Can you get an STD if you and your partner are both virgins?
By Attia @ Planned Parenthood | April 29, 2020, 3:40 p.m.
Category: Ask the Experts, STDs
Can you get an STD if yourself and your partner were both virgins when having intercourse together and had no genital to genital contact before with others??
If 2 people who don’t have any STDs have sex, it’s not possible for either of them to get one. A couple can’t create an STD from nothing — they have to get spread from one person to another.
But just because someone hasn’t had any genital-to-genital contact with anyone else doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t have an STD. While most STDs are usually passed through sex or genital-to-genital contact, that’s not always true for every STD. Unprotected oral sex can spread some STDs. So if one of you has had oral sex without using a condom, dental dam, or other barrier, you could be at risk. It’s also possible to get some STDs in non-sexual ways, like using IV drugs or having it passed from mother to baby during childbirth.
Keep your first time worry-free when it comes to STDs by using a condom. Condoms are the only way to protect yourself and your partner from STDs when you have vaginal or anal sex. Using condoms on the penis or other barriers (like a dental dam) on the vulva or anus keeps oral sex safer, too.
Another way to stay on top of your STD status is to get tested regularly — like at your local Planned Parenthood health center — if you’re sexually active.
Tags: STDs, safer sex, virginity, STD testing
