Protection is needed in all aspects of your life. When you go outside in the sun, you need to protect your skin from the harsh UV rays that the sun emits. In the wintertime, you need to protect your body from the bitter cold so you won’t freeze to death. When it comes to your dreams and aspirations, you need to protect your goals from negative people who don’t see the vision that you see. When it comes to your mind and spirit, you need to protect yourself from miserable people who want you to experience what they’re going through because misery loves company. There are so many ways that you protect yourself and so many things that you need to protect yourself from in this lifetime but there is one way that many people seem to forget when it comes time to protect themselves and that’s through sex. STDs
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When it comes to sex and being mindful, always remember that the best sex is safe sex. Yes, it’s easy to get caught up in the moment, but unprotected sex can cause some serious issues, especially if you are doing it with multiple or new partners.
Unprotected sex can lead to unwanted pregnancies that were not in your plan at the moment.
Unprotected sex can also lead to STDs and STIs being contracted, which can lead to sickness and illnesses and even future deadly health complications.
Unprotected sex can also lead to contracting diseases such as HIV/AIDS.
It’s important to always practice safe sex because it truly is the best type of sex. Not only do you get to enjoy the pleasure at the moment, but you won’t have to deal with most of the worries that come with unprotected sex.
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Safe sex isn’t only about using protection, it’s also about speaking with your partner or whoever you are having sex with. It’s going to get tested at least twice a year or every 3 months if you are intimate with multiple people or new people. Safe sex is asking the people who you are sleeping with when was the last time they were tested and how often they get tested. It’s extremely important to do these steps as well when practicing safe sex because you could be living with undiagnosed STDs and STIs.
If you are not getting tested often, but having sex unprotected even if it’s only with one person, then you have a higher risk of contracting or already having an STD.
The most common STD reported in America is HPV (human papillomavirus). Over 79 million Americans are living with some type of HPV due to sex.
The next two most common STDs in America are chlamydia and gonorrhea. If you aren’t getting STD screenings and pap smears but are having sex often with multiple or new people, you could be living with one of these common and symptom-less STDs.
Even if you are not showing any signs or symptoms, it’s always important to use protection. This is because sometimes STDs don’t show symptoms or the symptoms show months or even years later after you’ve been living with it for some time. Protection is key, and this goes for everyone, even for people who are living with illnesses that are managed well like HIV.
Thanks to technology, you can be living with HIV and have undetected levels of it due to the new medications that are on the market that lower your HIV levels to basically nothing. As great and life-changing as that is, it’s still important to use protection when having sex and taking this new medication. This is because you won’t know your levels every day, so what if they happen to change between the times you go and check with your doctor? What if your medicine is no longer working with your body and your levels raise but you’ve been having unprotected sex with someone? Unfortunately, this can still happen, so it’s important to always use protection even if you’re undetected to stop the spread and to protect yourself as well.
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There are many different forms of contraceptives for you to choose from to practice safe sex. The most common two are condoms, which help prevent STDs/STIs and birth control.
These are two great options to use but there are also different types of condoms many don’t know of. For example, there are vaginal and oral condoms for women, men and non-binaries to use as protection with partners. There are forms of sterilization such as vasectomies for men and tubal ligation for women (tubes tied/burned), used to prevent pregnancy. Also there are different forms of birth control such as IUDs, pills and shots (prevention of pregnancy).
Sex is natural and common for humans, so to deny yourself that isn’t needed. Just make sure you are practicing safe and consensual sex, you are able to enjoy it, and remember just because it’s undetected, that doesn’t mean you should go in unprotected… no matter how good it may feel.
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