Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsInfection RiskPreventing STIsSigns and SymptomsWhen to Get TestedThings to ConsiderFrequently Asked Questions
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Infection Risk
Preventing STIs
Signs and Symptoms
When to Get Tested
Things to Consider
Frequently Asked Questions
There is no evidence that having sex during your period is harmful.However, it can be riskier as menstrual blood may cause infection for a male; as with any blood, it can contain pathogens that can be transmitted during sex. It’s also likely that period-related changes to the acidity of the vagina raise the risk of infection, includingsexually transmitted infection(STI).
Typically, the only barrier to sex during a period is personal comfort. Havingperiod sexmay be beneficial to the person menstruating; for example, it can reduce painful cramps throughorgasms.
This article discusses what you need to know about having safe period sex, free from unwanted pregnancy and infection risk.
Infection Risk During Your Period
Men and women alike can still catch or transmit an STI during period sex. Bleeding does not mitigate the risk. Some viruses, likeHIVandhepatitis, live in the blood, so there’s a higher risk of STI transmission.
Contact withmenstrual bloodcarrying HIV or hepatitis can spread the virus. The safest way to prevent STIs during period sex (and in general) is through consistent barrier use likecondoms,dental dams, orfemale (internal) condoms.
Changes in the cervix andpH balanceof the vagina during menstruation can make women more susceptible to bacterial and viral infections.
How to Prevent STI Transmission
Everyone who is sexually active is at risk of contracting STIs. While abstaining from all intimate contact is the only way to avoid getting STIs altogether, it’s not very reasonable. These medically-backed approaches help keep sex safe:
Signs of an STI
As taboo as they still are, STIs are very common. In 2018, 26 million new cases were diagnosed in the United States.
Signs andsymptomsof STIs range in severity and length. While some infections are asymptomatic, common symptoms to look out for in the genital region include:
When to Get Tested for STIs
Diagnosing and treating STIs early is crucial in preventing more serious medical complications and managing transmission to future sexual partners. Other common genital conditions, likeyeast infections, allergic reactions, orbacteria vaginosis, share similar symptoms.
Set up an appointment with your healthcare provider if you experience any unusual symptoms in the genital area or you suspect a sexual encounter was risky or condomless.They will ask about your sexual health history and perform a physical examination before deciding what tests to order or samples to collect for a lab test.
Make a plan with your healthcare provider to schedule checkups and potential re-testing if you feel you’ve been exposed but receive negative test results.
Some viruses won’t show up soon after exposure. For instance, it takes at least two weeks and as many as three months forherpesto show a positive test result.HIV antibodies can be detectable in the blood two to six weeks after exposure but can take up to three months.
Sex and Periods: Other Things to Consider
Period sex can be fun, beneficial, and even more enjoyable to some. Besides understanding safe period sex practices, there are a few other things to consider.
Pregnancy
While the odds of conceiving during your period are pretty low, you can still get pregnant.
The peak ovulation window is about 12 to 14 days before your period. Viable sperm can live inside a woman’s reproductive tract for three to five days after sexual intercourse.Therefore, you can conceive if you have a shorter than average menstrual cycle and begin ovulating shortly after your period.
If you are actively trying to avoid pregnancy, it’s best to use a barrier method during period sex.
Potential Benefits
For some women, having sex during their period can bring heightened pleasure. For starters, blood is a natural lubricant. Some people report that hormones at play during the days leading up to one’s period could garner a spike inlibido.Others report that the benefits of period sex include relief from cramps.
In theory, period sex also may help with migraines due to hormonal changes. Although there’s limited research evidence, female sex hormone levels do affect how and when you have migraine headaches.
Can an Orgasm Cure Your Headache?
Summary
Period sex is generally safe and may even offer health benefits and improved well-being, such as an increased interest in sex. However, period sex does not exclude anyone from getting pregnant or contracting/transmitting STIs.
The safest way to prevent STIs during period sex (and in general) is through consistent barrier use like external condoms, dental dams, or internal condoms. See your healthcare provider if you experience unusual genital symptoms or have had recent and riskier sexual encounters, such as unprotected sex with a new partner.
Frequently Asked QuestionsScented tampons and padscan irritate the vaginal tissue and alter its pH balance, which is healthy in the slightly acidic range of 3.8 to 4.5.This can lead to a UTI, but personal hygiene, sexual activity, pregnancy, and genetics are more likely to contribute to UTIs than period blood.Learn MoreUrinary Tract Infection PreventionYes. Period blood contains natural bacteria from the vagina and cervix, among other components like blood and uterine endometrial tissue. This is the same healthy and regulating bacteria that lives inside the vaginal canal during different parts of a woman’s cycle.Learn MoreWhat Does Menstrual Blood Look Like?
