Let's talk about sex, getting tested and standing up for your sexual health! Thank goodness we are in a time in history where we can have an STD awareness month. And have a plethora of information to educate ourselves so that we can protect ourselves and our partners.

STD’s or STI’s have a huge stigma but the thing is that there’s a 110 million Americans living with STI’s. In case you’re wondering how many Americans there are about 325 million Americans. So this means that 34% of Americans have an STD/STI. This is huge and to think there’s still a stigma is frustrating.

So let me break this down, according to the CDC there’s:

• 20 million new STI cases a year
• 50% of the cases are in young people from ages 15-24
• Only 12% of the young people say they’ve been tested

So what does this mean...we need to educate and learn how to talk about sex and have the confidence to stand up for our sexual health? This means that it’s ok to ask your partner to wear a condom and if your partner refuses then it’s ok to say NO. It’s ok to require your partner to get tested for STI’s before having sex. If your partner doesn’t want to get tested or won’t share the results with you then it should be a red flag to say NO. It’s ok to ask you’re a partner if they have other partners. Basically what I’m saying is you need to stand up for yourself and have a conversation with your partner before becoming sexually active as well as once you’ve begun a sexual relationship.

Here’s what you need to do to protect yourself:

• Talk about your sexual heal with your partner
• Get tested before having sex
• Find out if you’re exclusive or if there are multiple partners
• Use protection aka. Condoms,  

I know I talk about this all the time but I need to make sure I mention it today is just because you ask for a STD test it doesn’t mean that you’ve been tested for herpes. Yep! Shocking right? So you specifically have to ask for a herpes test. I’ve heard from our Secret Society members that in some countries it’s hard to get a herpes test unless you have signs of blisters. But...it’s your health and you need to stand up for you!

This can sound kinda corny but it’s true. I mean I believe sex is a natural part of life but it doesn’t mean that you need to become sexually active until you’re ready. So with that being said, sex is a choice. It’s 100% up to you to decide when you want to have sex so with that being said you need to make sure you’re 100% ready to have the sexual health talk and take proper precautions to get tested and talk to your partner. Truly there’s nothing sexier than communicating and getting vulnerable together before jumping between the sheets.

If you want to learn more about getting tested for herpes go to HerpAlert.com. I’m obsessed with the company because they are the leading telehealth company for herpes diagnosis. It’s private and an MD will diagnoses you within the hour and have your prescription sent to your pharmacy of choice. It’s that simple. Oh, and if you use the promo code:lifewithherpes you’ll get 10% off. Go to HerpAlert and check it out.

Life With Herpes Details:

• Join the Secret Society
• HerpAlert (use promo code: lifewithherpes and get 10% off)

Oh yea, remember to subscribe to the Life With Herpes newsletter and get The 5 things  I wished she knew before I was diagnosed with herpes sent directly to your inbox + weekly updates.

 

Xoxo,

Alexandra

Just in case…

Learn about the Herpes Outbreak Toolkit:

Need to talk confidentially about herpes?

Oh Yea and in case you need Herpes Outbreak Essentials

 

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