Answered Questions

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.

STI Symptoms (136)

Does hiv infection advance the onset of menopause in women.What are the signs that menopause in women is a sign of hiv infection and not due to the age factor.

Hi there,

We are not sure if HIV advances the age of menopause. Some studies have shown that, on average, menopause happens earlier for women living with HIV. However, other studies have found there is no difference in the average age of menopause for women with HIV. So, we aren’t sure yet if there really is a difference, and we don’t know if it might be something that is caused by the virus, or by other factors like genetics or lifestyle.

Menopause can come early or late in different women depending on many factors. We would not look at a woman’s age at menopause as a sign of HIV infection. The only way to tell if a woman has HIV is to do an HIV test.

Let us know if this answers your question or if you need more information,

Health Nurse

This answer was posted on April 24, 2014.

This answer was updated on February 7, 2022.

I mightve had a yeast infection couple weeks ago. Now my discharge is thick and ‘slimy’. what does that mean? What does black looking period mean

Hi there,

This might be a bit of a disappointing answer, since we can’t diagnose you online. Changes in vaginal discharge can be simply part of the body’s normal variation, or they can be caused by an infection. If this discharge is unusual for you, it is worthwhile getting a check up with a healthcare provider to find out what is causing it. You can go see you regular doctor if you have one, or you can use our clinic finder to find a nearby place to get a check up.

Please leave a comment to let us know if this answers your question or if you need more information.

Health Nurse

For other readers, please feel free to leave a comment, or let us know if this was helpful.

This answer was posted on April 13, 2014.

This answer was updated on February 7, 2022.

Age: 26 Gender: Male 1 month ago, I got the flu. While I had the flu, I developed balanitis. My glans had red spots. They seem to be in the shape of a triangle with the upper corner at the tip of the penis. It is not painful, and they occasionally itch. Doctor gave me Nizoral cream. Used it for 2 weeks, no improvement. Doctor doesn’t know what it is. It has been over a month and it is still there. What can be the cause and how long can it last?

Hi there,

It is difficult for us to diagnose your red spots online, since we aren’t able to examine you in person. It sounds like your doctor suspected they were caused by an overgrowth of yeast, because the Nizoral cream he gave you is an antifungal.

Yeast is nornally present on our skin and is usually harmless, but ocassionally it can overgrow and cause a rash and itching.Yeast can take a while to go away, so it may just take another few weeks.

However, if you are using the cream correctly and you’re still not seeing any improvement, it’s a good idea to go back to your doctor to see if there is something else causing this rash, or if another antifungal might be more effective for you.

Please leave a comment to let us know if that answers your question or if you need more information.

Health Nurse

For other readers, please feel free to leave a comment, or let us know if this was helpful.

This answer was posted on April 3, 2014.

I am a 25 year old male. The following events take place in 2014: Jan 10: Received unprotected oral sex from an escort. She did not exhibit any signs of STDs. March 28: Pain in legs, thighs, buttocks, and lower abdomen. Nausea and headache was present as well. April 1: Headache and nausea pretty much gone. Pain in leg, thighs, and lower abdomen subsided. Noticed bump or zit on left side of scrotum. It has a white center. It hurts when touched. When untouched, it sometimes feels itchy and burning. Is this a sign of an STD such as herpes?

It is difficult to diagnose conditions over the internet as I would need to see it, take a medical and sexual history and do some tests. What I can do is give you some basic information based on what you have written.

What you have described sounds like general symptoms that can be caused by many different conditions. For example it is common to get zits or pimples on the genitals.

I would recommend going to a clinic and having a health professional look at it. They could probably give you a good idea of what could be going on by just looking at it.

Have a look at our clinic finder if you need help finding a clinic in your area. You can also get STI/HIV testing at your family doctor or any doctor’s office.

As most sexually transmitted infections (STI) do not show symptoms I would recommend getting an STI test done when you visit the clinic.

Please leave a comment to let us know if this answers your question or if you need more information.

Health Nurse

For other readers, please feel free to leave a comment, or let us know if this was helpful.

This answer was posted on April 1, 2014.

I had unprotected oral sex several times with the same girl. I am a guy. symptoms in my body the following month: Blisters in groin, area becoming red and itchy painless anal itching Tender pelvic area headacheWhen showed to doctor, fungal infection was diagnosed. I have been put on terbest and a tropical cream since then. Been three months, still the infection persists though improvement.Could the above symptoms similar to any std. Am I wrongly diagnosed. Pl help

It is great that you were able to see a doctor.