Scented tampons and padscan irritate the vaginal tissue and alter its pH balance, which is healthy in the slightly acidic range of 3.8 to 4.5.This can lead to a UTI, but personal hygiene, sexual activity, pregnancy, and genetics are more likely to contribute to UTIs than period blood.Learn MoreUrinary Tract Infection Prevention
Scented tampons and padscan irritate the vaginal tissue and alter its pH balance, which is healthy in the slightly acidic range of 3.8 to 4.5.This can lead to a UTI, but personal hygiene, sexual activity, pregnancy, and genetics are more likely to contribute to UTIs than period blood.
Learn MoreUrinary Tract Infection Prevention
Yes. Period blood contains natural bacteria from the vagina and cervix, among other components like blood and uterine endometrial tissue. This is the same healthy and regulating bacteria that lives inside the vaginal canal during different parts of a woman’s cycle.Learn MoreWhat Does Menstrual Blood Look Like?
Yes. Period blood contains natural bacteria from the vagina and cervix, among other components like blood and uterine endometrial tissue. This is the same healthy and regulating bacteria that lives inside the vaginal canal during different parts of a woman’s cycle.
Learn MoreWhat Does Menstrual Blood Look Like?
14 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Planned Parenthood.Can I have sex during my period? Can I get pregnant during my period?Lin YP, Chen WC, Cheng CM, Shen CJ.Vaginal pH Value for Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment of Common Vaginitis.Diagnostics (Basel). 2021 Oct 27;11(11):1996. doi:10.3390/diagnostics11111996.Planned Parenthood.Can I have sex during my period? Can I get pregnant during my period?Center for Disease Control and Prevention.How to prevent STIs.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.STIs & how to prevent them.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Sexually transmitted infections prevalence, incidence, and cost estimates in the United States.Workowski KA, Bolan GA; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Sexually transmitted disease treatment guidelines.MMWR Recomm Rep. 2015;64(RR-03):1-137.Legoff J, Péré H, Bélec L.Diagnosis of genital herpes simplex virus infection in the clinical laboratory.Virol J.2014;11:83. doi:10.1186/1743-422X-11-83.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.HIV testing.Verma P, Singh KK, Singh A.Pregnancy risk during menstrual cycle: Misconceptions among urban men in India.Reprod Health. 2017;14(1):71. doi:10.1186/s12978-017-0332-3The American College of Obstetrician And Gynecology.Fertility awareness-based methods of family planning.Lu HJ.Sexual Desire of Women With Fast and Slow Life History Throughout the Ovulatory Cycle.Evol Psychol. 2023 Jan-Mar;21(1):14747049221148695. doi:10.1177/14747049221148695.Fahs B.Sex During Menstruation: Race, Sexual Identity, and Women’s Accounts of Pleasure and Disgust. 2020 Jul 25. In: Bobel C, Winkler IT, Fahs B, Hasson KA, Kissling EA, Roberts TA, editors. The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Menstruation Studies [Internet]. Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan; 2020. Chapter 69. PMID: 33347212.Ornello R, De Matteis E, Di Felice C, Caponnetto V, Pistoia F, Sacco S.Acute and Preventive Management of Migraine during Menstruation and Menopause.J Clin Med. 2021 May 24;10(11):2263. doi:10.3390/jcm10112263.
14 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Planned Parenthood.Can I have sex during my period? Can I get pregnant during my period?Lin YP, Chen WC, Cheng CM, Shen CJ.Vaginal pH Value for Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment of Common Vaginitis.Diagnostics (Basel). 2021 Oct 27;11(11):1996. doi:10.3390/diagnostics11111996.Planned Parenthood.Can I have sex during my period? Can I get pregnant during my period?Center for Disease Control and Prevention.How to prevent STIs.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.STIs & how to prevent them.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Sexually transmitted infections prevalence, incidence, and cost estimates in the United States.Workowski KA, Bolan GA; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Sexually transmitted disease treatment guidelines.MMWR Recomm Rep. 2015;64(RR-03):1-137.Legoff J, Péré H, Bélec L.Diagnosis of genital herpes simplex virus infection in the clinical laboratory.Virol J.2014;11:83. doi:10.1186/1743-422X-11-83.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.HIV testing.Verma P, Singh KK, Singh A.Pregnancy risk during menstrual cycle: Misconceptions among urban men in India.Reprod Health. 2017;14(1):71. doi:10.1186/s12978-017-0332-3The American College of Obstetrician And Gynecology.Fertility awareness-based methods of family planning.Lu HJ.Sexual Desire of Women With Fast and Slow Life History Throughout the Ovulatory Cycle.Evol Psychol. 2023 Jan-Mar;21(1):14747049221148695. doi:10.1177/14747049221148695.Fahs B.Sex During Menstruation: Race, Sexual Identity, and Women’s Accounts of Pleasure and Disgust. 2020 Jul 25. In: Bobel C, Winkler IT, Fahs B, Hasson KA, Kissling EA, Roberts TA, editors. The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Menstruation Studies [Internet]. Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan; 2020. Chapter 69. PMID: 33347212.Ornello R, De Matteis E, Di Felice C, Caponnetto V, Pistoia F, Sacco S.Acute and Preventive Management of Migraine during Menstruation and Menopause.J Clin Med. 2021 May 24;10(11):2263. doi:10.3390/jcm10112263.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Planned Parenthood.Can I have sex during my period? Can I get pregnant during my period?Lin YP, Chen WC, Cheng CM, Shen CJ.Vaginal pH Value for Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment of Common Vaginitis.Diagnostics (Basel). 2021 Oct 27;11(11):1996. doi:10.3390/diagnostics11111996.Planned Parenthood.Can I have sex during my period? Can I get pregnant during my period?Center for Disease Control and Prevention.How to prevent STIs.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.STIs & how to prevent them.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Sexually transmitted infections prevalence, incidence, and cost estimates in the United States.Workowski KA, Bolan GA; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Sexually transmitted disease treatment guidelines.MMWR Recomm Rep. 2015;64(RR-03):1-137.Legoff J, Péré H, Bélec L.Diagnosis of genital herpes simplex virus infection in the clinical laboratory.Virol J.2014;11:83. doi:10.1186/1743-422X-11-83.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.HIV testing.Verma P, Singh KK, Singh A.Pregnancy risk during menstrual cycle: Misconceptions among urban men in India.Reprod Health. 2017;14(1):71. doi:10.1186/s12978-017-0332-3The American College of Obstetrician And Gynecology.Fertility awareness-based methods of family planning.Lu HJ.Sexual Desire of Women With Fast and Slow Life History Throughout the Ovulatory Cycle.Evol Psychol. 2023 Jan-Mar;21(1):14747049221148695. doi:10.1177/14747049221148695.Fahs B.Sex During Menstruation: Race, Sexual Identity, and Women’s Accounts of Pleasure and Disgust. 2020 Jul 25. In: Bobel C, Winkler IT, Fahs B, Hasson KA, Kissling EA, Roberts TA, editors. The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Menstruation Studies [Internet]. Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan; 2020. Chapter 69. PMID: 33347212.Ornello R, De Matteis E, Di Felice C, Caponnetto V, Pistoia F, Sacco S.Acute and Preventive Management of Migraine during Menstruation and Menopause.J Clin Med. 2021 May 24;10(11):2263. doi:10.3390/jcm10112263.
Planned Parenthood.Can I have sex during my period? Can I get pregnant during my period?
Lin YP, Chen WC, Cheng CM, Shen CJ.Vaginal pH Value for Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment of Common Vaginitis.Diagnostics (Basel). 2021 Oct 27;11(11):1996. doi:10.3390/diagnostics11111996.
Center for Disease Control and Prevention.How to prevent STIs.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.STIs & how to prevent them.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Sexually transmitted infections prevalence, incidence, and cost estimates in the United States.
Workowski KA, Bolan GA; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Sexually transmitted disease treatment guidelines.MMWR Recomm Rep. 2015;64(RR-03):1-137.
Legoff J, Péré H, Bélec L.Diagnosis of genital herpes simplex virus infection in the clinical laboratory.Virol J.2014;11:83. doi:10.1186/1743-422X-11-83.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.HIV testing.
Verma P, Singh KK, Singh A.Pregnancy risk during menstrual cycle: Misconceptions among urban men in India.Reprod Health. 2017;14(1):71. doi:10.1186/s12978-017-0332-3
The American College of Obstetrician And Gynecology.Fertility awareness-based methods of family planning.
Lu HJ.Sexual Desire of Women With Fast and Slow Life History Throughout the Ovulatory Cycle.Evol Psychol. 2023 Jan-Mar;21(1):14747049221148695. doi:10.1177/14747049221148695.
Fahs B.Sex During Menstruation: Race, Sexual Identity, and Women’s Accounts of Pleasure and Disgust. 2020 Jul 25. In: Bobel C, Winkler IT, Fahs B, Hasson KA, Kissling EA, Roberts TA, editors. The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Menstruation Studies [Internet]. Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan; 2020. Chapter 69. PMID: 33347212.
Ornello R, De Matteis E, Di Felice C, Caponnetto V, Pistoia F, Sacco S.Acute and Preventive Management of Migraine during Menstruation and Menopause.J Clin Med. 2021 May 24;10(11):2263. doi:10.3390/jcm10112263.
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