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The first thing you should really know about the vagina is that you should get yourself a group of girlfriends with whom your comfortable enough comparing notes and experiences! But, if you don’t have that group yet or the below issues just haven’t come up, then read on.

You’ve been in a monogamous relationship for several years.  You and your partner were tested for STI’s (sexually transmitted infections) before you became sexually active.  When the relationship turned physical, you practiced safe sex and use condoms.  You had an IUD installed about a year ago since you’ve just started making some major moves in your career and know that you can’t nor want to handle a pregnancy at this point in your life.  So as you sit in your gynecologist’s office freezing in a paper-thin gown, you have not a care in the world because you’re covered, right?  That is until you find out you’ve tested positive for herpes.  After you cuss out the medical assistant who obviously mixed up your results and before you head home to kill your boyfriend, it might be helpful to take five minutes to calm down and really consider what went wrong.

You’re safe, you’re smart, and you’re clean and obviously not one of “those” girls who get a sexually transmitted infection.  Well, that assumption may have been your first mistake.  If you’re sexually active, STI’s don’t discriminate and although using some form of protection is better than using nothing at all, no protection will protect you from every infection all of the time.  Another assumption many women unfortunately make is believing they’re in a monogamous relationship.  There may come a time in a relationship where you’ve invested enough time and trust into your partner and believe there is no need for condoms, but unbeknownst to you your man is also seeing Tracy, Lisa and Katrina too.  Even after getting tested before starting a sexual relationship, it’s still a good idea to continue to get regularly tested.  The last assumption that I frequently see in my experiences as a sex educator is that many women are sold on the fact that it’s important to use condoms during vaginal intercourse, but not during oral sex.  STI’s are kind of like a man with no standards: Any wet orifice will do and many infections can be spread through unprotected oral sex just as easily as through vaginal/anal intercourse.

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