It is difficult to diagnose conditions over the internet as I would need to see it, take a medical and sexual history and do some tests. Some sexually transmitted infections (STI) can be passed with unprotected oral sex but it is also common for them not to show any symptoms.

I would suggest going back to your doctor and discussing your concerns with them. You could also see what STI tests they have done for you.

You could also get a second opinion from another doctor.

It is common for people not to feel comfortable discussing their sexual history with their family doctor. In this situation I usually recommend that they go to an STI clinic or a different doctor where they feel comfortable discussing this as it can help with working out what could be causing the symptoms. They could also do all the STI tests for you as well. If the STI clinic does not think it is an STI and all your tests come back negative you could go back to your family doctor reassured that your symptoms are probably not caused by an STI.

Please leave a comment to let us know if this answers your question or if you need more information.

Health Nurse

For other readers, please feel free to leave a comment, or let us know if this was helpful.

This answer was posted on March 26, 2014.

I had sex with a friend and it was unprotected and I’m not on birth control. I know I’m not pregnant but I’m worried about possibility of something else. Like HIV or of sort, should I get tested? And also my bf fingered me and i started bleeding but I wasent on my period..I’m wondering what could’ve caused that.

Hi there,

Thanks for your questions.

If you’ve had unprotected sex, it’s a good idea to get tested for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Because these tests have a “window period”, the best time to get tested is about 3 weeks to 3 months after a possible exposure. If you’re not sure where to get a test, look on the clinic finder on the site.

You mentioned you were bleeding after being fingered. I can’t diagnose this over the internet, but there are a few possibilities. Sometimes, having an infection like Gonorrhea or Chlamydia can cause a bit of bleeding like this. Or, the bleeding could just have been from a small tear in your skin from friction. Again, getting tested will help you figure this out, and if you have Gonorrhea or Chlaymdia, they are easily cured with antibiotics.

You also said you were not on birth control. Have you had a menstrual period since you had sex with your friend? If your period does not come when expected, it might be good to get a pregnancy test, just to make sure you didn’t get pregnant. In any case, birth control would not prevent you from getting STI’s, just from getting pregnant.

Let me know if this answers your questions,

Health Nurse

This answer was posted on March 23, 2014.

Hi again, this is branching off a couple questions down. I bought “Webber’s Natural Women’s Probiotic with Cranberry Capsules” and have been ingesting them orally and I’ve inserted them through my vagina twice. During the 2 times, the pills “broke” and the contents were found on my underwear at the end of the day. What should my schedule of taking the pills be like as well as for inserting them into me? I didn’t want to take too many at once, not knowing if it was too much for my body to handle. I also drank a big amount of apple cider vinegar, diluted with water which also didn’t seem to work. The probiotic pills don’t seem to be working and it almost seems that my YI seems to be getting worse, the clitoris is quite swollen and the hood (i think that’s the name) is covering the clit. Should I refrain from sex? The last time of sexual intercourse was on 2/21/14 which didnt hurt. I’m wondering how long it will take to see results using the probiotic pill method(s) I’m 18 years old and weigh between 90-100 lbs, I do have a history of iron deficiency. I hope some of that information helps, thank you for your time!

Yeast is naturally occurring in the vagina, but when it overgrows women can experience symptoms like what you have described. Natural treatments can work well, but in your case this treatment does not seem to be working well enough. There are many over the counter yeast treatments available, so you may want to consider something else. It would also be a good idea to get checked to make sure you are treating yourself for the right problem. You can check out our Clinic Finder if you need help finding a clinic in BC.

It is hard to tell you what the correct dosage is because this is not a product that we use. Check the package to see if there are instructions on how to use the product.

Please leave a comment to let us know if this answers your question or if you need more information.

Health Nurse

For other readers, please feel free to leave a comment, or let us know if this was helpful.

This answer was posted on February 25, 2014.

Hi there, I’ve been sexually active since late October/ Early November and the most recent activity was yesterday. My boyfriend and I both haven’t had any previous sexual partners. I’ve never been on birth control and we’ve been keen to stick with condoms every time we did it, except for no more then 5 times where we haven’t. I think i’ve been having yeast infections on and off before intercourse with and without condoms. I think it’s a yeast infection from the thick a bit smaller than cottage cheese, translucent discharge i have. It doesn’t smell, nor hurt. I wanted to solve the nuisance in without any pills so I tried the soaked tampon in regular all natural yogurt and slept with it in twice for a short number of hours. Recently I noticed the opening of my vagina looking ripped in all around the opening and was “bulky”, covered in what I think is yeast discharge which still doesn’t hurt nor small, feels totally fine. I was off my period during the insertion of the tampons and I’m just wondering if that could be the cause to the ripped looking vaginal opening, if guys can be affected if a girl may have a yeast infection and what’s the best holistic way to cure a yeast infection and get rid of the “rips”. Thank you so much for your time!

Hi there

You could be right that what you have is a yeast infection. It is very common and most women will get at least one at some point in their life. There is often a thick white odorless discharge and itchiness.

However, we can’t accurately diagnose something online, so it would be good idea to get checked out to make sure that you are treating yourself for the right thing; especially since you are seeing some open areas or ‘rips’ on your skin. Also, there are some medical conditions that can make a person more likely to get a yeast infection. Once you know what you are treating, then you can decide how you want to treat it.

Natural treatments that people have tried include putting plain unsweetened yoghurt, or probiotic capsules, in the vagina. Some people try a white vinegar and water douche. It is important to be careful with douching. You probably need to talk to your healthcare provider before you try douching. Some women who get frequent yeast infections find that changing their diet helps. It may help to reduce carbohydrates, sugar, alcohol and caffeine.

Men can get yeast. It can show as a red rash, which may or may not be itchy. There may be a cheesy white discharge on the head of the penis and the foreskin can swell and become tight. This can be serious, so if you partner developed this kind of discharge he should see a healthcare provider.

Check out our clinic finder, if you need help finding a place to go for advice.

Please leave a comment to let us know if this answers your question or if you need more information.

Health Nurse

For other readers, please feel free to leave a comment, or let us know if this was helpful.

This answer was posted on February 16, 2014.

Hi,I had sex with sex worker in India. Before sex I had an itchy area on my testicle. I licked her pussy for about 1 minute then fingered her pussy. It wore a condom for intercourse. The duration of all this act was for about 4-5 minutes including intercourse. Everything was in place condom was intact but I have one query. When i returned home i looked closer at the itchy area between my leg and testicle. I realized that vaginal fluid might have made contact with this itch. So I’m very much afraid now. Just wanted to know what are the chances that vaginal fluid might have came in contact with itch or of vaginal fluid getting mixed with itch blood. The next day I started feeling pain above eye brows. Then I had liquid stool. Then from 2nd and 3rd day I started feeling anxious like heart palpitations, dizziness, heaviness in head, imbalance. Am I’m suffering from acute HIV infection.

I don’t know your full medical or sexual history but I can give you some basic information based on what you have written.

What you described does not sound like acute HIV infection or HIV seroconversion illness. It generally takes 2 to 4 weeks to develop these symptoms after getting HIV.

HIV is not commonly passed with the type of sex you described. Have a look at our “Know your chances” page, it provides information on your chances of getting or passing an STI depending on how you are having sex.

I would recommend going to see your doctor to talk about the symptoms you are having.

Please leave a comment to let us know if this answers your question or if you need more information.

Health Nurse

For other readers, please feel free to leave a comment, or let us know if this was helpful.

This answer was posted on February 12, 2014.

How long after sex, does it take for STI symptoms to develop?

Firstly, it is important to remember that often STIs are asymptomatic, meaning you may be infected but show no symptoms.

Whether or not you will develop symptoms also depends on the sexually transmitted infection (STI).

The incubation period is the time it takes from when you first get an STI and when signs and symptoms would likely appear.

Every STI has a different incubation period. Have a look at our ‘STI at a Glance’ chart. It provides information on what common symptoms to look for, incubation and window periods (when test results are accurate).

Because many people do not develop symptoms, this is why we recommend, that even if people do not have symptoms, they test for STI regularly.

Have a look at our ‘Got symptoms’ page for more information.

Resources

This answer was posted on January 15, 2014.

This answer was updated on August 16, 2022.

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STI Symptoms (136)

Does hiv infection advance the onset of menopause in women.What are the signs that menopause in women is a sign of hiv infection and not due to the age factor.

I mightve had a yeast infection couple weeks ago. Now my discharge is thick and ‘slimy’. what does that mean? What does black looking period mean

How long after sex, does it take for STI symptoms to develop?

Resources