STD
The FDA gives the green light, but is it cost effective to give men Gardasil?
Should boys be vaccinated against HPV? This is the new hot button question after the Food and Drug Administration approved Gardasil use in men last week. The New York Times recently reported that advisory groups recommended boys between the ages of 9 and 25 soldier into doctor's offices and get injected with the costly, but effective, shot. Sex Does A Body Good
Gardasil, on the market since 2006, was previously just recommended for women as it protects against two strains of HPV that if undetected can lead to 90 percent of cervical cancer cases. While the shot prevents … Read More
Living with a disease is tough; opening up to your new love interest about it doesn't have to be.
Dating someone new means learning about each other's quirky behaviors, emotional baggage, and the past experiences that have shaped both of your lives. But what if this involves a health or medical secret you're hesitant to talk about?
Jill*, a 33-year-old from New York City, knows that finding Mr. Right also means telling him that she has bipolar disorder. Though she takes medication to manage her condition, she still lives with residual symptoms: She has trouble sleeping for more than two hours at a time, and can't shake her cigarette habit—traits that she feels a date might question.
"It's the smoking … Read More
Health officials lure people to get tested with a $10 Wal-Mart gift card and it works!
How does a frustrated health worker amidst a scary syphilis outbreak get people to check their bits? Chlamydia Now Being Blamed For Male Infertility As Well
Offer them $10 gift cards to Wal-Mart, of course. Duh!
Syphilis cases in Forsyth, N.C. have more than tripled in the past year, and health officials are delighted that a Wal-Mart gift card seems to be the missing, high-rolling link to get people interested in their HIV and syphilis status.
After a weekend of door-to-door canvassing, health workers got 603 people tested for syphlilis and HIV. When surveyed, half said the … Read More
Daily bong hits may be good for the potato chip industry, but not so much for your sex life.
Life is a series of complicated trade-offs, folks. Let it never be said we didn't warn you.
Yesterday we stumbled upon an Australian study that reports men who smoke pot daily have four times as hard of a time climaxing during sex than those who don't. The study also notes that everyday potheads report premature ejaculation at three times the rate of non-smokers. Brutal! It seems like this would really make a guy take a long, hard look at their bong friend the next time they sat down for a session. The Truth About Robin Wright … Read More
Condoms: bear these rules in mind before baring it all.
Imagine this: You're a young, single woman out in the jungle that is the urban dating world. One fine summer night, you meet a good-looking guy at a rooftop party. "Hello," he says, as you push your way through the crowd toward the makeshift bar. "Do I know you?" you ask. "No, but I'd like to get you another drink," he offers. You are charmed. "Of course—but be careful. They’re pouring heavy tonight," you warn. He laughs. Before long, you and the young man are conversing while throwing back stiff vodka tonics. Soon, you are making out. Why not, right? … Read More
Fewer marriage licenses are issued when blood tests are required. Is that such a bad thing?
Until the 1980s, most states required people to get a blood test in order to get a marriage license. The test, which screened for certain illnesses, like syphilis and rubella, was put in place to cut down on the spread of communicable diseases and prevent birth defects. By 2006, however, the blood test requirement was phased out everywhere U.S. except Washington D.C. and Mississippi.
Three researchers (Kasey Buckles of Notre Dame, Melanie Guldi of Mount Holyoke, and Joseph Price of Brigham Young) recently decided to find out if the elimination of the blood test had any relationship to the … Read More
One man shares his candid thoughts about dating a woman with herpes.
A reader sent me an email and asked me if I would ever date someone with an incurable STD. She had recently been diagnosed with the HSV virus (that’s herpes, y'all), and wanted my answer to be honest and not "PC." So here it is goes, my unvarnished, gut reaction to the question: No, I would not date someone with an incurable STD.
Like all things having to do with love and sex and relationships, so much depends on the timing. If we're talking about a first date, I imagine the scenario would go something like this:
ME: "What are … Read More
"Typical" condom use as effective against pregnancy as the withdrawal method.
The very astute crew over at The Frisky (I only get 40% of my news from them) have some wonderful news for us: according to science, pulling out is almost as effective as condoms. If you listen closely you can hear celebratory trumpets: bah-bih-tih-baht-bah-baaaaah!
While the effectiveness I refer to is exclusively applicable to birth control, the findings are a little shocking. Per these scientists, "typical use" of condoms results in pregnancy slightly less frequently than "typical use" of pull and pray (also called the withdrawal method). "Typical use" for both coitus interruptus and raincoat-wearing includes some degree of … Read More
Men care less about your number of sexual partners and more about what you've done with them.
Ed note: Last week we featured a community blog post that warned women not to reveal their "number." Below, a man responds.
Every guy, specifically every comedian (double specifically Chris Rock) knows that a woman's number is a whole lot of hooey. You say ten; (after probably throwing up in his mouth a little) he realizes you meant 17. And it's not that you're lying, it's just dudes consider any "crossing the threshold" to be sex. (We were raised on sports in which "breaking the plane" counts as scoring: football, soccer, hockey, goat racing, etc.) And, per our … Read More