The Better2Know Blog

Today, virtually everyone has heard of or had some kind of encounter with STIs or sexually transmitted infections. But, few people know the origins of these infections and how they got their present names.

Some STIs, like gonorrhoea, are commonly referred to by colloquial names like “the clap.” Others, like chlamydia and syphilis, have foreign-sounding names. In reality, all three of these STIs got their names, both proper and slang, from history.

Originally, all STIs were known as “venereal diseases.” This is an ancient name derived from the Roman god of love, Venus. However, over time, various prominent STIs all got their own names. This article dives into how gonorrhoea, syphilis, and chlamydia got their names and how they changed through the ages.

World Hepatitis Day takes place this year on July 28th to raise awareness of the disease. More than one million deaths take place each year because of hepatitis. 10% of people who have Hepatitis B don’t know that they have the disease.

There’s nothing like the excitement of going on holiday as a single traveller. When travelling abroad, there are so many places to go and people to meet. The opportunities are endless. Of course, with many exciting bars, clubs, and coffee shops to visit, there is no doubt that you will be tempted to have some thrilling holiday sex.

Holiday sex is the perfect time to experiment with different partners and sex toys and spice things up. Before travelling abroad, it is best to bring everything you need to have a safe and fun vacation. To help you better enjoy your holiday as a single traveller, here are a few tips on what to add to your packing list. 

Whether it’s due to the prioritisation of one’s health and fitness, there’s been an apparent shift in perspective regarding sexual activity and its benefits surrounding weight loss and muscle building.

Funny enough, while sex is traditionally an intimate act aimed at one purpose which is to conceive, it’s now being used as a means of fitness, and rightfully so! With that said, while there’s certainly merit behind sex and its many physical benefits, it should never take priority over the intimacy that comes with it.

Kissing can be a very intimate way of showing your loved ones you care about them. Whether two people are romantically puckered up, or you are simply greeting an old friend with a kiss on the cheek, a kiss tends to be a symbol of love and admiration.

With international kissing day on July 6, it is important to celebrate the day with those you care about. However, there are a few things you should consider before giving your friends and family a big, carefree smooch. Here, we will be discussing the possible repercussions of kissing and how you can deal with them.

During menopause, many bodily changes occur due to a decrease in oestrogen. These changes can make it difficult to have the same sex life you once did when you were younger. However, just because it isn’t the same doesn’t mean sex is no longer good. In fact, about 70% of 70-year-olds are still sexually active.

Menopause can cause a significant change in the sex lives of both partners, but by understanding the effects of menopause, you can be better prepared to make it a pleasurable experience for both of you. Here is what you can expect when having sex after menopause.

The early symptoms of HIV can be confusing. In fact, most people aren’t at first aware that they have been infected with the virus. It’s common for early symptoms to become apparent within two to six weeks after infection. That’s because this is the stage at which your immune system starts fighting the virus.

If you’re wondering about the early symptoms of HIV in males or need to know when the early symptoms of HIV start, then you’ve arrived exactly where you need to be.

Knowing the early symptoms of an HIV infection can be very helpful. However, HIV testing is the only way to be sure that you know what you’re dealing with. Getting tested is very important because if you start antiviral drug treatment early, it can make the virus undetectable, which can help prevent transmission to others.

It may seem unusual, but mental and sexual health are actually intimately related. For example, many people suffer from anxiety and worry about their health because they are unsure about a sexual decision they have made.

Having poor mental health can significantly affect the decisions that humans make about who we choose to have sex with and when. As humans, we naturally engage in practices that we may question later. A study conducted by BMC Public Health found that only 52% of respondents with high knowledge about STIs had actually undergone an STI test in the past. If you are worried, depressed, and/or anxious about your sexual health, STI Testing can help improve your mental health.

This article shows how STI Testing can improve mental health by lessening sexual health anxiety and allowing for greater freedom of sexual decisions. As a leader in STI and wellness testing, Better2Know has helped thousands of individuals improve their mental health through comprehensive STI Testing.

HIV spreads through certain fluids such as semen, vaginal fluids, and blood. These are among the most likely ways to become infected with HIV. Most people know that HIV is transmitted via vaginal or anal sex with an infected partner. The chances of transmitting HIV through oral sex are very low. Nonetheless, there is a risk that HIV can be transmitted through oral sex.

The good news is that there are some things that you can do to reduce the risk.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), over 1 million Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) are acquired globally each day. Many people do not show any symptoms when they have an STI and some STIs can lead to longer lasting health issues, including problems with fertility and pregnancy. If you are worried about your sexual health, then the only way to know for sure if you have an STI is to get tested.

A virus called Monkeypox has been making the news recently as several outbreaks are occurring across the world in countries not usually associated with the infection.  Largely restricted to the continent of Africa in the past, cases have suddenly been reported across the globe from Australia to the United States and significantly in several major European countries including Spain, Portugal and the UK.

