WHAT DOES THAT WORD MEAN?

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.

Clap: nickname for gonorrhoea

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: 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.

Non-oxynol-9: commonly used anti-spermicidal lubricant on condoms. Known to cause skin irritations with some people.

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.

Oral: involving the mouth. Kissing is an oral act. Oral sex is when a person’s mouth touches another person’s penis, vagina, or anus.

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.

Sensitol: condom lubricant without anti-spermicidal properties. Causes less skin irritation than non-oxynol -9

Smear: test done usually every 3 -5 years on the cervix of women over the age of 20 to check for abnormalities

STD: short for ‘Sexually Transmitted Diseases’

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.