The countdown to the new year is almost over and with it comes one final night of celebration to see out 2024.
While many people will be seeing in the new year with fireworks, or at least watching a display on their TV, some folks will be ushering in 2025 with an altogether different kind of bang.
While Christmas might see you getting smooched under the mistletoe, the New Year’s tradition that requires you to pucker up is to kiss once the countdown reaches zero so you begin another rotation of the sun locking lips with someone.
We’re almost at the end of the year, and that means there’ll be a lot of parties going on (Getty Stock Image)
It might be your long term partner, the desperate date you brought along so you wouldn’t be alone or just someone you randomly struck up a spark with at a party that night.
However, if you’re planning on doing more than kissing then you’d do well to heed the warning from Dr Babak Ashrafi about the rising risk of getting a sexually transmitted infection (STI) at this time of year.
The doctor explained to Superdrug Online Doctor that if there was any point in the calendar when people most had to worry about getting a disease on their dingle it was now.
He said that in the wake of the last New Year there had been a 42 percent rise in STI testing kits being ordered, a sign that Brits were worrying about the state of their privates.
“My bits feel like they’re burning, should I be worried?” (Getty Stock Photo)
“Christmas and New Year is a season of joy, but it’s also a time when STI rates see a noticeable rise in the UK,” the doc warned.
“Why does this happen? It’s a mix of festive fun, increased social interactions, and a few seasonal behaviours that lead to risky choices.”
This is the time of year when there are lots of parties and gatherings, whether those be the office Christmas party, a meeting of friends or deciding that for New Year you simply must do something.
There are plenty of opportunities for you to find a new person to do the horizontal bop with, and apparently December is a decidedly sexy month for Brits as there’s all sorts of festive fornication going on.
There’ll be banging all across the nation to usher in the new year. Make sure yours doesn’t end up with a trip to the doctors. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, there’s lots of alcohol to lubricate the social interaction at these parties which can lead to people doing all sorts of risky things like forgetting to use protection.
You might end up getting an STI without realising it and then end up spreading it around to someone else.
We are at the height of ‘cuffing season’, after all, as people try and find someone for a short term relationship in the colder months.
If you’re in the mood to usher in 2025 with a bang then you might at least want to use Superdrug’s STI Risk Tracker so you at least know what sort of situation you’re heading into.
Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Images / Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Topics: Health, Sex and Relationships
Health experts have come out to reveal that there is one sex act that can increase your risk of a certain cancer.
You read that right.
There is a deadly cancer which might be difficult to spot, and cases might very well be on the rise thanks to what some people like to do in the bedroom.
According to Cancer Research UK, there are 70 per cent of cases of this type of cancer which are caused by HPV, which is potentially due to allowing something into your body which should really be kept as a place you like to shove food in.
Okay, you’ve cracked it.
If you notice any of these signs, it could be cancer (Getty Stock Images)
It’s oral sex which is potentially increasing the cancer.
So, no more jokes about ‘I’ve got something that’ll help your sore throat’, as you could be putting their life in danger.
Instead of expecting a little excitement from your partner, be happy with the other orifices as this one is officially closed for business.
The Oral Health Foundation has come out to share that it has recorded record-breaking cases of mouth cancer.
Specifically, 10,000 a year.
This is because you can transmit HPV to a person’s mouth, which is one of the biggest risk factors for the cancer.
Dr Hisham Mehanna, from the University of Birmingham, explained to The Conversation that that if you’re giving the hawk tuah to multiple people, you’ve got nine times the risk of developing oropharyngeal cancers, and that us in the West are terrible for getting throat cancer.
The State of Mouth Cancer UK Report 2024 further shared that there is a 133 per cent rise in this type of cancer over the past two decades, particularly in those who are in their 40s and 50s.
Oral sex could cause oral cancer (Getty Stock Photos)
OBE, Chief Executive of the Oral Health Foundation said as per The Mirror: “While many types of cancer are declining, mouth cancer continues to surge. Smoking and excessive alcohol consumption remain significant risk factors, but we are seeing a growing number of cases linked to the human papillomavirus (HPV) and other emerging causes.”
However, it can be hard to know whether you have the cancer, so you need to pay more attention to your mouth and neck area.
