Spring Break
Physical, sexual activity are different
Kathy Greaves
Issue date: 4/16/08 Section: Forum
What would have been the more accurate language would have been "I generally wear a condom just to be on the safe side even though we are not having intercourse."
The reason I bring this up is twofold.
First, many teenagers and young adults fool themselves into a false sense of security when they tell themselves that they aren't sexually active simply because they aren't having intercourse. The false sense of security lies in the fact that many STIs are transmitted through sexual activity other than intercourse - the type of sexual activity that includes skin-to-skin contact.
So if you keep telling yourself that you aren't sexually active, then you have yourself convinced that you are not at risk of contracting an STI. I know you said you are wearing a condom (which is very good), but condoms don't protect you from all STIs.
The second reason I bring this issue of semantics up is because of the recent media reports that the number of college students who are sexually active is now lower than in previous years.
I highly doubt that these students are less sexually active than their predecessors. They may be abstaining from intercourse, but they certainly are sexually active if they - like you - have their mouth on someone else's genitals or their finger in someone's vagina.
Here is my rule on determining what is and is not sexual activity. If it turns you on and you wouldn't do it with your grandmother or grandfather, it is sexual activity.
Now on to your "real" question. Bladder infections (also known as urinary tract infections) are caused by bacteria getting into the urinary tract, which includes the urethra, the bladder and the kidneys. Bacteria get into the bladder through the urethral opening which, on a woman, is just above the vaginal opening.
Therefore, many women get UTIs as a result of sexual activity because the urethral opening is so close to the vaginal opening (the focal point of so many sexual activities).
The reason I bring this up is twofold.
First, many teenagers and young adults fool themselves into a false sense of security when they tell themselves that they aren't sexually active simply because they aren't having intercourse. The false sense of security lies in the fact that many STIs are transmitted through sexual activity other than intercourse - the type of sexual activity that includes skin-to-skin contact.
So if you keep telling yourself that you aren't sexually active, then you have yourself convinced that you are not at risk of contracting an STI. I know you said you are wearing a condom (which is very good), but condoms don't protect you from all STIs.
The second reason I bring this issue of semantics up is because of the recent media reports that the number of college students who are sexually active is now lower than in previous years.
I highly doubt that these students are less sexually active than their predecessors. They may be abstaining from intercourse, but they certainly are sexually active if they - like you - have their mouth on someone else's genitals or their finger in someone's vagina.
Here is my rule on determining what is and is not sexual activity. If it turns you on and you wouldn't do it with your grandmother or grandfather, it is sexual activity.
Now on to your "real" question. Bladder infections (also known as urinary tract infections) are caused by bacteria getting into the urinary tract, which includes the urethra, the bladder and the kidneys. Bacteria get into the bladder through the urethral opening which, on a woman, is just above the vaginal opening.
Therefore, many women get UTIs as a result of sexual activity because the urethral opening is so close to the vaginal opening (the focal point of so many sexual activities).
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