A service provided by the BC Centre for Disease Control
In the years since SmartSexResource launched, we have developed a library of questions asked by you, and answered by our expert sexual health nurses.
Our answered questions library cover a broad range of sexual health topics and common questions we hear at our clinics.
Hi, thanks for your question
Yes, you can have sex today! BUT if the person that you’re going to have sex with was a partner from before you got treatment, make sure they took the treatment and waited for 7 days before sex as well!
If you have sex with an ongoing partner that has not been treated for the infection, you will likely get it back again.
Let us know if this does not answer your question or if you have any more questions or concerns.
Health Nurse
Hi, and thanks for your question
Actually the herpes virus, whether it is HSV-1 or HSV-2, is very easily spread by skin-to-skin contact. So yes, if someone gets a herpes infection on the genitals from oral sex, it is absolutely possible to then pass that infection to another partner during sexual contact.
Keep in mind, however, that while herpes is easily spread (which is why it’s so very common!) it is only being passed when the virus is active. Typically this means that it’s only spreading when the symptoms of blisters or lesions are present on the skin. When the blisters heal, the virus goes to “sleep” on the nerve pathway and is not being passed until it wakes up again. The frequency of when the virus “wakes up” and spreads from person to person varies. Some people only ever get one outbreak in their lifetime, while other people might have 2 or 3 outbreaks per year.
If you’re interested in reading more about herpes and the virus that causes it, have a look at our Herpes: Patient’s Guide.
Let us know if this does not answer your question or if you have any more questions or concerns.
Health Nurse
Hi, and thanks for your question
The simple answer is yes, you can! As with any condom use it’s recommended to check the packing for the expiration date, to ensure it’s not damaged and to make sure it provides protection against sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy.
Check out our Flavoured Condoms page on Smart Sex Resource for more details.
Let us know if this does not answer your question or if you have any more questions or concerns.
Health Nurse
Hi, and thanks for your question
As you’ve indicated, there are two types of herpes virus – HSV-1 and HSV-2. The lesions, or blisters, commonly appear either on the mouth as cold sores, or on the genitals. Herpes is a very common virus which is very easily passed through skin to skin contact. So not only can it be passed through sexual contact, but it can be passed through more casual skin to skin contact like kissing. For this reason some people are exposed to the virus at quite a young age, and the longer the virus has been present, the less frequently people notice outbreaks. In fact, some people never experience an outbreak of sores at all even though they carry the virus.
As such, it is unlikely that if you repeat the test that it will be negative. In fact, we often discourage people from testing for herpes using the blood test since it provides very little clinical information and often causes quite a lot of anxiety about a virus that is generally considered to be pretty harmless.
You might find our Herpes: Patient’s Guide helpful for more information.
Let us know if this does not answer your question or if you have any more questions or concerns.
Health Nurse
Hi, and thanks for your question
Waiting 7 days after taking the medication for a sexually transmitted infection is necessary to get rid of the infection in your body. During that time, you can still transmit the infection to your partners. If you were to then have sex with the same partner beyond that 7 day period, there is a very good chance that person could give the infection back to you, since many STIs are pretty easily passed.
For this reason it is important that you get any STIs treated appropriately and that any ongoing partners also get tested and take the treatment right away to avoid the infection going back and forth between the two of you.
At this point, the person you had sex with after you took the medication, should get treatment for the STI and you both should wait until seven days after treatment before having sex.
Let us know if this does not answer your question or if you have any more questions or concerns.
Health Nurse
Hi, thanks for your question. We do not see people getting STI’s from toilets, by sitting on them or through contact with the water in the toilet bowl. STI’s are sexually transmitted infections usually through genital skin contact with wet warm sexual fluids. Of course there are other bacteria that can be transmitted through contact with any toilet surface that many people have used. ( seats, flush handle, wash basins, door handles to name a few) Handwashing before and after can prevent this transmission. If you remain concerned or have developed any symptoms, please see your doctor for assessment.
Hi, and thanks for writing in with your question
We recommend waiting for 4 weeks after taking antibiotics before doing any testing for sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The reason for this is that sometimes we treat non-STI infections with the same antibiotics that can treat STIs.
Once antibiotics kill an infection it can take the body 3-4 weeks to actually get rid of the dead bacteria. Some STI tests (specifically the ones for chlamydia and gonorrhea) are so sensitive that they will detect the residual protein from the dead bacteria and report it as positive. This is essentially a “false positive” result, but it often leads to an additional, unnecessary dose of antibiotics if a testing provider doesn’t realize the infection could already have been treated with the previous antibiotics.
I hope this makes sense! If your STI testing was all negative 1 week after the ciprofloxacin, then you don’t need to worry. If something comes back positive on your tests, then I would recommend speaking with your care provider about the possibility of an already-treated infection.
Let us know if this does not answer your question or if you have any more questions or concerns.
Health Nurse
Hi, and thanks for your question
Condoms, when used properly, are a very effective barrier against HIV transmission. They are also excellent at preventing other sexually transmitted infections such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis as well as preventing pregnancy.
For maximum efficacy it’s important that condoms be used correctly. A new condom should be used every time you have intercourse, as well as with each new partner, and when switching from anal to oral or vaginal penetration. The condom should be put on before the penis/external genitals touch the partner’s genitals or anus.
I don’t have any data on whether there has ever been a case of HIV with an intact condom, but what I can say is that condoms are very effective at preventing HIV.
Have a look at our Condoms page for more information and tips. You might also find our Know Your Chances charts helpful when considering risk of various types of STIs including HIV.
Let us know if this does not answer your question or if you have any more questions or concerns.
Health Nurse
Hi, and thanks for your question
No, we really wouldn’t see someone getting pregnant this way. Pregnacy happens when there is direct contact of the genitals like penetrative intercourse of penis in vagina, or direct contact with ejaculate (semen) and the vulva or vaginal opening.
Even if there is contact between genitals but one partner is wearing clothing, pregnancy is not a risk.
We really like the Scarleteen website as they’ve got some great answers to scenarios like the one you’ve presented. Have a look at their site in general, and specifically on their Pregnancy Panic page.
Let us know if this does not answer your question or if you have any more questions or concerns.
Health Nurse
Based on what you have described, if your boyfriend had a condom on and he did not ejaculate inside your vagina, the chances of getting pregnant from that encounter are unlikely.
The only way to determine whether or not you are pregnant is to take a pregnancy test. Most home (or clinic) pregnancy tests will be accurate after you have missed your period. To learn more about pregnancy testing, click here.
Besides being pregnant, several things can cause you to miss your period. Some of these include:
If you have concerns about your changes in your period, see your health care provider.
Besides using condoms consistently, there are several ways you can prevent pregnancy. To learn more, see our ‘Birth Control’ page.