Tag Archives: condoms

STD Awareness: Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Pregnancy

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Every month since January 2011, we’ve been sharing installments of our STD Awareness series, and each month, we’ve encouraged you to protect yourself from sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) by using dental dams and condoms. But what if you’re trying to get pregnant? In that case, you’re probably not using condoms! However, it is very important that partners know their STD status — being screened and treated for STDs prior to pregnancy is a good idea for your health, and can protect your future baby.

If you and a partner are trying to get pregnant, you might consider being screened for STDs together.

When present during pregnancy, certain STDs can have negative health effects for you or your future baby (including preterm labor, stillbirth, low birth weight, pneumonia, certain infections, blindness, and liver disease), especially if they are not cured or treated in time. Receiving prenatal care can help prevent these problems, so it is important to be screened and treated for STDs prior to or early in your pregnancy.

During pregnancy, the immune system undergoes changes, which are probably necessary to ensure that the body doesn’t reject the fetus — normally, the immune system recognizes non-self cells as potential pathogens and attacks. These immune system changes might make a pregnant person more susceptible to disease. Latent viral infections, like genital warts or herpes, might come out of dormancy. Additionally, anatomical changes lead to a larger exposed area of the cervix, which is potentially more vulnerable to initial infections. Continue reading →

Keeping Medications and Contraceptives Safe through the Summer

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Highs in the triple digits are common in Arizona during the summer months. As the mercury rises, we’re often reminded about the things we need to do to stay healthy in hot weather, like avoiding dehydration, heat exhaustion, and sunburn. Those tips are important — and can even be potentially life-saving — but what’s often missing from summertime health advice is information about using medications and contraceptives safely and effectively when a hot environment can quickly diminish their integrity. That’s a serious omission when Americans buy about 5 billion over-the-counter drug products annually and nearly half of all Americans use one or more prescription drugs.

Heat can alter the molecular structure of oral contraceptives or shorten a condom’s shelf life.

Extreme heat and cold can cause medications to change physically, and those changes can make medications less potent — and for some medications, unsafe to use. Oral contraceptives and other medications that contain hormones are especially susceptible, since the proteins they contain can change their properties during heat exposure.

The labels on medications, whether over-the-counter or prescription, typically recommend storing them in a cool, dry place and keeping them away from excessive heat and humidity, or might give a specific temperature range, commonly 68 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit (20 to 25 degrees Celsius). That’s an ideal range, but most medications are still usable after storage in temperatures as low as 32 to 58 degrees Fahrenheit (zero to 14 degrees Celsius) and as high as 80 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit (27 to 30 degrees Celsius). Advice varies, so it’s always best to consult a physician or pharmacist when less-than-ideal storage has already happened or is anticipated. Help is also available at Planned Parenthood health centers, where staff can answer questions about general health care and about using contraceptives safely and effectively. Continue reading →

Allergic to Latex? You Can Still Have Safer Sex

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Condoms offer fantastic protection against STDs and reduce pregnancy risk. Most are made from latex, to which some people are allergic.

Latex condoms are a well-rounded form of birth control: Not only are they great for preventing pregnancy, but they reduce the risk of passing on or receiving a sexually transmitted disease (STD). When used consistently and correctly, they offer fantastic protection. Although condoms have been around for centuries, their modern construction from latex is a vast improvement over the silk and viscera of yore. A product of the industrial age, they are manufactured by dipping a porcelain mold into natural rubber latex, a material that originates from a tree.

Latex is tops, but other options include polyisoprene and polyurethane. Beware: Lambskin isn’t effective STD protection.

Because of latex’s many advantages, the majority of condoms are manufactured from this material. However, up to 6 percent of the population is allergic to latex. There is a range of symptoms associated with latex allergies. Most people with latex allergies experience only a localized reaction on the vulva or penis (contact dermatitis); systemic reactions (like asthma or anaphylaxis) are rare. Allergy tests can be performed on people who suspect they might be sensitive to latex.

Luckily, even if you have a latex allergy you can still find condoms to facilitate your safer-sex experiences, including condoms made out of polyurethane and polyisoprene. Not all condoms protect against pregnancy or STDs, so read the label carefully. In the United States, if the packaging doesn’t explicitly state that the condoms are made to prevent disease, they haven’t been approved by the FDA for that purpose. Continue reading →

Practicing Safer Sex

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Everyone who is sexually active is at risk for getting a sexually transmitted disease (STD). In fact, STDs seem so widespread that some health organizations predict nearly everyone could have an STD in their lifetime. The Guttmacher Institute reports that each year 1 in 4 teens contracts an STD. Untreated STDs can cause chronic conditions that could ultimately lead to infertility.

Practicing safe sex allows you to reduce your risks of getting an STD. Safe sex is not intended to eliminate spontaneity and passion, but is a way of enjoying sex without giving or getting STDs. It shows respect for yourself and your partner, and it must be practiced each and every time you have a sexual encounter.

Some ideas to make sex safer for you and your partner: Continue reading →

STDs 101: An Introduction to Sexually Transmitted Diseases

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It’s April, which for Arizonans means a gradual increase in temperature as we head toward summer. But at Planned Parenthood Arizona it also means that it’s time to focus on sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in observance of STD Awareness Month. While we regularly provide information about sexual health with our monthly STD Awareness series, April is the time of year to fix the spotlight on sexually transmissible microbes and the infections they cause. April is also the time of year when Planned Parenthood Arizona offers coupons for discounted STD screening, so if you’ve been putting it off, now’s the time!