As per the NHS, symptoms include things like pain in your mouth, a lump in your mouth or on your lip, an ulcer in your mouth that lasts longer than 3 weeks, red or white patches in your mouth, struggling to swallow or speak or finding a lump in your neck or throat.
You might also find that you’re losing weight without trying to, which is a common sign of cancer.
Dr Carter said: “Mouth cancer can affect anyone, and the impact on a person’s life can be devastating. We need to raise awareness of the symptoms, the risk factors, and most importantly, the importance of early detection. Too many cases are diagnosed too late, often at the most advanced stage. This needs to change.”
66 per cent of mouth cancers are typically diagnosed in men, with 90 per cent of those causes being in the over 50s age group.
So, if you notice the signs, don’t risk it and see your GP as soon as possible.
Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Photos
Topics: Sex and Relationships, Health, Cancer
A woman who was born a rare reproductive condition has revealed the shocking treatment she’s been subjected to while on dating apps.
Annie Charlotte, 26, has a condition called uterus didelphys, which, according to the Cleveland Clinic, is ‘a rare condition where a person develops two uteruses’.
The health website further states: “The uterus develops as two ducts which generally combine to form a single uterus. “However, in those with the condition, the ducts do not combine and two uteruses develop. In some cases, two cervixes and two vaginal canals can also be created.”
Only a reported 0.3 per cent of the population are born with it, and while you can go on to carry healthy pregnancies, it does increase the risk of miscarriage and preterm birth.
Charlotte, from Surrey, UK, discovered that she had the condition when she was 16 and has been pretty open about how it’s impacted her life when it comes to the dating world.
Annie Charlotte has a rare reproductive condition which gives her ‘two vaginas’ (Instagram/@annieecharlotte)
She has faced some awful behaviour from men on dating sites because of her condition, telling news.com.au: “Now I’m on a lot of dating apps and people will be like ‘you’re the two p****s girl’.”
Charlotte had previously revealed that some of her previous lovers didn’t even notice, but these men on the dating apps seem to be infatuated with the fact once they learn of it.
The OnlyFans content creator went on to share that she gets a lot of explicit questions, with some asking if she’s ever had ‘two at a time’ and on the occasion she replies that she hasn’t, they then offer to ‘sort her out’.
In one instance, she said that she had went on a date with a man and after a few drinks, he later came over with a friend.
She revealed: “Next minute, he said he’d been thinking he and his mate ‘wanted to be tunnel buddies in separate vaginas’.”
Her dating app encounters have been horrid (Instagram/@annieecharlotte)
At the time, she believed that he’d rehearsed the speech and she did actually entertain it, but ultimately didn’t go ahead with it.
But this hasn’t been the only instance either.
Another man she’d met for a date also turned up with a mate, much to her surprise, and told her: “Well, two vaginas so I thought two guys would be appropriate.”
The despicable behaviour left her feeling like the ‘human’ and ‘respect’ aspect towards her wasn’t present, adding that she is ‘more than just my two vaginas’.
“It makes me feel rubbish. People are just seeing me as a sex object,” she continued.
It’s not only the men on the dating apps that have asked Charlotte strange things as she’s also previously revealed the weird requests her OnlyFans followers have asked her, too.
Featured Image Credit: annieecharlotte / Instagram
Topics: Health, Dating trends, Sex and Relationships
We’ve all had the displeasure of dealing with a narcissist one time or another; whether it was your boss, your friend or even your partner.
With an unreasonably high sense of self importance, a tendency to attention seek and a habit of belittling or bullying others, you’d think these hallmark traits confirm all you need to know.
But a psychologist has revealed that you might not have to waste time and wait around for an egomaniac to reveal their true selves – as their face might be dropping a major hint all along.
Dr Ramani Durvasula explained that there is a certain facial feature which may indicate that someone is a narcissist.
Research found that a lot of people who suffer from the personality disorder seem to have a large similarity in an aspect of their appearance.
And shockingly, it seems to be those who we have serious brow envy over.
That’s right – people who have dark, bold and well-defined eyebrows could be hiding their narcissistic tendencies right under your nose.
