So, can water-based, glycerin-housing lube give me a UTI?

Oh, and while I’m [...]]]>

“I’m curious about lubes, especially those pesky water-based ones containing glycerin. It seems common enough knowledge that the glycerin can induce yeast infections if you’re prone to them; but no one seems to know whether there’s an increased risk of urinary tract infections.

So, can water-based, glycerin-housing lube give me a UTI?

Oh, and while I’m here maybe you can solve another puzzle: how long can I keep a bottle of lube before it becomes more of a threat to vagina than a friend?

If you squirt, should you still pee after sex? If I recall the mechanics of the two, squirting and peeing *should* be functionally the same . . . or are they? Does it matter?“

Those are some great questions!
As any good baker knows, yeast likes to eat up sugar, so using a lube with sugar in it (or something that can be converted into sugars – like glycerin) can increase the frequency of yeast infections – especially in women prone to them.

However, UTIs are a little different – they are caused by bacterial migration: generally it’s bacteria like E. Coli from your bum migrating up to your vag. This can happen when a woman wipes back to front after peeing, or it can happen during sex/masturbation, when things are being moved around and everything is slick with juices/lube. This is why experts (including me) suggest that women try to pee after sex/masturbation to clear out any bacteria that may have taken this opportunity to migrate during the chaos and penetration.

SO, will a sweet lube increase your likelihood of contracting a UTI? No, I don’t think it should.

Because of how the infection occurs (the bacterial migration), the sugar/glycerin in a lube shouldn’t really make a difference. The fact that there is lube present COULD plausibly increase the likelihood of bacterial migration I guess (because things are more slippery), but not much more than normal, I’m sure.

That said, one of the things that can increase your chances of getting a UTI is if your urethra is irritated by something – So, if the yummy flavoured lube you’re using irritates your skin (or just your urethra), then it could definitely increase your chances of contracting a UTI.

Some companies make lubes that include an antibacterial agent or are bio-static to try to discourage bacteria from using it as a slip and slide during sex.  Or you could try using a silicone-based lube instead.

As for your other questions:

Check for an expiry date on your lube; if there isn’t one you might want to throw it away once it’s a year old, just to be safe. (A year is totally my own guess work here though.)  Generally lubes have a pretty good shelf life because, like I said above, a lot of manufacturers design them to resist bacteria – however, it’s still a good idea to only buy a bottle as big as you think you can use up in a year.  You’ll also want to store it in a cool/dry place and, if it’s been a while, check to make sure it still smells and looks as good as when you bought it.

If you squirt should you still pee after sex? Sure, why not? Theoretically if the fluid you’re squirting is passing through your urethra then it would work to flush out any migrating bacteria; but personally, I would still go pee afterward anyway, because UTI’s suck so hard that I wouldn’t want to take any chances.

I hope that answers your questions. ^_^

This might not be the BEST way to use up the last of your lube

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This post, Lubes, Vaginas, and UTIs, originally appeared on the s spot on July 13, 2010. If you are viewing it anywhere other than in a feed reader, it was scraped illegally and without my permission. Please email the(dot)s(dot)spot(at)gmail(dot)com and let me know.
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I do have a history of car sickness, but this is not the first time [...]]]>

“Yesterday I was with a brand new partner, I gave him a blowjob, and swallowed. Today, I had woken up around 7am feeling unusually tired and queesy then, around 5:30pm, after a ride in the car, vomited, feeling instantly better afterward.

I do have a history of car sickness, but this is not the first time that something like this has happened. I have experienced this same phenomenon eight times already, six with a ex and, once today, once with a very long term fuck-buddy. This is only the second time this has ever happened with a car.

