Pubic lice / Crabs

Pubic lice (sometimes known as crabs) are small insects that are normally between 1-3mm long. They are passed between people by physical contact, or via close contact (such as sharing a bed, or a towel). Generally the first signs will … Read more…

HPV / Genital warts

Genital warts are an infection caused by the HPV virus (Human Papilloma Virus), and they sometimes cause a small skin tag or ‘wart’ to form. They can be spread during most sexual activities. If you find a raised bump around … Read more…

Herpes

Herpes is a viral infection caused by a virus called HSV (Herpes Simplex Virus). It often causes blisters on the skin around your mouth or lip or on your genitals. Once the blisters have passed, the virus stays with you, … Read more…

Chlamydia

Chlamydia is a bacteria which is almost exclusively transmitted via sexual contact. For people with a cervix, 70% will not show any symptoms, while 50% of people with a penis will have symptoms. Generally, the symptoms are similar to gonorrhea … Read more…

Gonorrhea / the clap

Gonorrhea (or the clap) is a bacterial infection which often causes pain when people with a penis urinate (although not everyone experiences this symptom). For people without a penis, roughly half of those with gonorrhea do not experience any symptoms … Read more…

Syphilis

Syphilis is a bacterial infection and has been with humankind for as long as we have existed. It is transmitted sexually, but it can also be passed from a mother to her baby during birth. Most people will notice a … Read more…

Hepatitis

There are different types of hepatitis. All of them affect your liver and can have serious health consequences or even be fatal. In general, the two you will hear most about are Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B. People might not … Read more…

How risky is sucking (oral sex)?

Oral sex means using your mouth to contact someone’s genitals or bodily fluids (like cum). In general, it’s safer than fucking because your mouth is naturally good at stopping a lot of viruses and bacteria. It can still pose a … Read more…

How risky is fucking?

For our purposes here, when we say ‘fucking’ we mean penetrative sex where a penis is being put inside someone anywhere except a mouth. In general, this is considered ‘high risk’ for STIs because a lot of bodily fluid is … Read more…

How risky is masturbation?

Masturbation (sometimes called ‘mutual masturbation’ if you’re masturbating with a sexual partner) is generally regarded as one of the safest sexual activities.  Because you’re not putting any bodily fluids inside someone else, then the risk is pretty low for most … Read more…