Be A (safe) Sex Goddess

Get wise to these 4 common sexual health myths

Herpes, syphilis, gonorrhea —you see these words in pamphlets at your doctor's office, but they have nothing to do with you, right? You can't be so sure. The American Social Health Association in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, estimates that one in four people is either living with or will become infected with a sexually transmitted disease. To help ensure you don't wind up with one—or if you do, that you get treated—SELF debunks four of the biggest misconceptions and provides the facts you need to stay healthy.

I got a clean bill of health at my last pelvic exam, so I'm disease-free.

Unless you asked for it, you probably weren't screened for any STD. The standard Pap checks only for abnormal cervical cells, not infection with human papillomavirus, which is linked to the abnormalities and to nearly all cases of cervical cancers. Screening for each sexual infection, whether it's HPV, chlamydia or hepatitis, requires its own test. If you fell for this myth, don't feel too bad—so did 40 percent of women (we hope for the last time!) surveyed by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Smart-sex tip. Ask your health-care provider if you need testing. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta recommends that doctors screen based on a patient's history as well as other factors (such as pregnancy or local rates of a given infection). The problem is that many doctors aren't broaching the topic at all, says Matthew Hogben, Ph.D., of the CDC's Division of STD Prevention. (That might partly explain why nearly half of women have never been tested for a sexually transmitted infection, according to the SELF/Kaiser survey.) Still, that's no excuse. If your doc is not asking about your sex life, press the issue—or find a new doctor.

Most STDs won't kill me, right?

Wrong. You know the dangers of AIDS, but take HPV, for instance. Many strains (there are more than 100) are benign and go away on their own, while some more virulent forms cause cervical cancer. Then there are hepatitis B and C; either viral infection can result in liver damage and cancer. Keep in mind that hepatitis B is spread the same way as HIV but is 100 times more contagious. And though syphilis is rare, an untreated infection can ravage nearly every organ.

Smart-sex tip. Stay on top of your Paps. Many cervical cancers are found in women who haven't been screened in more than five years. As for HPV testing, doctors generally give the test to women in their 20s only after an abnormal Pap. But women over 30 (who are more likely to carry a high-risk HPV strain) now have the DNA Pap, an HPV test and a Pap rolled into one. It can detect abnormal cells more reliably than the smear alone, says Marie Savard, M.D., clinical associate professor of medicine at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. To beat hepatitis: Use condoms, avoid blood-to-blood contact and ask your doctor about the hepatitis B vaccine.

40% of women wrongly believe that a Pap smear tests for sexually transmitted diseases.

I always practice safe sex, so I'm not at risk.

Perhaps a better term is "safer" sex, because condoms don't protect you in all situations. Many diseases, including HIV and chlamydia, are spread via oral sex, so to lower your risk you still need to use condoms and the appropriately named dental dams. If your partner has a cold sore (caused by the oral form of herpes), forgo mouth-to-genital contact until it clears up, because it could spread to your vagina. Finally, both herpes and HPV can make the leap when you're not having sex at all. Skin-to-skin contact is sometimes all it takes.

Smart-sex tip. You don't have to swear an oath of celibacy, but you do have to realize that there's always a chance of infection. Ideally, you should get tested before having sex with a new partner; if you jump into bed before getting your test results, be sure to use full protection 'til you know the score. If you find out that you have a bacterial infection such as chlamydia, some doctors will write an Rx for antibiotics for you and your partner. With a viral infection, you can still be intimate without passing on the disease; simply ask your physician for advice (no blushing necessary).