There was a time when infertility was seen as a women’s problem. Not anymore. Older dads are more likely to pass on genetic mutations to their offspring than older mums, according to research. And studies show that male infertility is behind half of all cases where couples fail to conceive after one year. Sperm counts […]
Chemsex, men having sex with men under the influence of certain illicit drugs often with multiple partners, has already been identified as a ‘health priority’. The practice, which is part of a growing subculture in the gay community, has been linked to a steep rise in the number of STIs among men who have sex with men. In 2014, for the first time for over […]
Libido is the background drive to our sexuality. It is complex – dictated by many factors including levels of sex hormones, environment and the brain. So it is not surprising that it can swing wildly, depending on stress levels, how much sleep you are getting and what there is to distract you. Women have a very sensitive on /off […]
Twenty years ago, I and two colleagues wrote a book called The Sexual Politics of Disability, based on conversations with 44 disabled people about their gender, sexuality, self-image and experience of sex and love. Recently, we revisited some of the original participants and what we found was that there had been some profound changes for […]
Recent sexually transmitted infection (STI) figures from Public Health England show that young women are continuing to benefit from the introduction of the nationwide Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccination programme in 2008. All girls aged 12 to 13 are offered the vaccine as part of the NHS childhood vaccination programme, and an eight per cent […]
Overall diagnoses of sexually transmitted infections were down last year, according to latest figures released by Public Health England, which show that there were 434,465 diagnoses in 2015, compared to 449,642 in 2014. However, this 3% reduction was in large part due to less chlamydia testing taking place among young people – 135,000 fewer tests […]
“During Cervical Screening Awareness Week (13-19 June) Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust, the UK’s only dedicated charity for women affected by cervical cancer and abnormalities, wants to highlight the worrying lack of understanding of cervical cancer and cervical screening among women over 50. Cervical screening provides the best protection against cervical cancer, a disease that can […]
In June 2013 I was shocked to hear from anti-FGM campaigners in Egypt of the death of thirteen year old Soheir All Bataa as a result of female genital mutilation (FGM). I was heartbroken at this needless loss of a young girl’s life and what was even more shocking was that the FGM was performed […]
When I heard that the athlete Greg Rutherford had decided to freeze his sperm before attending the upcoming Olympic Games in Rio, I was surprised but delighted. Here was someone taking control of his own health and protecting his future fertility in case he was infected with the Zika virus during his stay in Brazil. […]
Increasing antibiotic resistance is a global health emergency. According to the World Health Organisation, without urgent, coordinated action, the world is heading towards a ‘post-antibiotic era’ when drugs used routinely to treat infection will be useless. There are already antibiotic resistant strains of the sexually transmitted disease Gonorrhoea and syphilis, which are both caused by […]