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Genital Warts: What Do They Look Like and What Does it Mean?

Admin — Mon, 31 May 2010 09:00:24 +0000

Genital warts are caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) which is an STI. If you think that you might have genital warts, be aware that it is contagious and can be transmitted to your partner through physical contact. Birth control pills like Yasmin do not offer protection against genital warts, so go see a doctor and get it checked out before you risk infecting your partner.
What do they look like?
Genital warts can vary in appearance. Some can be small, flat, skin colored bumps, while others can be very small bumps that take the shape of cauliflower. Genital warts for men can grow on the penis, close to the anus, or between the scrotum and the penis. In women, genital warts can grow on the vulva or in the perineal area, or in the vagina or on the cervix. Genital warts can vary in size and can even be so small that you may not even be aware that they are there.
What does it mean?
If you have genital warts or suspect that you might, go see a doctor immediately. Caused by HPV, genital warts can be dangerous as HPV is linked to some cancers including cancer of the vulva and penis. Your doctor may be able to diagnose genital warts just by seeing them, and can track cervical changes in women by doing a pap smear. Diagnosing genital warts can be difficult because it has a long incubation period. This means that it can be months after you are infected before you notice any symptoms, and women sometimes do not notice any symptoms at all as genital warts can grow inside the vagina.
The good news is that genital warts can be treated. Don’t try to treat them yourself, it’s best to get it seen to professionally. Your doctor may recommend having them removed. Never use over the counter wart removing chemicals in the genital area.

Birth Control and High Cholesterol

Admin — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:27:34 +0000

Research shows that there’s a possible link between birth control pills and high cholesterol (LDL). But that doesn’t mean that if you’ve got a cholesterol problem that you can’t use birth control. You just need to know how to choose the right birth control for you.

Most birth control pills contain estrogen and progestin—they’re called combined pills because of this combo. The estrogen in the pill actually helps increase “good” cholesterol (high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol), and a decrease in “bad cholesterol” (low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol).

Sounds perfect, right? But there’s a downside too: The progestin in the pill does the opposite. It can raise LDL cholesterol levels and lower HDL levels. If you have low HDL and high LDL levels to begin with and take a high progestin birth control pill, then you may see a jump in your “bad” cholesterol levels. For many people the increase is insignificant, but if you have a cholesterol problem to begin with, then even an insignificant increase could put your LDL levels too high.

If you have a cholesterol problem or find that your regular combined pill is increasing your cholesterol too much, then you may want to consider switching to a low-dose birth control pill. These pills are just as effective as regular combined pills but contain much less progestin.

An added benefit of switching to a low dose pill (besides for lowering high cholesterol) is that it can increase libido. While there’s no known connection between high cholesterol and low libido, if you happen to suffer from both these conditions, then reducing progestin is definitely the best thing you can do for your body, your heart, and your sex life!

Ugly Men Have Lots of Sperm

Admin — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 09:15:40 +0000

If you’re sleeping with an ugly guy, then you better make sure you’re on the pill if you don’t want him to get your pregnant. A new study, set out by the University of Oxford and University College London, shows that ugly men produce more sperm during sex. The flipside: The hottie you shagged last night probably didn’t knock you up.

Here’s why: Attractive men are more confident that they’ll be sought after and will have multiple opportunities to sow their oats. Therefore, to save his sperm for all the play he’s going to get, he only emits a small amount per potential mating. Long term, he’ll allocate the same amount of sperm as an ugly man will, but it’ll be spread out over a longer period of time, decreasing the chance of impregnation each individual time.

Unattractive men, according to this study, have sex as a survival mechanism. Unlucky with their appearance, they may also be unlucky in love—maybe this one mating opportunity that they’ve got presented before them will be their last. If that’s the case, then they better spurt out as much semen as possible to ensure that their family line lives on. They may attract fewer mates over time, but they value each one more than the attractive guys do.

I keep saying “men” or “guys”, but in reality, this theory hasn’t been tested on humans, just on chickens and birds, so I should really be saying “males”.

In any case, you don’t want to rely too heavily on this new science. If I were you I’d stay on your birth control pills, even if your new partner is Brad Pitt.