We might not talk about this often enough, but it’s definitely time to uncover what’s underneath the sheets.
BY HEATHER BELL, SOCIETY OF OBSTETRICIANS AND GYNECOLOGISTS OF CANADA
The holiday season is here: in glittery dresses and daring shoes, we scamper through the crunchy snow, headed to parties where cocktails and sparkling lights await. With ruby cheeks, surrounded by friends and family, we are a picture of health and happiness. But beneath this festive exterior, have we neglected our sexual well-being?
Though Canadian women may be busy this time of year — arranging the last place-setting for that gazillion-guest dinner, sourcing the perfect-but-elusive gift for a toddler, or shoveling the driveway again — there’s no excuse for any of us to neglect such an important part of our health.
GOOD SEXUAL HEALTH, EH?
Just remember that being sexually healthy means being comfortable every time you engage in sexual activity — having confidence in your decisions and the protection you’re using. If you’re about to do something that you’re unsure about, stop before you start — whether you’re lying in the arms of a long-time lover or testing out a new relationship.
There are many types of contraceptive options available, so why risk an unplanned pregnancy? From non-hormonal methods to hormonal pills, rings, patches and needles, your contraceptive soul mate is out there. If you haven’t found ‘the one’ for you and your partner yet, visit a healthcare practitioner to speak about alternatives. While the web is also a good place to go for information, be sure to use reliable sources, such as sexualityandu.ca, a portal of sexual knowledge endorsed by several Canadian medical organizations.
Even if you are using other means of birth control, using condoms for dual protection minimizes the risk of getting a sexually transmitted infection (STI). Protection is important because it’s never actually possible to tell if someone is infected by simply looking at them: often people don’t have any visible symptoms or they might not even know their own status. While many STIs can be cured or controlled, some can have serious long-term health implications such as infertility, or even death — so it’s important to always put prevention first. STIs are spread during unprotected sexual contact — penetration isn’t always necessary, even touching or kissing an infected area can do the trick. Condoms protect both partners from unwanted pregnancy and from most sexually transmitted diseases. Even so, they may not provide protection from herpes, warts and pubic lice or scabies since they don’t form a barrier between all affected areas. For this reason, it’s important that you — and your partner — get tested regularly for STIs. There are a variety of testing options from free clinics to drop-in planned parenthood or in the comfort of your family physician’s office; contact your municipal health office for free testing options near you.
HPV: NOTHING MERRY ABOUT IT
Diamonds, puppies, a laptop, shoes, sweaters, kitchen appliances, even a scum-buster for the bathtub: nearly everything should be higher on your wish list than the Human papillomavirus (HPV). So, make sure you know how to prevent the most common sexually transmitted infection in the world.
There are over 100 types of HPV virus. The good news? Most are totally harmless. The bad news? Forty types can be spread, often unknowingly, by men and women through sexual contact. Some of these are low-risk, causing genital and anal infections (such as warts and lesions), and at least 15 are high-risk, causing pre-cancerous lesions and cancer in the cervix, anus and other genital areas. Every year in Canada, 1,300 to 1,500 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and almost 400 women die of this disease.
The HPV virus is usually spread through skin-to-skin contact — that means any sexual encounter, even if there’s no penetration. Contact with an infected person’s penis, scrotum, vagina, vulva or anus is risky, and touching any of those areas with your mouth can also spread the virus.
Genital warts — lesions that look like small red or white cauliflowers — are the only visible symptom of HPV, with most infections having no signs or symptoms. Anyone who is sexually active is at risk for HPV, and the only sure way to protect you and your partner against HPV is to use protection (such as condoms and dental dams), get screened regularly and get vaccinated. Vaccination provides protection against four types of the virus, that together cause 90 percent of genital warts and 70 percent of cervical cancers; vaccination is 99 percent effective.
