Q & A: I Know This Sounds Weird, But Did The Bikini Wax Do It?

Q: I had a yearly examination in January, then started getting bikini waxes. I observed some unusual issues happening down south, so I acquired one other examination in June. After the examination, the physician known as to inform me that I had chlamydia and to warn me about having unprotected intercourse.

I solely had protected intercourse between the January and June exams. I had 3 companions, all utilizing condoms. All three of my companions declare that they’ve gotten examined and that they don’t have chlamydia. So — is it doable to get chlamydia from a bikini wax?

A: Chlamydia is transmitted between sexual companions via vaginal, oral or anal intercourse and may be cured with sure antibiotics. You talked about that you just had protected intercourse with three completely different companions between your two exams. Presumably, by “protected sex” you imply that you just and your accomplice used a condom throughout sexual activity.

Assuming that you just used a condom accurately and each time that you just had intercourse, your danger of getting chlamydia can be very low until the condom broke or slipped off. Unfortunately, condoms are sometimes used incorrectly — and that doesn’t simply imply errors with opening packages or turning the condom inside out.

More particularly, many individuals wait earlier than placing a condom on a man’s penis and, in the intervening time, interact in genital rubbing and “slip-ins” which might transmit infections equivalent to chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, herpes, HPV and even HIV, significantly as sexual fluids equivalent to pre-ejaculate and vaginal fluids could combine. This is NOT “protected” intercourse. Also, as a result of chlamydia may be transmitted throughout oral intercourse, should you obtained oral intercourse from any of those three companions, they may have transmitted the an infection to you in that means.

So They Say

That mentioned, a complicated half appears to be that your companions all acknowledged that they don’t have chlamydia. They could also be telling the reality, or mendacity, and you might by no means know. It can also be doable that considered one of your three companions used to have chlamydia, however not does, presumably as a result of she or he has since been handled for one thing else that was handled with the identical kind of antibiotic with which Chlamydia can be handled.

Further, it’s doable that considered one of your companions is mendacity. While mendacity is all the time a tragic state of affairs (significantly by somebody you made your self bodily and emotionally weak to inside the context of a sexual relationship), it happens all too usually within the context of sexually transmitted infections (STI).

For instance, one examine discovered that solely about half of some people who have been contaminated with the human papillomavirus (HPV, which might trigger genital warts or cervical issues) felt it was vital to inform their sexual companions about having HPV. In one other examine, about one fourth of HIV optimistic people didn’t inform their sexual accomplice that they had HIV.

You Did The Right Thing

In basic, folks could also be extra seemingly — however not assured – to be trustworthy with their companions if they’re in a dedicated relationship, in the event that they really feel that being trustworthy is the precise factor to do, in the event that they care about their accomplice, or in the event that they really feel that their accomplice must get handled. Unfortunately, even caring or dedicated companions typically lie with the intention to shield (of their eyes) the connection and/or their very own delight or self-image. Good for you for being trustworthy and contacting your earlier companions.

For those that really feel they can’t inform previous or present companions instantly, one can ask a healthcare supplier for assist with “partner notification”, whereby they are going to name or e mail your previous or present accomplice to allow them to know (confidentially) that they’ve been named as a accomplice of somebody who has examined optimistic for an an infection. This is a confidential course of and your identification is not going to be disclosed.

Some STIs find yourself being delicate nuisances which are simply cured; others are life-changing, trigger bothersome signs or fertility issues, or are life-threatening. This is why it’s all the time vital to speak with companions about an infection and testing points, even while you can’t essentially rely on them to be trustworthy with you (which is why it’s vital to get examined, as you probably did).

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