness Week.

Misinformation is loads like an STI — you could move it on to another person and never even understand it.

Myths and assumptions about sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have been round eternally. Earlier than the web, you most likely heard one thing questionable about STIs out of your finest pal, who heard it from a cousin, who knew somebody who mentioned you may’t get an STI the primary time you might have intercourse.

Whereas it’s true that you just can discover respected, fact-based info on-line about STIs, it’s not at all times simple to inform reality from fiction, or whether or not a viral put up about bathroom seats is true (extra on that later).

In an effort to unfold the phrase — not misinformation — right here’s the reality behind 7 of the commonest myths about STIs.

Learn: 6 STIs You Have to Know About >>

1. “You may’t get STIs from oral intercourse.”

(Purses lips.) You may get STIs from oral intercourse. Oral intercourse is sexual exercise similar to vaginal and anal intercourse.

The excellent news is that dental dams (a bit of plastic that goes over the vagina or anus) and condoms may also help scale back the chance for STIs throughout oral intercourse.

2. “Douching after intercourse protects you from STIs.”

It is a laborious no. Douching after intercourse can’t defend you from STIs. In actual fact, douching could improve the chance for STIs as a result of it removes good micro organism together with unhealthy micro organism within the vagina, which makes you extra weak to an infection.

As a rule, douching messes with the pure steadiness of your vagina and isn’t beneficial for anybody — ever.

3. “You may get chlamydia from a bench on the health club.”

You’ve most likely heard this gem on social media, however it’s extremely unlikely for anybody to get chlamydia from a bench on the health club or anyplace (except perhaps you’re getting busy together with your coach on that bench.) For one, chlamydia is a bacterial an infection and the organisms can’t dwell exterior the physique for lengthy — particularly on laborious surfaces like a bench. And chlamydia impacts mucosal surfaces — the inside lining of the vagina, rectum and mouth — by way of intercourse. So, it will be extraordinarily tough for the organism to get the place it must go with out sexual exercise.

4. “You may get an STI from a public bathroom seat.”

Getting an STI from a bathroom seat can also be very, not possible. It’s because STIs are handed from individual to individual throughout intercourse or by way of intimate skin-to-skin contact. Even when a STI was hanging out on a bathroom seat, the percentages that it survived lengthy sufficient and by some means made it into your physique is slim to none.

5. “You may’t get an STI should you’re pregnant.”

You may get an STI should you’re pregnant. And a few STIs comparable to syphilis, HIV, chlamydia, gonorrhea, hepatitis B and genital herpes will be handed on to the infant throughout being pregnant or childbirth.

Because of this it’s necessary to get screened for STIs earlier than getting pregnant or early in being pregnant to deal with or handle any infections.

Learn: FAQs About HIV and Being pregnant >>

6. “Two condoms are higher than one to guard towards STIs.”

Double the condoms usually are not double the enjoyable. If you layer one condom over the opposite, the supplies rub collectively and that truly makes them weaker and extra prone to break or tear.

7. “STIs solely occur to younger folks.”

Anybody who has intercourse — no matter age — is in danger for STIs. In actual fact, the charges of analysis have been on the rise for folks ages 35 and older. You may scale back the chance for STIs by utilizing a condom and/or dental dam each time you might have intercourse. It’s additionally a good suggestion for you and your accomplice to get examined earlier than you do the horizontal mambo.