Many sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) live on the surface of the skin and can be spread through vaginal, anal or oral sex. Showering after sex can help you feel clean and decrease the chances of infection by washing away any bacteria that may have been on your hands.
However, showering doesn’t prevent STDs. Safe sex, using condoms, internal and dental dams, and abstaining are the best ways to reduce your risk of getting an STI or STD.
1. Wash Your Hands
Whether you have anal, vaginal, or oral sex, you should always wash your hands. This will reduce the number of pathogens that you transfer to different body parts and reduce the likelihood of developing an infection such as a STI.
Showering is also important because it removes any bacteria from the skin that may have built up as a result of unprotected sex. This will decrease your risk of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and other sexually transmitted diseases.
It’s also a good idea to rinse off any shared sex toys and make sure they’re completely dry before storing them away. You should also avoid using soaps that contain a lot of fragrance or exfoliating ingredients, as they can cause irritation and increase your risk of developing a yeast infection (such as bacterial vaginosis or penile yeast infections).
Aside from showering after sex, it’s also crucial to pee immediately afterward. This can help prevent infections like urinary tract infections, which are caused by harmful bacteria that enter the urethra and can lead to bladder or kidney infections.
Taking all these hygiene measures can significantly decrease your risk of catching an STD, but there’s no guarantee that you won’t get an STI despite following these tips. The only way to be 100% sure that you don’t have an STI is to abstain from all forms of sex, use protection during all sex, and receive regular STI testing.
2. Wipe From Front to Back
Many people know that wiping from front to back is a basic tenet of personal hygiene, along with brushing your teeth and taking off your makeup before you go to bed. However, it’s easy to shrug off this piece of advice and wipe how you want, which can be dangerous.
STIs are bacteria or viruses that infect the genital tract, and most of them float on the surface of the skin (like herpes, gonorrhea, crabs, and warts) or live in the fat cells of the body’s external surface (like HIV, hepatitis B, and genital herpes). Showering is one way to wash away pathogens before they can do any damage. Fortunately, washing with soap and water can significantly reduce the risk of catching an STD like chlamydia or gonorrhea, since most STDs have fatty membranes that soap can annihilate.
It’s also a good idea to wash your hands after having sex. Some experts say that this can help prevent the spread of genital herpes, and it may even be able to reduce the risk of getting the AIDS virus or other HIV-related infections.
It’s also important to urinate soon after having sex, to wash around your vagina, and to drink plenty of fluids. In addition, everyone should be sure to use condoms when having sex and to get regular STI tests to catch any infection early on.
3. Wash Your Foreskin
Sex is a dirty business, and the genitals are particularly susceptible to infection. A shower or bath is a great way to get rid of sweat, saliva, and other bodily fluids that may have come into contact with your anus, vulva, or penis. It’s also important to use a mild soap and avoid those with extra fragrances, as they can irritate the skin.
While it isn’t necessary to wash the whole body after sex, it’s recommended for men and women to rinse around the area. This is because sex can cause a release of bacteria from the urethra, which then enters the bladder and causes a UTI. This can be painful, so it’s better to shower after sex and take care of it before it gets out of hand.
It’s also wise to gently clean the genitals after sex, especially during anal sex. This will help prevent the buildup of semen and fecal bacteria, which can lead to a cum or yeast infections. The good news is that these can be treated with an over-the-counter antifungal medication. Keeping up with these basic hygiene practices can significantly reduce your risk of getting an STD, so make them a part of your daily routine. If you are curious about your STD status, we recommend getting tested at Rapid STD Testing today.
4. Pee
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) can occur when harmful bacteria enter your urethra during sexual activity. They can then wind their way to your bladder, causing pain when you pee and other unpleasant symptoms like pelvic ache and itchy vagina. The good news is, peeing after sex can help reduce your risk of getting UTIs because it flushes bacteria from your urethra and bladder.
It’s especially important for women to pee after sex because the female urethra is shorter than a penis, so it’s easier for bacteria to travel from the anus or vagina to the urethra during sex. But, men don’t need to worry about this because their urethra is longer and ejaculation helps clear the passageway.
Even though it’s helpful for women, peeing after sex doesn’t prevent STDs in men or women. STDs can only be transmitted when sperm or other bodily fluids pass through the urethra, so peeing won’t stop that from happening.
Using protection like condoms or birth control pills is the only effective way to prevent pregnancy and other STIs. But, if you’re already using a form of birth control and still want to try and cut your chances of an infection, it never hurts to add peeing after sex to your hygiene routine. Just be sure to drink plenty of water so you’re peeing more frequently and thereby washing out your urinary tract and urethra more effectively.
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