Time and time again, I hear stories about others sexual conquests, but very rarely do I ever see posts about the big, bad, scary STDs. After a major herpes scare last spring, I vowed to be extremely cautious with whom I sleep with now. Below are some of my pointers on how to drastically prevent yourself from catching an STD(especially herpes, which most people are asymptomatic of). Please feel free to add your own advice and discuss this topic as well.

First off, don't be a fucking idiot. If you're hooking up with women, always, always wear a condom. I see some posts about guys here raw dogging women and I'm astounded that they would make such a dumb decision. Unprotected sex is like Russian Roulette nowadays, you never know if you'll wind up with an unannounced junior or have an incurable virus inside you. It's not worth the anxiety and worry all because you're dumb ass wasn't thinking straight (trust me).

Secondly, wearing condoms prevents and protects you from most STDs, however does not fully protect you against HPV and HSV. Out of all the STDs out there, I am most frightened about catching genital herpes *because most people obtain the virus from asymptomatic shedding (i.e. most people dont show outward signs of obvious blisters when they get the virus). When I first had my herpes scare, I did not know this. Herpes is spread via skin to skin contact which is why you can still catch the virus on areas the condom does not cover.

So, if condoms can't fully protect me from HSV and HPV, what can I do?

For starters you can ask the person you are about to sleep with if they have proof that they're safe and clean. Plenty of women have shown me their results of their STD panel and didn't take offense that I asked. In fact, when I asked, they felt even more assured that I was a clean and cautious person. If they ain't showing you proof, then you can just peace out my bro. The juice ain't worth the squeeze if you don't know what you're getting yourself into.

What if you're in the spur of the moment, and don't have time to ask them?

During my research, I came across something very interesting that could possibly substantially prevent the HSV or HPV from infiltrating your skin. A lube which contains the ingredient Carageenan has been shown in studies to effectively prevent transmission of the virus(s). There are several lubes that you can buy which has this ingredient. You apply this lube around the area which the condom doesn't protect and then bam, you have something like a 95% success rate of preventing HIV, pregnancies, and HSV and HPV. I'll link the information about Carageenan below.

Anyways, nothing particularly new here. Just thought it was an appropriate topic to bring up here and discuss. I never ever want to have a scare like that again and wanted to share with you all my take on preventing STDs.

TLDR: To practice safe sex: Make (ask) sure she's clean. Wear a condom. Apply a lube with Carageenan which will can help prevent you from contracting HSV/HPV. Take a shower after sex(no evidence on this, but I do it anyway)

Carageenan info:

https://honeycomb.click/topic/19163-carrageenan-based-lubricants-to-prevent-transmission/

http://hpv-prevention.com/

http://www.girlschase.com/content/how-avoid-stds-even-if-you-have-lots-sex