Symptoms of Sexually Transmitted Diseases

First, some basic facts. STDs can be transmitted through all sexual activities — vaginal, anal, or oral sex, as well as activities involving skin-to-skin contact. STDs are most commonly caused by viruses or bacteria, though they can be caused by other agents as well, including animals! Each STD is unique, with unique symptoms, but common symptoms include:

  • rashes, open sores, blisters, or warts in the genital area
  • swelling or tenderness
  • pus, bleeding, odor, or abnormal discharge
  • itching in the genital region
  • burning sensation during urination

It’s best not to focus too closely on symptoms, though – most people with STDs actually don’t experience any symptoms whatsoever! As they say in the biz, “The most common symptom of an STD is … no symptom.” For example, most people with herpes either have no symptoms or have mild symptoms that go unnoticed. Ten percent of males and 80 percent of females with gonorrhea don’t experience symptoms, and most people with chlamydia are asymptomatic. And HIV symptoms usually take a decade to show up. If you are, or have been, sexually active, you can’t assume that the absence of symptoms means you’re in the clear. To know for sure if you have an STD, the best thing you can do is to get yourself tested. Continue reading →

The Short History of Our Right to Contraceptives: Eisenstadt v. Baird 40 Years Later

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Bill Baird

Recent controversy over the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate has served as a reminder of how shaky our rights to contraception can be. Although 99 percent of women have used contraception at some point in their lives, access to contraception is still subject to challenges. Section 2713 of the Affordable Care Act mandated that employers’ health plans include coverage for contraceptives without co-pays or deductibles. Critics attacked the law as unfair to religious institutions that oppose the use of contraceptives. Responding to pressure, the Obama White House offered a compromise that shifted the responsibility for coverage from any religious institution opposed to the mandate to the employees’ health insurance.

The right of unmarried Americans to obtain contraceptives was only established 40 years ago.

Our rights to contraception are not only shaky at times, but also not long established. When people think of celebrities like Marlon Wayans, Cameron Diaz, or Maya Rudolph, old age is probably not what comes to mind. However, what they have in common is that they were each born in 1972, the year the U.S. Supreme Court decided the case Eisenstadt v. Baird (405 U.S. 438), a landmark decision that guaranteed unmarried couples the same access to birth control as married couples. March 22 of this year marks the 40th anniversary of this court victory for reproductive rights activist Bill Baird, and for the reproductive freedoms he defended in the U.S. Supreme Court. Continue reading →

Over 90 Percent of What Planned Parenthood Does, Part 2: Condoms

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packets of individual condoms

Welcome to the second installment of “Over 90 Percent of What Planned Parenthood Does.” In this series we will highlight Planned Parenthood’s diverse array of services — the ones Jon Kyl doesn’t know about.

It’s National Condom Week! So it’s only fitting that the second installment of our “Over 90 Percent” series honors the humble condom, that mainstay of anyone’s safer-sex arsenal. By providing a barrier between body parts and reducing skin-to-skin contact, condoms dramatically decrease risk of acquiring a sexually transmitted disease (STD). On top of all of that, their use during heterosexual intercourse can keep sperm from entering the vagina, making them essential components in family planning. Condoms can be used in a wide variety of sexual activities — they can be worn on penises or put onto sex toys, and with a couple of scissor snips they can be converted into dental dams. They are inexpensive and widely available without the need for a prescription. If you need to replenish your condom supply, or if you’re using them for the first time, you can walk into any Planned Parenthood health center to pick them up.

Are you aware of the finer points of condom use?

There are tons of contraceptive options for people with uteruses, from pills to IUDs, but condoms are one of the few options that people with penises have — although there is exciting research being done on expanding these options. If you are heterosexually active and capable of getting someone pregnant, using condoms consistently and correctly will allow you to take control of your reproductive future. In a given year, 2 out of 100 females whose male partners use condoms will become pregnant if they always use condoms correctly — with imperfect use, this number increases to 18 out of 100. Combining condom use with other birth control methods, like diaphragms, birth control pills, or IUDs, will dramatically boost the efficacy of your contraception. Continue reading →

Let’s Talk Contraception: Taking Birth Control Pills Properly

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Failure to take birth control pills properly can cause a lot of anxiety, and even lead to pregnancy. For best results, follow the manufacturer’s directions.

Oral contraceptives (also known as birth control pills or BCPs) are used to prevent pregnancy. Taken properly, they are about 99 percent effective in preventing pregnancy. They are even more effective when used in combination with other birth-control methods, such as condoms.

There are many different brands of birth control pills. Most contain a combination of the two female hormones estrogen and progesterone, but there are some BCPs that only contain progesterone. These different brands may need to be taken in slightly different ways and may have different benefits and risks, but whichever type you use, it’s very important to take them properly to get the most benefit.

You cannot take a birth control pill only when you remember to or just after you’ve had a sexual encounter — they must be taken daily.

First of all, it’s important to know which oral contraceptive you are taking. These pills usually come in packs of 21, 28, or 91 tablets and need to be taken daily.

  • Packs of 21: Take one pill each day until all 21 are gone, then don’t take a pill for seven days – this is when you should have your period. After seven days off, start a new pack of 21 pills.
  • Packs of 28: Take one pill each day, and when you finish with the pack start a new pack the next day. Sometimes these packs have pills with different colors that contain different doses of the hormones or inactive ingredients, vitamins, or minerals. They must be taken in order.
  • Packs of 91: The 91-tablet pack is larger and may contain three trays – take one pill each day until all 91 pills have been taken and then start the new pack of 91 pills the next day. Continue reading →