Anal |
Involving the anus
(ass, arse, butt) in some way, for example ‘anal’ sex. |
Antibiotics |
Prescribed drugs which
will kill off bacteria |
Autoinnoculation |
When germs on one
part of your body infect another part of your body from your
own hand (or other secondary contact) |
| Bacteria |
Germs: small organisms
that can cause infection |
| Barriers |
Things like latex condoms
and dental dams, used to stop fungus, bacteria and viruses from
infecting another person. |
| Bodily Fluids |
Examples are saliva,
blood, vaginal secretions and semen (cum). |
| Cervix |
A part of a woman’s sexual
organs, found at the end of the vaginal canal. In some STI’s
an infection here may lead to cancer. |
| Cold Sore |
Facial presentation of
the herpes simplex virus |
| Colposcopy |
A procedure which involves
placing an instrument into the vagina to take a closer look
at the cervix or neck of the womb. A small sample of tissue
known as a biopsy can be taken to see if any cancerous changes
are present |
| Complications |
This means that a disease
might have long-term or even worse effects than usual, if not
treated. Opportunistic infections are also an example of a complication. |
| Conjunctivitis |
Conjunctivitis: Inflammation
of the covering of the eye |
| Cryotherapy |
Liquid nitrogen spray
commonly used to treat genital warts and molluscum |
| Dermatitis |
Skin inflammation |
| Discharge |
Clear, yellow, or cloudy
liquid that comes out of body openings like the vagina, anus
or penis, when they are infected. |
| Faeces |
‘Shit’, ‘stools’ |
| Foreskin |
The skin that covers the
penis and is removed during a circumcision |
| Genitalia (gonads) |
Sexual organs like the
penis (dick, cock), vagina (pussy), testicles (balls), and clitoris. |
| Glans |
head of the penis |
| Incubation Period |
The period of time it
takes between when you first contact a virus or bacteria and
when you first start showing signs (symptoms) that you have
it. |
| Infection |
When a bacteria or virus
gets into your body, grows and does damage to your body. For
example, when a cut gets infected, it turns red, hurts a lot,
and white pus comes out. |
| Insertive |
Opposite of receptive;
for example, in a blow job one person, the insertive partner,
puts their penis in the other person’s mouth. Or when a person
‘goes down’ on a woman (performs oral sex on a woman) they insert
their tongue into her vagina. |
| Intimate Skin
Contact |
This occurs when the skin
of one person’s genitals touches the skin of another person’s
genitals or mouth. For example, in oral sex, the mouth is in
intimate contact with the genitals. In dry humping, two people’s
genitals directly touch each other. Even without any penetration
(fucking), you can get some STI’s in this way. In vaginal intercourse,
the penis directly touches the vagina. Contact between two vaginas
is also intimate skin contact. |
| Latency |
Viruses often become latent--it’s
like an incubation period. It’s when the virus stays hidden
in your body, and you won’t show any symptoms. But they can
come out again and cause problems. |
| Opportunistic
Infection |
When one germ weakens
your immune system or some other part of your body’s defences
(like your skin) then it makes it easier for other germs to
attack you. For example, having an HIV infection makes it easier
for a person to get pneumonia. Having an open herpes sore makes
it easier for bacteria to opportunistically infect that area
of the body. |
| Papilloma |
Genital warts are caused
by the human papilloma virus. There are dozens of different
types. Only a very few of them have been linked with cancer
of the cervix |
| Perineum |
The area of the body between
the anus and the genitals. In men, it is between the testicles
(balls) and the anus; in women, it is between the vagina and
the anus. |
| Petting |
Fondling or touching someone’s
genitals or anus with your hands. This seems less risky than
penetration for getting STDs, but it can transmit certain diseases.
It may be a form of secondary contact |
| Receptive |
The opposite of insertive;
in any sexual act, this person has something done to them, such
as taking a penis into their mouth or having someone put their
tongue into their anus. |
| Secondary Contact |
Indirect contact (unlike
intimate contact); this is when something like a hand or a sex
toy first touches the genitalia of a person and then touches
the genitalia of another person without being washed first. |
| Smear |
Test done usually every
3 -5 years on the cervix of women over the age of 20 to check
for abnormalities |
| STI |
Short for ‘Sexually Transmitted
Infections’ There are dozens of recognised infections that can
be passed on sexually |
| Swabs |
Tests done to investigate
presence of infections. Sites commonly looked at are urethra,
cervix and throat |
| Symptoms |
These are the physical
signs of a disease such as sores, pus, blisters, discharge,
pain, redness, itching, bad smells and so on. |
| Transmission |
How a virus or bacteria
goes from one person to the next, for example by oral receptive
sex or by insertive vaginal sex. |
| Ulcer |
Break in the skin. Often
painful in herpes but painless in syphilis |
| Urethra |
The opening on the genitalia
where piss (urine) comes out. On males it is the "pee hole"
and on females, it is located above the opening of the vagina. |
| Urinating |
‘pissing’, ‘passing water’,
‘weeing’. Usually best to avoid urinating for at least one hour
before visiting a GUM clinic. |
| Virus |
A tiny germ that lives
inside your body’s cells and kills them. Some viruses can become
latent |
| Window Period |
Similar to incubation
period, this term means, or refers to the amount of time it
takes for a test to show a valid result. For example, you can’t
just get an HIV test the day after you have unprotected sex
to see if you got HIV. You have to wait out the window period
of six months before the test will work. |
