How To Maintain A Healthy Sex Life During COVID - 19

 The COVID -19 has altered how people approach various social activities and it's reshaped what is now being seen as a "new normal" The virus has impacted countless aspect of day - to - day life.

For many  post- secondary students (universities and colleges) specifically, dating and socialization are important part of their life.

With continually increase in COVID -19 cases the province has seen over the past month, having dating and sex can be difficult to navigate safely

Dr. Jessica Wood, lead researcher and sexual expert at the Sex information and Education Council Canada, believes that spreading accurate, current information about how to maintain a healthy #sexlife, while supporting the fight against COVID - 19. is imperative to overall wellness.

It is essential that students keep up - to - date with public health guidelines, know where and when to get tested for COVID -19 if you are concerned and talk to their healthcare provide for sexual and productive healthcare. It's also important that student getting good information from trusted resources regarding both COVID -19 and sexual health" Wood said.

When approaching safe sex, Wood encourages people to ask themselves and their sexual partner a series of questions that may affect each person potential risk of transmitting or contracting COVID -19. Doing so is important to ensure that the health of both parties is being taken into consideration.

" In terms of lowering your risk of getting or passing COVID -19, when we're thinking about sex and dating, we've got all of those different things that we're considering. We often think about pregnancy prevention and safer sex as in STI, consent and a whole bunch of other things."

Right now, we're seeing rising case numbers and the provincial public health guidelines around , who we should be having close personal contact with, we need to remember that COVID -19 is passed via respiratory droplets through close personal contact which is what most types of sex involve' Wood said.

" Setting boundaries - in order to help people find really good strategies to maintain and enhance their sexual health and relationships during the pandemic. I think it is beneficial for people to balance their needs for both connection and safety and identify good strategies that work within the public health guidelines.

It is really important for students to think about the things also that come before sexual interactions. It's things like assessing our own risk levels, our own contexts - do we live alone ? Are we in a place where we have high - exposure to people on a daily basis ? What about our partner, what is our partner's risk -level ?.