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Health News.
Comprehensive men's sexual health information, tips and news about men's sexual health.
BARRIER METHODS FOR: WOMEN WHO HAVE SEX WITH OTHER WOMEN
In addition, the human papillomavirus (HPV), the virus that causes genital warts (probably the most common STD in the United States), is also very common among women who have sex with other women.
Studies have shown that greater than 70 percent of sexually active adults have antibodies to the virus that causes genital warts. One study among lesbian women revealed a similar prevalence of the virus, having antibodies on a blood screen for HPV As with heterosexuals, the types of the virus that are linked with cervical cancer are those that are the most common. This finding underscores the need for yearly Pap smears for all women, including those who have sex with other women. Unfortunately, lesbian women are often told that they don’t need Pap smears, in the mistaken belief that only women who have sex with men can get cervical cancer.
In addition to routine screening for sexually transmitted infections, safer sex practices are recommended for women who have sex with women, just as they are for any sexually active person. This means using latex barrier methods for any genital-genital, oral-genital, or oral-anal contact with a partner whose status for sexually transmitted infections is not known. As discussed earlier in this chapter, options include dental dams and condoms that have been cut open (usually the un-lubricated kind, since nonoxynol-9 has an unpleasant taste), or latex gloves can be used for hand-genital contact. If any sex toys are used, it is a good idea to cover them with a new condom before they are used by each partner, or else each partner can use her own sex toy and not share. Spermicides can also be useful in helping prevent the transmission of STDs, since in addition to killing sperm they also have the ability to kill many sexually transmitted organisms in the laboratory.
If partners have been fully screened for sexually transmitted infections and are beyond the waiting periods for infection to show up as positive on the tests, and if they are mutually monogamous, then it is safe to have unprotected contact.
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