Mini's random Tips for genital/sexual health

[Minibit]

It's been a while since I did a tips post

Disclaimer: I'm not a doctor, just an owner of plumbing who cares about that plumbing's health.

I hope most of these are obvious, but people surprise me, and sexual/genital health topics have been coming up weirdly often for me lately O.O

So here's some of the stuff I've been taught, learned on my own, or otherwise picked up over the years. Maybe you learn something new, maybe you just get to feel smart for already knowing all of it, or maybe you have something to add in the comments!
(there's a majority on female health here, as an owner of the inverted plumbing I've been exposed to and sought out more information on that subject. If you've got more tips for taking care of weiners, please share!

I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT BUTTS AND PENISES AND STUFF NOW, IF THAT MAKES YOU UNCOMFY THEN THE BACK BUTTON IS RIGHT OVER THERE <3

1. Boys and girls, pee after sex. It 'flushes' your urethra of other fluids that can find their way in there while you're bumping uglies, and helps to prevent UTIs
   
   
2. Girls, try not to use too many scented products (scented soaps, shaving cream, panty liners, pads, tampons, etc) on your cooch; the extra chemicals aren't good for it in continuous amounts; it needs to breathe clean air!
   
   
3. Girls, try not to use abrasive (exfoliating) cloths or soaps on your business. It'll be fine with a soft cloth and mild soap; dudes, I'm only assuming the same is true for you. Be gentle with your bits!
   
   
4. You ass-clowns out there, anal bacteria never touches the vajayjay or its associated vulva. Got it? Use a fresh condom, change gloves, whatever, but getting anal bacteria up in there is NASTY.
   
   
5. Oh yeah, gloves. Condoms are not the only barrier you should make regular use of! Gloves for hand stuff, condoms for penis stuff, dental dams for oral stuff. Sterilize and/or wrap any, er 'aids' you're using, too. Safety is sexy!
   
   
6. Sugary things on the genitals of either sex are a bad idea; yeast infections are gross, so if this is your kink, wash up ASAP afterwards.
   
   
7. You CAN get pregnant during/right after your period, it's just less likely. Be safe and use protection
   
   
8. Always check that your lube is compatible with your condom, or any other contraception/sex aids you may be using.
   
   
9. Use lube. Seriously. It's not just for buttstuff, liberal use of lube can also help prevent small tearing in vaginal sex as well, even if you're naturally slick as a slip and slide.
   
   
10. Many flavoured condoms are not intended for penetrative sex, just to protect oral participants from STIs and give a tasty flavour. Play it safe and switch condoms when it's time to stick it.
    
    
11. Girls, don't wash your hoo-hah too often, it can leave you deficient of the chemicals needed for its natural cleaning system, and leave you vulnerable to infections. Your parts have an awesome self-cleaning feature, so let it do its job.
    
    
12. Ladies, a regular system of diet and exercise (avoid severe and sudden changes) can help stave off bacterial/yeast infections. Your parts have a PH balance all their own that needs to be kept steady.
    
    
13. Dudes, you CAN get yeast infections. Wrap that shit good if you want to do a lady who's in the middle of one, and make sure you keep your dong clean, too.
    
    
14. Ladies, try not to suffocate your clams; wear underwear that can breathe, and give some consideration to your parts when it comes to tight pants/leggings that don't breathe, too.
15. Ladies, don't stay in wet clothes (ie; a swimsuit) too long; switch to dry bottoms, at least, when you're done swimming.
    
    
16. If you prefer hardwood floors to carpet, use a good shaving cream and apply a gentle, natural moisturizer, especially when you first start shaving the skin beneath can be irritable and sensitive; pamper it!
    
    
17. Boys, a high processed food/cholesterol diet is bad for more than your heart and belly, it can result in thicker blood (high hemoglobin) which can in turn cause poor circulation in your manly bits! Eat your veggies!
    
    
18. Girls, wipe from front to back (see previous note about the horrors of anal bacteria.
    
    
19. Ladies, if you're nervous about the chemical properties of tampons/pads, or are scared of TSS (as you should be, it's a real and scary thing!), there are 'cleaner' alternatives out there. Google 'moon cup'.
    
    
20. If something weird is going on down there, see a doctor. Talking to people about your genitals can be scary and embarrassing, but these people are professionals, and one appointment of embarrassment is better than letting an infection or STI rage on when you could be getting a prescription or other remedy. Even if it turns out to be nothing, you're better safe than sorry.

Whelp, half past three in the morning and I'm posting about genital health. That's it for me! Hope this was educational or at least amusing to some of you.

Oh, and let's all be grownups here; if you feel the need to giggle because I said 'vagina', start a 'genitals are funny!' thread or something.

Stomping out genital-shaming (the embarrassment/shame associated with discussing genitals or sexual health) is an important thing to me; I believe that inhibitions regarding talking about our sexy bits are a big part of why sexual health problems are so common these days! And especially since as a child/young adolescent I was 100% deprived of sexual health education (ie: how condoms work, what an STI is and how they spread, what yeast/bacterial infections are, even the specifics of the menstrual cycle), I know how crazy it can be to discover all this stuff you should have been doing/knowing, years after you should have known it. So here I am sharing! If you've got something to say on the subject, any aspect of it, please share.

 

[Hydronine]

Douches are a bad idea for women, btw. It's a contrived notion that the vagina doesn't clean itself enough on it's own. Most douches actually will knock your PH out of wack. Badly. You want to get more prone to yeast infections and the like, use that stuff. Don't like the sound of that, get your butt away from the douches.

Seriously. If I had a nickle for every girl on my sports team in highschool who got shit after they would buy into that stuff, I'd be able to buy myself Evolve for the PC right now.

 

[LunaValentine]

I got tip #18 from my doctor when I was younger.

 

[Jorick]

I can add something for the guys.

For uncircumcised guys, did you see #11 of Minibit's list about natural things going on that get fucked up by washing too frequently? Yeah, same goes for the glans (commonly called the head) of your penis. Wash the foreskin out whenever you shower, and after sex or masturbation (because semen and other bodily fluids aren't meant to hang out in there and can cause problems), but you don't need to like wash off your dick every time you urinate (which is apparently a myth that has spread around about how uncircumcised penises are a huge annoyance to maintain). You should also either not use soap, or make damned sure that you rinse it all out. Washing too frequently or leaving soap in there can cause the natural oils to deplete, which can cause dry skin (yes, on your penis), inflammation, and yeast infections. Also, bits of human papilloma virus (commonly known as HPV) can accumulate in your foreskin, and some studies have found that carcinogens from tobacco use get dumped through your urine and can get left in your foreskin, so the occasional wash gets rid of that stuff. If you want to avoid getting penile cancer (yes, it's a real thing), regular but not excessive washing is a good first defense. Oh, and there's also smegma to worry about. You don't want to be the guy with a smegma-laden dick, so wash that shit out at least every couple days.

For circumcised guys, this stuff actually applies to you as well. Even though you lack all or most of the foreskin, you've still got at least a little ridge around the glans where stuff can accumulate. Smegma and dick cancer aren't just for those who did not experience genital mutilation early in their life. Keep your penis clean too, and the same rules apply: not too frequently, and be careful about soap use. A clean penis is a healthy penis, so keep it clean.

 

[ElBell]

If you prefer hardwood floors to carpet, use a good shaving cream and apply a gentle, natural moisturizer, especially when you first start shaving the skin beneath can be irritable and sensitive; pamper it!

The analogy you used here is beautiful, and I applaud you for that.

The only thing I can say however, is that if like me you are unable to evacuate wet clothes right away as #15 suggests, it does help keep irritation away if you can even remove them for a few minutes break and also give them a chance to not be sopping. I do that a lot. Or, if you're lucky enough to be in a restroom with hand driers in larger stalls, dry the part of the suit covering those places!

 

[fatalrendezvous]

Kind of related:

Your diet directly influences the taste of your genital secretions. Diets packed with fruits and veggies result in lighter, less bitter, and sometimes sweeter secretions for both men and women. Heavy, greasy, fatty foods tend to make them bitter and unpleasant (not to mention they're not great for your health in general). So, for fellas who have swallowing fantasies because you see it in porn all the time...

Think about it.

(I highly recommend pineapples)

 

[Windsong]

Not really sure why I'm in this thread.

Take care of my junk almost as good as I do my beard.

 

[Hydronine]

Not really sure why I'm in this thread.

Take care of my junk almost as good as I do my beard.

Almost as good. Almost. As. Good.

I wanna see this beard now.

 

[Windsong]

Almost as good. Almost. As. Good.

I wanna see this beard now.

It's not the beard on the outside that matters, its the beard on the inside.

And I am very fastidious about my phallic health. I mean, who else is gonna take care of the Commander-in-Briefs?

Spoiler

I don't wear briefs.

 

[Hydronine]

Holy damn. <.< Are you sure you're not beard brothers with my boyfriend?

BTW, for the guys- I'm genuinely curious, is there like anything that needs to be done with the less talked about member of the package down there? I mean, I know those tidbits are sensitive as hell. I think I was really surprised to actually learn how much skin makes up those parts- pardon me being crude, but what the heck do you even do down there? Is there anything that shouldn't be done in the shower with those bits that might be done due to pervasive culture (Like the douching that's pushed on women)?

 

[Windsong]

Holy damn. <.< Are you sure you're not beard brothers with my boyfriend?

BTW, for the guys- I'm genuinely curious, is there like anything that needs to be done with the less talked about member of the package down there? I mean, I know those tidbits are sensitive as hell. I think I was really surprised to actually learn how much skin makes up those parts- pardon me being crude, but what the heck do you even do down there? Is there anything that shouldn't be done in the shower with those bits that might be done due to pervasive culture (Like the douching that's pushed on women)?

Just a quick scrub and that's it. Testicles and their protective sack are really durable actually, sensitive to pressure and heat is probably what you're thinking of.

It's funny to tug and stretch them around. Makes my wife just stare cause she doesn't think they can do it.

And no, no brothers, :c
Only person in my family who could grow a beard. It's almost brown this time, or dark coppery. First time it was orange, then brass, and now this.

Contrary to popular belief about men and women too: a kick to the groin in a man hurts, but it's not too dangerous from all but a pro soccer players kick. While a kick to the woman's groin can cause fractures and bleeding in the pelvic region. Which can be fatal.

 

[Minibit]

Just a quick scrub and that's it. Testicles and their protective sack are really durable actually, sensitive to pressure and heat is probably what you're thinking of.

It's funny to tug and stretch them around. Makes my wife just stare cause she doesn't think they can do it.

And no, no brothers, :c
Only person in my family who could grow a beard. It's almost brown this time, or dark coppery. First time it was orange, then brass, and now this.

Contrary to popular belief about men and women too: a kick to the groin in a man hurts, but it's not too dangerous from all but a pro soccer players kick. While a kick to the woman's groin can cause fractures and bleeding in the pelvic region. Which can be fatal.

Is it equally unfounded that a bro whose nuts have been crushed too often has less chance of fathering children?

 

[Jorick]

Holy damn. <.< Are you sure you're not beard brothers with my boyfriend?

BTW, for the guys- I'm genuinely curious, is there like anything that needs to be done with the less talked about member of the package down there? I mean, I know those tidbits are sensitive as hell. I think I was really surprised to actually learn how much skin makes up those parts- pardon me being crude, but what the heck do you even do down there? Is there anything that shouldn't be done in the shower with those bits that might be done due to pervasive culture (Like the douching that's pushed on women)?

Do you mean the testicles and scrotum? You're a big girl, you can use the actual words for them. :P

To answer the question, nah, it's pretty much just skin. A guy will probably want to take a bit of extra care, since they are indeed sensitive, but normal washing procedures apply. The scrotum doesn't have any fancy stuff going on like the vagina or glans of the penis have. It just needs a plain old wash whenever it's shower time, no big deal.

Clothing is actually more of an important concern for the scrotum than washing. Tight and non-breathing fabrics (because no air movement means things are gonna get hot and sweaty) can cause some bad times for the testicles. Oh, and the heat/sweat issue is also the main cause of jock itch, which is gross and often painful.

 

[Pachamac]

Trim, don't shave. Itches like wildfire.

 

[LunaValentine]

This isn't entirely on topic but another tip for the ladies, if you find that you sweat a lot underneath your breasts make sure you either change out of the bra or use a little cornstarch. Rashes under there can be a bitch and dead skin can really pile up if you don't clean well.

 

[Windsong]

Is it equally unfounded that a bro whose nuts have been crushed too often has less chance of fathering children?

Going by what a doctor said after my spouse had a nasty landing on the rail of a chair, is all. They just warned that since a woman's bones are often less dense it makes a hairline fracture that much easier to happen.

And crushed is such a strong word..

 

[Razilin]

Know what's great for sexual health?

Sex.

 

[Ser K+]

Take baths every 2 days....

 

[Jorick]

Is it equally unfounded that a bro whose nuts have been crushed too often has less chance of fathering children?

Nope, it's actually pretty accurate, based on what I've been able to find on the subject. There haven't been many studies done, but it does seem that higher rates of testicular trauma seem to be correlated with hormone and fertility issues. Apparently there's some level of cumulative damage that happens, but it's not a very widely studied topic.

Also, I am pleased that I was able to use the term "testicular trauma" in a completely mature and scientific way.

 

[Minibit]

Know what's great for sexual health?

Sex.

Very true! Guys, if you go way, way too long without getting any, your odds of erectile dysfunction increase! So if you can't find a partner, then wank for safety!

Or for science. Fertility clinics can usually use your - er - donations