Order a Monkeypox Self Test Kit Now!

Type 2 Diabetes Prevention Week is an annual awareness week in the UK run by the National Health Service (NHS).  This year is takes place between 23 May and the 29 May and the NHS has created a ‘digital toolkit’ to help people get actively involved and raise awareness about Type 2 Diabetes.

Chlamydia is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the UK. Many people do not display symptoms of chlamydia when infected during the early stages, meaning they continue with their sexual activity, unknowingly spreading the infection even further.

World Ovarian Cancer Day falls on 8 May 2022 and the message from the World Ovarian Cancer Coalition is “no woman left behind”. It aims to increase awareness and “globally raise our voices in solidarity in the fight against ovarian cancer”.

The average age of the UK population is increasing, and so is the number of people with long term health issues.  As our health system becomes better at treating the health conditions that arise, people are living for longer, putting additional burdens on the system.

Finding love is sometimes like looking for a needle in a haystack, while maintaining it can be even harder. Love and sex are inextricably intertwined in a convoluted and sometimes mysterious way. The word “love” has so many different connotations that it is hard to define. Sex, in all its forms, is a little more exacting and dating is a minefield.

Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) have been around for a long time. According to Wikipedia, historical documentation of STIs dates back to at least the Ebers Papyrus around 1550 BC and the Old Testament. The Papyrus is a 110-page Egyptian scroll about herbal knowledge kept in the library at the University of Leipzig in Germany.

April 2022 is Bowel Cancer awareness month and Bowel Cancer UK is campaigning for early diagnoses and treatment. Every 15 minutes a person is diagnosed with bowel cancer in the UK which is approximately 43,000 people each year. This year Bowel Cancer UK´s message is, “together we can raise more awareness and support for people affected by the disease. Together we are strong. Together we can save more lives”.

As the world’s leading private STI testing company, Better2Know understands the need to keep up to date with the latest Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) statistics across the world and here in the UK. Though it is important to build an international and national picture through latest data, it is also key to look at more localised information and take notice of what is being found in local studies.

In a study led by the University of Oxford published this year, a new HIV variant has been found with higher virulence and more detrimental health effects. According to Unaids.org, in 2020, 1.5 million people globally were newly infected with HIV, 37.7 million were living with HIV and 680,000 people died of AIDS-related illnesses.

Hundreds of thousands of fatalities are happening worldwide due to antibiotic resistance to previously treatable infections. The bacteria that cause these infections have become resistant to treatment. Recent developments in the UK and worldwide show how significant this threat is to humanity.

Better2Know tests for a wide range of the most common sexually transmitted infections (STIs), however there are some infections that are not commonly associated with being an STI but can still be transmittable by sexual contact. 

The theme for this year´s International Women´s Day on 8 March 2022 is centred around gender equality. It acknowledges that women and girls are at the forefront of effecting change and that the future lies in empowering women in many ways.

A report published by Wiley online library on 30 January 2022 examines the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on HIV testing in Brighton and Hove. The report used data on HIV tests performed in Brighton and Hove from January 2016 to June 2021 to compare the monthly number of tests and diagnoses before and during the pandemic across different services.

According to the World Health Organization more than 1 million sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are acquired every day globally, the majority of which are asymptomatic. Each year there are an estimated 374 million new infections with 1 of 4 STIs: chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis and trichomoniasis. All these infections are currently curable.

There has been a reduction in the amount of data collected by European countries on HIV due to COVID-19. The European AIDS Conference was held in October last year and Teymur Noori, HIV and migrant health expert at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), commented that, “one of the most severe impacts of the pandemic on HIV was that it had reduced the capability of most European countries to document their own HIV epidemic”.  Resources were redirected from the surveillance and monitoring of HIV to COVID.

Here is an overview of the key pre-travel testing requirements for UK citizens travelling to popular destinations as of 17 March, 2022. You should always stay in contact with your travel provider when travelling abroad from the UK.

World Cancer Day will be marked on 4 February 2022. Cancer is a global challenge for us all. In 2018, 18 million people worldwide were diagnosed with cancer. Presently, due to research advances, 1 in 2 people in the UK survive their cancer for 10 years or more.

Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers in women and is usually curable with early detection. Every woman aged 25 years and above should routinely undergo screening to help prevent cervical cancer. Recent headlines in the media have sparked debate about recommendations from the UK National Screening Committee on cervical cancer screening.

Hearing the roar of those engines as you take off to your dream destination has been forever in our minds while coping with Covid-19 lockdown fever. 2022 is the year you can start exploring your own version of paradise and with coronavirus restrictions starting to abate you can indulge your wanderlust.