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The Well for Health Promotion promotes sexual health by providing programs, services, and resources that are inclusive, holistic, and evidence-based. Our staff at The Health Center provides high quality, medical sexual health care.
Sexual and reproductive health is an important part of your overall well-being. The clinicians at the Health Center offer many services to Tulane students that support most common sexual and reproductive health needs. These services include STI testing, (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis), gynecological services and screenings, transgender health services, and many others. For more information, please visit the link below or call 504-865-5255 (Uptown) or 504-988-6929 (Downtown) during business hours.
Campus Health is committed to providing caring, high quality, and confidential services to our campus community, inclusive of all sexual orientations and gender identities.
To meet the health and wellness needs of all campus community members, the various Campus Health offices provide numerous programs and services specifically for the LGBTQ+ community. Whether you need primary care, preventative health services, mental health care, or you are looking for general health and wellness information, our staff of physicians, nurse practitioners, therapists, health educators, and other health professionals are ready to help.
At Tulane, Campus Health offers two types of STI testing options:
A quick and easy way for Tulane students to get screened for sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
To make a GYT appointment, please call the Student Health Center Uptown at 504-865-5255 or the Student Health Center Downtown at 504-988-6929.
A comprehensive appointment that includes STI testing and doctor’s consultation.
Check out this video with frequency asked questions about the STI/GYT Clinics:
Most of us "know" what menstruation is but we never actually learned all the facts about "getting your period." To learn about what menstruation is, why it happens, and how to relieve period pain, check out this video:
Tulane University offers free menstrual health supplies including tampons, pads, and liners in a variety of sizes to all Tulane students. You can access free menstrual products at the following locations:
The Well for Health Promotion provides free safer sex supplies to all Tulane students.
The Well for Health Promotion provides free safer sex supplies to all Tulane students. Pick up supplies for yourself at the following Uptown locations:
Pick up supplies for yourself at the following Downtown locations:
If you are staff, faculty, an RA/RD, student organization, or FSL organization, you can request safer sex supplies to give out in your spaces, classes, and events.
For videos with step by step instructions for how to use dental dams, internal condoms, external condoms, and lube, click here.
What is the difference between hormonal and non-hormonal birth control?
What types of hormonal birth control exist?
What types of non-hormonal birth control exist?
I am Trans. Do I need birth control?
There are many methods of contraception to choose from and it is worth taking the time to find out more about each one so that you can choose contraception that suits you. If you are still not sure talk to your healthcare provider about the best method for you.
Tulane and Loyola students may walk into the pharmacy at the Student Health Center and receive free emergency contraction during open business hours. Students are not required to have a health insurance plan nor do they need a prescription to access the emergency contraception.
Emergency contraception (aka the morning after pill) is birth control that you use after you have had unprotected sex—if you did not use birth control or your regular birth control failed. Emergency contraception should be used as soon as possible within three to five days after unprotected sex to prevent pregnancy. ECPs are more effective the sooner you take them. Emergency contraception does not work if you are already pregnant.
You can use emergency contraception to prevent pregnancy if:
If you use emergency contraception correctly after you have unprotected sex, it makes it much less likely that you’ll get pregnant. But don’t use it regularly as your only protection from pregnancy, because it’s not as effective as regular, non-emergency birth control methods (like the IUD, pill, or condoms).
There are 2 types of morning-after pills:
A pill with levonorgestrel. Brand names include: Plan B One Step, Take Action, My Way, AfterPill, and others.
A pill with ulipristal acetate. There’s only one brand, called ella.
The Well for Health Promotion provides a variety of peer and professional staff led workshops by request. These workshops include Sexual Health Jeopardy, the Consent Conversation, Medical Sex, Gender, and Sexual Orientation, Safer Sex Methods, Sexual & Reproductive Anatomy, and STI Prevention and Testing.
How to use Dental Dams
How to use External Condoms
How to use Internal Condoms
The Low Down on Lube
What is PrEP/PEP and Why Use It?
