Safe Sex - Standards, Practices, Information & Resources

To a certain extent down the line, it will become an issue of trusting your partners to select wisely when it comes to sexual partners, and for everybody to keep each other informed.

You can ask for just about anybody to take a test, but they do have the right to refuse. At that point, it is up to you to decide what level of sexual contact is okay with you based on the information you have. You could also ask when the last time was that anybody got tested and maybe it will be recent enough that you won't require a retest if they can provide the results for you.

As a female who has had HPV, I would definitely consider getting the Gardasil injection if you haven't had it already. Men cannot be tested for the high risk (cancer causing) strains.

In my experience, the standard test usually does a run for chlamydia, gonorrhea, HIV, and HPV in women. Just make sure to ask what all is being tested for. I always ask for syphilis and hepatitis as well (blood test along with the HIV screening). HSV is an extra test and not completely accurate. You can usually only know in the presence of breakouts, but it can feel good to get those blood tests and have a clean result, but generally they are not covered and they are extra. It usually isn't a priority for them to test for HSV in the absence of breakouts. I probably won't get this again anytime soon, but I even had them test my Epstein Barr (mono) last time. That was extra and did cost me, but it was something I wanted to know about. You may have to request specifically for an HPV test now that I think about it, as I don't think I was ever tested until I got abnormal cells on my pap. Bottom line is ask your doctor what is available and you may have to specifically ask for tests on certain STIs instead of just asking for "everything" because that will mean different things to different doctors.
 
My insurance considers STI testing as preventative measures and will cover it with a co-pay (in my case, $15 per type of test - $15 for the blood draw/urine collection and $15 for the office visit if necessary). This covers HSV (which I ask for specifically), syphilis, gonorrhea, HIV, and a few others I can't think of right now.

If your insurance won't cover it, check out Planned Parenthood or other clinics in your area. A lot of times they charge on a sliding scale, so it can be significantly more affordable.

Last I knew, there wasn't a widely accepted HPV test. I got tested when I had abnormal cells, and they tested those specific cells. Some medical professionals believe it can stay fairly localized, so to accurately test, they'd have to get cell samples from all over while others think it's simply not important because it's so common and in general it's just a difficult thing to get done unless there are symptoms.

As for who to get "papers" from... Honestly, I couldn't imagine someone demanding to see my papers at all. Request I get tested regardless of my last date of testing, okay. Wait for my results and inquire about them, of course. But if you don't trust me to be honest about that, why the heck would you want to have sex with me?! I'd walk away at that point. I also wouldn't even consider providing any kind of documentation to a lover's partner. My health is my business. The health that affects my lover is shared with that person. That person is then responsible for informing any of his/her connections if they could potentially be affected (which, they could since I've been positively diagnosed with high-risk HPV).
 
My insurance considers STI testing as preventative measures and will cover it with a co-pay (in my case, $15 per type of test - $15 for the blood draw/urine collection and $15 for the office visit if necessary). This covers HSV (which I ask for specifically), syphilis, gonorrhea, HIV, and a few others I can't think of right now.

If your insurance won't cover it, check out Planned Parenthood or other clinics in your area. A lot of times they charge on a sliding scale, so it can be significantly more affordable.

Last I knew, there wasn't a widely accepted HPV test. I got tested when I had abnormal cells, and they tested those specific cells. Some medical professionals believe it can stay fairly localized, so to accurately test, they'd have to get cell samples from all over while others think it's simply not important because it's so common and in general it's just a difficult thing to get done unless there are symptoms.

As for who to get "papers" from... Honestly, I couldn't imagine someone demanding to see my papers at all. Request I get tested regardless of my last date of testing, okay. Wait for my results and inquire about them, of course. But if you don't trust me to be honest about that, why the heck would you want to have sex with me?! I'd walk away at that point. I also wouldn't even consider providing any kind of documentation to a lover's partner. My health is my business. The health that affects my lover is shared with that person. That person is then responsible for informing any of his/her connections if they could potentially be affected (which, they could since I've been positively diagnosed with high-risk HPV).

Thanks for the input. I really am overthinking this and wanted to come here to ask before I accidently insulted or upset him. I have no problem going to the docs for tests, nothing happening. And since it has been so long for me, I am happy that he offered to get tested also. To be honest, I hadn't thought of that until he mentioned it. I think I am definitely in the throes of NRE (now that I know what that means) and may need to dial myself back a bit. :) All info and advice is appreciated.
 
So, I don't know if it's okay for me to post on such an old thread but I found it through the master thread and notice that something is missing, so far as I read, namely that HPV can potentially be transmitted through any part of the body, not just genitalia, and also that there is still risk of transmission even with digital penetration, if unprotected. The former is not something you can really control, but if you are using your hands with a partner who has HPV or with an unknown, make sure you wear gloves!
 
Thanks for mentioning that anita; as far as I'm concerned it is AOK for you to post here. :)
 
HPV can potentially be transmitted through any part of the body
Without a citation, it's just an opinion. Links are always good.

HPV is less a thing than a class. Per W'pedia:
Over 170 types of HPV have been identified, more than 40 of which are typically transmitted through sexual contact

Of the 120 known human papillomaviruses, 51 species and three subtypes infect the genital mucosa.
No, I can't figure out how to make the numbers balance up properly. Anyway, most species/types/strains (of, where's an editor...) don't readily migrate to the Naughty Bits.

Per anita's note,
Condoms do not completely protect from the virus because the areas around the genitals including the inner thigh area are not covered, thus exposing these areas to the infected person’s skin.
That is to say, some "safe" activities like frottage actually have a significant risk factor. As for hands:
Studies have shown HPV transmission between hands and genitals of the same person and sexual partners.

Non-sexual hand contact seems to have little or no role in HPV transmission.

Winer found... 10% of virgin women reporting non-penetrative sexual contact were positive
(Research seems sparse: in all, only four studies were cited, with an apparent total sample of ~250 women.)

The best we can do is shift the odds in our favor:
Most sexually active men and women will probably acquire genital HPV infection at some point in their lives. The American Social Health Association reported estimates that about 75–80% of sexually active Americans will be infected with HPV at some point in their lifetime. By the age of 50 more than 80% of American women will have contracted at least one strain of genital HPV.
Estimates of HPV prevalence vary from 14% to more than 90%. One reason for the difference is that some studies report women who currently have a detectable infection, while other studies report women who have ever had a detectable infection. Another cause of discrepancy is the difference in strains that were tested for.

One study found that, during 2003–2004, at any given time, 26.8% of women aged 14 to 59 were infected with at least one type of HPV. This was higher than previous estimates [where] 15.2% were infected with one or more of the high-risk types that can cause cancer.

The prevalence for high-risk and low-risk types is roughly similar over time.
 
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