Evidence-based guidance on sexual function, contraception, STI prevention and intimate wellbeing, reviewed by clinicians.
Vaginal pH balance explained in plain terms: your vagina maintains a slightly acidic environment, normally between 3.8 and 4.5 on the pH scale. That acidity is not a flaw — it is your body’s built-in defense system. A balanced pH keeps protective bacteria thriving while making it harder for yeast, bacterial vaginosis (BV), and other…
If you believe you have been exposed to HIV — through sex, a needlestick injury, or a broken condom — there is an emergency medicine that can still prevent infection. PEP HIV exposure treatment (post-exposure prophylaxis) is a 28-day course of antiretroviral medicine that must be started within 72 hours of a possible exposure. The…
Understanding oral vs genital herpes differences is harder than it should be, because the names are genuinely confusing. “Oral herpes” and “genital herpes” describe where on the body an infection shows up, while “HSV-1” and “HSV-2” describe which virus is responsible — and the two labels do not map onto each other as neatly as…
Can you get sti from kissing? It is one of the most common questions sexual-health doctors hear, and the honest answer is: yes, some infections can pass through kissing — but most cannot. Kissing is far safer than oral, vaginal, or anal sex, yet saliva and mouth-to-mouth contact can still transmit a handful of specific…
Picture a couple after a night of lovemaking. He is relaxed and satisfied. She feels close to him — but unfinished, quietly wondering whether something is wrong with her. Nothing is wrong with her. She has met the female orgasm gap explained by decades of research: in heterosexual encounters, men orgasm almost every time, while…
It is the question nearly every long-term couple has quietly wondered about at some point: how often should couples have sex? Friends compare notes, magazine headlines tease a magic number, and somewhere in the back of your mind sits an imaginary scoreboard. If your number feels lower than everyone else’s, it is easy to worry…
More than one in three adults in the United States reports having had anal sex at least once, yet it remains one of the least openly discussed topics in sexual health. That silence has a cost: many couples have real questions about anal sex safety and the STI risks involved, but never get straight, judgment-free…
If you had unprotected sex last weekend and are wondering whether you can get tested today, here is the uncomfortable answer: testing too early can give you a wrong result. Understanding the std window period — how long after exposure each infection becomes detectable — is the difference between a test you can trust and…
Burning, itching, or swelling that starts shortly after sex is easy to blame on an infection — but for some people, the true culprit is far rarer and frequently missed. Understanding semen allergy matters because this condition, known medically as seminal plasma hypersensitivity (SPH), hides behind familiar diagnoses like yeast infections and STIs, delaying proper…
You are a few dates in. The conversation flows easily, there is genuine chemistry, and both of you can feel things moving in a physical direction. That is exactly when the sexual health new relationship talk belongs on the agenda — before clothes start coming off, not after. Most couples wait too long, avoiding it…