Queer-Inclusive Guide to Anal Sex
Queer-Inclusive Guide to Oral Sex
Queer-Inclusive Guide to Vaginal Sex
While the terms can be used interchangeably, Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) is often used instead of Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD). This is because STI is inclusive of both symptomatic and asymptomatic infections. Using the term STI also helps reduce stigma, especially since they are so common—more than half of all of us will get an STI at some point in our lives and 1 in 3 sexually active people under the age of 25 has an STI.
Although anyone who is sexually active can get an STI, there are lots of ways to protect yourself and your partner(s):
The only way to know you have an STI is to get tested. The most common STI symptom is actually a lack of symptoms or mild symptoms that get disregarded for something else. This means that most people with STIs don’t even know they have one until they get tested. Not getting treatment can also lead to long term health effects such as infertility, urinary tract and liver problems, and cancers. No STI is harmless so it’s best to get tested and treated!
Some STIs can be treated within a few days, while others take weeks or even monthly to become detectable. A window period is the time it takes for STIs to become detectable by If you have been exposed to an STI and are tested while in the window period, your test result may not be as accurate. The window period is 10 days for the chlamydia and gonorrhea test, and 3 months for the HIV test. It is best to schedule an appointment when you are out of the window period, if possible. It's important to note that you can still transmit STIs to your partner while you are in the window period.
This depends. If you are sexually active, you should aim to be tested at least once per year. If you engage with multiple partners, it’s a good idea to get tested more frequently, perhaps every 3-6 months. If you’ve had unprotected sex, have a new partner (or more than one partner), or for any reason are worried you have been exposed to an STI, talk to your healthcare provider about getting tested. The bottom line is that it is up to you and it depends on you and your lifestyle!
If you're sexually active, it’s important to get tested on a regular basis, especially if you have more than one partner
All STIs are treatable and many STIs are curable. STIs can either be caused by viruses, bacteria, or parasites. Bacterial and parasitic STIs are treated by antibiotics and other medications and thus often curable. Viral STIs such as HIV, HPV, Herpes, and Hepatitis—the four Hs—generally have no cure, but many symptoms can be alleviated with treatment.
Make an appointment with a provider at the student health center or with a provider in the community as soon as possible. They will help you get tested for STIs and get treatment.
Be honest. There is nothing shameful about having an STI. Let them know the facts and encourage them to also get tested and seek treatment. Decide how much information you feel comfortable sharing and set boundaries. For more ideas on how to comfortably and safely disclose your status, check here or here. You can also let your partner(s) know completely anonymously that they should get tested by sending them a text message!
You sure can. Although oral sex is often considered “safer” than vaginal or anal sex, you can get STIs from both giving or receiving oral sex. Many STIs including chlamydia, gonorrhea, and herpes can be transmitted through oral sex. It is a good idea to use barrier methods like condoms (internal or external) or dental dams in order to prevent fluid transfer and reduce your risk of catching an STI.
If you can, try to have the conversation before things start heating up. One strategy is to sandwich the conversation between positive things you feel about the relationship.
After getting treatment, your body does not build immunity to any bacterial or parasitic STI so you can get a STI multiple times. You can prevent reinfection by completing your entire treatment, having your partner(s) get tested and treated, and practicing safer sex.
Tulane's Student Health Center offers a variety of health, wellness, and sexual health services for the Trans and GNC students at both the Uptown and Downtown locations. These services include general preventative care, gender-affirming hormone replacement therapy, PrEP/PEP, and counseling on birth control and safer sex methods.
Check out these great online resources that are specifically designed to be trans-centered and sex positive.
Use this checklist from Scarleteen to help you think through and evaluate your sexual wants, needs, and limits. You can even decide to share your answers with a partner or use some of the questions to guide conversations with each other.
Watch this video from the Well's Health Promotion team focused on talking about sex and communicating with partners.
Learn more about the clitoris here. The clitoris is the only part of human anatomy whose sole function is to experience pleasure.
Check out this zine that was designed by Vic Liu for all genders and genitalia which goes in depth in masturbation.
Watch this video by the Well's Health Promotion team talking about masturbation as sexual self-care.
Coming Soon
Learn about boundaries and how to protect yours from the Well for Health Promotion team:
