Lather Up! Spermicide Protects Against STDs But Mirena and NuvaRing Don't

Spermicides kill sperm when studied in the laboratory. Thus, it stands to reason that spermicides in proper concentration work because they also kill sperm in the vagina before they can cause pregnancy, and in many cases, before they can cause an STD. All studies of contraceptive efficacy do prove they do help to prevent pregnancy, but some studies didn't confirm the STD protection, such as one study done on sex workers. Spermacide cannot prevent yeast infections, bacterial vaginal infections or trichomoniasis infections. Virtually all women can use spermicide, only about 1% of the population is allergic. Spermicide is very safe as well, as very little is absorbed through the wall of the vagina. The effects of spermicide only last a few hours, in the best cases (about 8), but if you use a suppository, you have about an hour of protection, but there is something called Advantage-24 that does give you a full 24 hours of protection. Some women using NuvaRing and Mirena wearers have been worried about their contraceptive gel, which they still use for the sperm-killing STD-preventing properties, and wondering if it could interfere with contraceptive efficacy of these methods since both are "internal". Nope. Lather up, use whatever spermicide (with a condom for extra protection) you can, because protection against pregnancy with these devices doesn't protect you against STDs. New studies show that there is not interference in the steroid release of the NuvaRing or the Mirena, by spermicide, slip and slide goos, or tampons for that matter! Good to know!

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Passing Your Uterine Lining, Menstrual Period Norms

Decidual Cast Periods can be fairly easy, passing some tissue at a time, or off can come the whole lining in one piece called a decidual cast. Generally the lining of the uterus is only 6-8 mm thick at the time of the menstrual period, and it is shed gradually, a few cells at a time. The decidual cast is when the entire lining passes spontaneously. It's not uncommon, but it usually both uncomfortable, and alarming to some. But us women are designed to have some sort of periods Or Not? We have to pass tissue each month. Or Not? Are they good for us? Or Not? Do we want them? Or Not? Is this something that is individual? Or Not? It's a complex topic that I will be discussing a lot over my time in this blog. So lets start with basics: How much do we bleed and what are we loosing, and just what was this that the patient passed? And another basic: track your periods, and the Women's Health Practice site http://www.womenshealthpractice.com/media/pdf/menstrual_chart.pdf you...

Post-Endometrial Ablation Syndrome

If you have had an endometrial ablation and have developed symptoms of pelvic pain you might have post endometrial ablation syndrome. What is post-endometrial ablation syndrome? It is a constellation of symptoms due to entrapped blood or tissue within a uterus that has previously undergone an endometrial ablation. We are able to diagnose this at Women's Health Practic e but occasionally other conditions are causing similar symptoms. Other complications of endometrial ablation include pregnancy, risks from pre-existing conditions such as a polyp or fibroid, an infection of the uterus, or a pregnancy. If you have had a tubal ligation then it is possible that the condition could be post-ablation tubal sterilization syndrome. The ablation procedure is designed to destroy all lining tissue, but in fact there is no way to confirm the completeness of the ablation. It is thought that either residual or regrowth of the tissue is producing the symptoms of post-endometrial ablation syndrom...

You Have an IUD: But a Positive Pregnancy Test

Fortunately IUD pregnancy failures are rare. But if you have an IUD for contraception, and you get a positive pregnancy test, you probably ask yourself, what next? Well, make your gyno appointment promptly, this is a condition that is not typically an emergency, but it can be and it’s not handled over the phone or on a blog, or through self diagnosis! That being said, some researchers from University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas decided to look back at over 4100 women who had IUDs and of those 42 cases who became pregnant in their institution, over about a year period of time, to help understand what these women could expect when they got to their gyno and what actually happened to their pregnancies. Accurate pregnancy diagnosis, pelvic examination, and pelvic ultrasound were the cornerstones of the evaluations. They had very specific ways they looked at their ultrasound to prove there was no pregnancy in the fallopian tube, or partially in the fallopian tube...

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