Lesbians and STD's

LegacyUser

I am a lesbian, who has recently come-out, and started having sex with other girls. Fun times =]. However I have tried to research up on safe sex for lesbians, but I can't seem to find a lot out there. I have seen some information on dental dams, but thats about it.

I was just wondering do any of you ladies on here practice safe sex? If so how exactly does one go about doing that. I have also read that the risk of lesbians catching HIV is very low. But what about other things like chlamydia etc. That can be passed through oral apparently.

So anyways does anybody know their facts? Know where I should read up? Thank you in advance.

AvaKinder

Hey there,
Are you Dublin based? The Dublin Lesbian Line and Belong2 ran a safe sex/health stand at Dyke Night on Friday.

You are right in saying that the chance of one woman passing HIV to another during sex is low, however low risk is not no risk.

With regards to other STI's such a chlamydia, syphillis (apologies for my bogey spelling), HPV, etc. they can all be passed from woman to woman. There is not one STI which cannot be passed between women.

Try some of these links

http://www.avert.org/lesbians-safe-sex.htm
http://lesbianlife.about.com/cs/sex/a/safersex.htm
http://std.about.com/od/stdsspecificcommunities/a/lesbiansafesex.htm
http://www.autostraddle.com/safe-sex-for-lesbians-45382/

It's also highly important for women who have sex with women to get regular smear tests, and as such DLL have recently launched a 'Smears for Queers' campaign.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Dublin-Lesbian-Line/92064908925

Pleased be aware that it is nigh on impoosible to buy dental dams which are hygienic or in date in Ireland.

Cutting up a condom or latex glove for use as a dam would be the most common substitute AFAIK.

I recently did some basic safe sex training so if you more specific questions fire away.

Also, damn you just came out and you're already getting laid! woe is me :P

crotalus667

AvaKinder wrote: »

Pleased be aware that it is nigh on impoosible to buy dental dams which are hygienic or in date in Ireland.

Cutting up a condom or latex glove for use as a dam would be the most common substitute AFAIK.

there are a few online irish companys that sell them and loads of uk/usa ones but tbh there are very few that offer any sort of real value (most seem to be expensive) and you cant really get the same discounts for bulk buying that you get with condoms ,
as for the cutting a glove , i have some concerns over this 1 you need to make sure they are medical grade (about 6-8 euros for a box of 100 at most chemists + they tend to be thinner than ones for other use) and 2 They should really be the NON-powdered ones (the powder when wet acts like flower when wet , and some brands use alot of powder)

AvaKinder

The DLL also brought out a handy safe sex guide which were in the packs given out on friday night, I'll see if I can get a pdf of it to put up.

LegacyUser

Thanks million, really appreciate the info!