Help me Super Shay!!
P.S Also, any tips on how/where/what to get a/as first time vibe without a very snoopy parent discovering? Cheap, quiet, mildly powerful, insertable, and rechargable? Doesn’t need ridges or anything super special. Thanks!!“

I feel like the time interval between swallowing his cum and when you started to feel ill is too long for it to be an allergic reaction.  But, I’m not a medical expert.  It could be a coincidence, but 8 times seems like a lot of coincidences.  hmmm

Also, nausea and vomiting are an unusual reaction if it IS a semen allergy – usually people with semen allergies experience more “traditional” allergy symptoms: pain and swelling at the contact site (where the cum touched you), hives, trouble breathing, and swelling.  Also, semen allergies are relatively unusual with oral.  This may be because it’s the protein in the semen that people are usually allergic to, and the acids in the stomach burn up those proteins.

Still, if you think your nausea and vomiting had something to do with the semen and it’s not just a stomach bug or a reaction to something you ate (gluten?), I think your best bet might be to play it safe and avoid swallowing for a while.  Have your partner(s) wear a condom while you give him a blowjob (which is safer for you anyway) or just have him finish by hand – if you know what I mean.

If you still wake up feeling nauseous once in a while that may help you narrow down what is actually making you sick (maybe something else you ate/drank?) – if you never get nauseous again then you might want to talk to your doctor about getting tested for some sort of semen allergy.

As for your other question – how about getting one of those little hand-held vibrating back massagers.  There are ones that have three or four “legs” that you can usually find in a lot of different stores.  And since it doesn’t even look like a sexy vibrator, your snoopy parent(s) will have no idea what you’re really using it for.

Good luck!

less in your mouth might be better...

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This post, Semen Allergy or Just an Upset Tummy?, originally appeared on the s spot on July 5, 2010. If you are viewing it anywhere other than in a feed reader, it was scraped illegally and without my permission. Please email the(dot)s(dot)spot(at)gmail(dot)com and let me know.
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To read even more about the cool stuff your testicles do, check out THESE POSTS!

I’ve got a problem. Me and my girlfriend have been together for a while now, and have been having sex for a couple weeks now. My problem is that no matter how long we go I can never cum while I’m having sex with her, I have to have her give me head for [...]]]>

“Hey shay,

I’ve got a problem. Me and my girlfriend have been together for a while now, and have been having sex for a couple weeks now. My problem is that no matter how long we go I can never cum while I’m having sex with her, I have to have her give me head for me to cum. This is all great for her cause we can go for hours, but ,trying not to sound selfish(haha), it makes me feel bad/sad. Advice please (:“

Just give it some time.

Maybe your body is confused by the relatively new experience of sex and can’t relax properly for you to orgasm until it feels something more familiar, like a blowjob.  There may be something about blowjobs that makes it easier for you to orgasm that way as well: it’s less work for you, you aren’t face to face with your gf, perhaps there’s less performance anxiety?

Hopefully this will go away on it’s own, in the meantime just relax and have fun – don’t worry about having her finish you up with her mouth for now.  (If this doesn’t sort itself out in a month or two, let me know.)

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This post, A Man With a Picky Orgasm, originally appeared on the s spot on March 23, 2010. If you are viewing it anywhere other than in a feed reader, it was scraped illegally and without my permission. Please email the(dot)s(dot)spot(at)gmail(dot)com and let me know.
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Sounds kinda sexy at first I guess.  I mean, I know some people get clit hood piercings because they WANT to [...]]]> I spotted this news story about a woman who was injured in a car accident – happens all the time, right?  But how many people do you know whose injury involves becoming permanently turned on!?

Sounds kinda sexy at first I guess.  I mean, I know some people get clit hood piercings because they WANT to be semi-permanently aroused.

But if you think about it, imagine being turned on all the time – BUT not getting to feel that release after sex.  Instead of feeling fulfilled, she’s just as wound up – she can try to orgasm again and again, to the point where it’s painful to have sex, and not get more than a few minutes relief.  Sounds awful!

One of the other terrible things about Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder is that a lot of the people suffering from it find the disorder super embarrassing and they  don’t feel like they can tell people about it so it often goes unreported.   Doctors aren’t even really sure what causes it, let alone how to treat it, though there are a few methods that sometimes work (like numbing gels).

