---
title: "Sexual health: infections, screening and sex"
description: "Thrush, BV, cystitis and STIs, testing and cervical screening, the HPV vaccine, pain during sex, desire, consent, and inclusive care for LGBTQ+ people."
url: "https://myruva.co/learn/topics/sexual-health"
language: "en-GB"
---

# Sexual health: infections, screening and sex

Common infections and how they’re treated, where to get tested, screening, and the parts of sex that are worth talking about with a clinician.

- [Bacterial vaginosis (BV)](https://myruva.co/learn/bacterial-vaginosis): Changes in discharge, treatment and BV coming back, including advice in pregnancy and changing advice on treating partners.
- [Cervical screening](https://myruva.co/learn/cervical-screening): What screening checks, the latest England and US timings, testing yourself at home, and ways to make an appointment easier.
- [Common STIs: symptoms and treatment](https://myruva.co/learn/stis-symptoms-and-treatment): A plain guide to common STI symptoms and types of treatment, including infections with no symptoms and pelvic pain that needs urgent care.
- [Consent and healthy relationships](https://myruva.co/learn/consent-and-healthy-relationships): What freely given consent looks like, how control can affect choices about sex and pregnancy, and how to find support safely.
- [Cystitis and urinary tract infections](https://myruva.co/learn/utis-and-cystitis): Spot possible signs of a UTI, find the right care, and understand the warning signs of a kidney infection and what helps prevent UTIs.
- [HIV: testing, PrEP and PEP](https://myruva.co/learn/hiv-prevention-prep-and-pep): Testing, what undetectable means, ongoing protection with PrEP, and urgent help if you may have been exposed to HIV. Includes when to get help.
- [HPV and the HPV vaccine](https://myruva.co/learn/hpv-and-the-hpv-vaccine): How HPV spreads, what the vaccine prevents, and how vaccine programmes differ between countries. Having the vaccine doesn’t replace cervical screening.
- [Itchy or sore vulval skin: common conditions](https://myruva.co/learn/vulval-skin-conditions): How irritation, lichen sclerosus, lichen planus and vulval pain differ, and which skin changes need an appointment. Includes when to get help.
- [Low libido and changes in desire](https://myruva.co/learn/low-libido-and-changes-in-desire): Why desire can change, how desire can grow once things start, and when to ask about medicines, pain or other worries. Includes when to get help.
- [Pain during sex](https://myruva.co/learn/pain-during-sex): Possible causes of painful sex, what a check involves, and how treatment, including pelvic physiotherapy, may help. Includes when to get help.
- [Sexual health for LGBTQ+ people](https://myruva.co/learn/lgbtq-inclusive-sexual-health): Screening, STI care and contraception based on your body and the sex you have, with practical ways to ask for inclusive care.
- [STI testing: where to go and what happens](https://myruva.co/learn/sti-testing-what-to-expect): What happens at an STI appointment, how samples are taken, and how privacy, home kits and follow-up work. You can need an STI test even if you have no symptoms.
- [Vaginal discharge: what changes through the cycle and when to get it checked](https://myruva.co/learn/vaginal-discharge-through-the-cycle): How discharge shifts through the cycle, in pregnancy, after birth and later in life, and which changes in smell, colour or feel are worth a check.
- [Vaginal thrush](https://myruva.co/learn/thrush): What thrush can feel like, when treatment from a pharmacy is right, and why pregnancy or thrush that keeps coming back needs a clinician.