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This post, Arousal Fail, originally appeared on the s spot on December 18, 2009. If you are viewing it anywhere other than in a feed reader, it was scraped illegally and without my permission. Please email the(dot)s(dot)spot(at)gmail(dot)com and let me know.
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So my friends at Eden Fantasys have organized a twitter fundraiser: If their hashtag, #Eden1K4AIDS, gets 1,000 tweets from [...]]]> Today is World Aids Day!
For those of you who still aren’t sure, aids is an incurable disease of the immune system that affects both gay and straight people all over the world.
It’s serious stuff.

So my friends at Eden Fantasys have organized a twitter fundraiser:
If their hashtag, #Eden1K4AIDS, gets 1,000 tweets from 1,000 different people, they’ll give ASC NYC $1,000!

You can find out more about it HERE.

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This post, World Aids Day, originally appeared on the s spot on December 1, 2009. If you are viewing it anywhere other than in a feed reader, it was scraped illegally and without my permission. Please email the(dot)s(dot)spot(at)gmail(dot)com and let me know.
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But do all these nice [...]]]> The season of delicious smells is approaching us – personally, I just love the fresh scent of pine trees, the warm and cozy smell of apple cider and cloves, the tingly scent of peppermint, and yummy smelling gingerbread and pumpkin pie (not to mention all the other tasty food)!

But do all these nice smells do something more than make us feel festive (and hungry)?  Is there a little more to the excitement you feel when you smell pumpkin pie?

According to a neat study run by Drs Hirsch and Gruss – yes!

This team of researchers rounded up 31 guys and gave them 40 scratch and sniff cards with different scents.  Then they asked them about their sexual preferences, sexual practices, and which cards they had liked best.

The team picked the top 24 selected scents and mixed up 6 combinations of the top scents to make 30 different batches of smells. After this, the study got really exciting.

The men were hooked up to a plethysmograph to measure the blood flow into their penises and were given masks with the different scents on them to smell.  As they sniffed each scent, the plethysmograph measured how hard that scent was making their penis.

The researchers found that EVERY smell increased penile blood flow – BUT not every smell turned guys on the same amount.  While the smell of cranberries only turned guys on a little, it turns out that the combined scent of pumpkin pie and lavender made guys the hardest!  (Check out the full list of scents and penile blood flow increase HERE)

Pretty neat stuff – amiright?!

It gets crazier – the team of researchers also found some interested relationships between the men’s characteristics and the scents that affected them.  For instance: older men had a stronger reaction to vanilla and men who were satisfied with their sex lives got harder when they smelled strawberries.

However, while we do know that these smells were giving the dudes a stiffy, we don’t really know WHY the smells were making them hard – was it because the smell of pumpkin pie reminds guys of being with partners that turn them on around the holidays?  What it because the smell of doughnuts makes them feel relaxed?

Dr. Hirsch has also done a similar scent study with women – but the results weren’t quite the same.

He found that some smells actually decreased sexual arousal in women – like Cherry!  And yet that weird combination of pumpkin pie and lavender ALSO worked to turn women on – but the smell of Good and Plenty combined with cucumber was most arousing.

Here too they found some neat relationships between characteristics and response to scents: the women who enjoy masturbating preferred the smell of  Good and Plenty combined with banana nut bread…. mmm banana bread.  (Incidentally, women who DON’T like masturbating were more turned on by the smell of baby powder and were actually turned off by the smell of Good and Plenty!)

In conclusion – when will sex toy manufacturers stop making cherry scented lube and toys and start making things that smell like pumpkin pie and lavender?! ^_~

What Scents do you think turn YOU on?

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This post, The Sexiest Smells, originally appeared on the s spot on November 24, 2009. If you are viewing it anywhere other than in a feed reader, it was scraped illegally and without my permission. Please email the(dot)s(dot)spot(at)gmail(dot)com and let me know.
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