Of course, some people are naturally blessed with bold brows and others just enjoy getting them done but the 2018 study found that individuals who take their self-love overboard are more likely to invest time and money into grooming their eyebrows in the hopes of achieving a more striking appearance.
It found that perfect eyebrows were a marker of grandiose narcissists, which is a form of narcissism characterised by an excessive need for recognition which makes people act as though they are superior to others.
Experts at the University of Toronto rounded up a group who filled in a self-assessment narcissistic personality inventory test to diagnose the disorder, before taking photographs of them.
Getty Stock Photo
These snaps were then cropped so that only their eyebrows were visible and then shown to a separate group to see if they could pick up on any common traits.
The second group rated the images for certain qualities, such as grooming, distinctiveness and femininity.
Results showed that it was the distinctiveness of certain people’s eyebrows – such as the thickness and density of them – which played a pivotal role in helping others to correctly identify them as more narcissistic.
The study said: “Because grandiose narcissists strongly desire recognition and admiration, they seek to maintain distinct eyebrows to facilitate others’ ability to notice, recognize and remember them, thereby increasing their likability and reinforcing their overly positive self-views.”
And because this feature is renowned as a way to rate someone’s attractiveness, it ‘makes sense that narcissists might selectively alter their brows to appear more attractive.’
Experts said this could be because narcissists tend to want to have a feature which is recognisable and aesthetically pleasing, as they are keen to look as good as possible.
Los Angeles based psychologist Dr Durvasula told USA Today: “Narcissistic people care deeply about their appearance.
“They’d probably spend more on it – more time, more money – but not everyone who takes care of their eyebrows, obviously, by any stretch of the imagination, is narcissistic.”
She added: “One of the big problems with narcissism is a lot of people think it’s arrogance or being stuck up or just being selfish, when in fact it’s a much more complicated issue.
“If you’re only looking at it from the arrogant, superficial perspective, a person who has those really well-coiffed eyebrows may sort of seem more narcissistic.”
Dr Miranda Giacomin also chimed in, saying that eyebrows ‘facilitate facial recognition’ and that narcissists might ‘maintain distinct, thick, and dense brows to enhance recognition, which they are motivated to attain’.
Basically, keep an eye on those Cara Delevingne lookalikes.
Featured Image Credit: Lionsgate/20th Century Fox
Topics: Health, Mental Health, Sex and Relationship
A doctor has warned us of the dangers of using a ‘nose coffee’ alternative that has apparently been on the market for ages.
Now, if you’re not Michael Owen, the chances are that you probably rely on caffeine quite a bit to get you through the day
Without a nice hot brew in the morning, many of us would be starting the day off on the wrong foot.
But there is no hiding away from the side effects of too much caffiene, which include insomnia, nervousness, restlessness, nausea, and an increased heart rate.
That’s why a dude called Max, a 32-year-old who lives in Greenwich, Connecticut, reckons he’s discovered a new caffeine hack with supposedly a lot less side effects.
It turns out that there’s a snortable caffeine brand available on Amazon, which sells caffeine nasal spray, vials of powder and fake rolled money to ‘help’ with consumption, according to a report by the New York Post.
Pexels
“We don’t just sell products; we strive to improve everyday life,” the company’s website – named Want A Bump? – advertises, whilst describing its product as ‘an innovative energy supplement that consists of a balanced blend of caffeine and inositol [a sugar produced by the body] designed to provide an immediate, smooth energy boost’.
Max gave the nose product a try and said: “It’s like a less intense cocaine, minus all the bad side effects. I remember feeling it immediately and being very blown away by that.”
“The biggest thing for me is that it doesn’t affect my sleep as much as drinking caffeine,” he added. “The novelty of snorting is really groovy. Thirteen-year-old me would be going nuts.
“There’s really no way to do it that doesn’t look sketchy.”
But as with most things you see on the internet, make sure you get proper medical advice before you look like Al ‘Cappuccino’ from Scarface.
Getty Stock Image
As you might have expected, doctors aren’t so keep on the idea.
“Caffeine in food or drink is slower to absorb than through the nose,” Dr. Shaline Rao, Director of Heart Failure Services at NYU Langone Hospital, Long Island, told the outlet.
“The key is keeping the amount safe’ and ‘to note the upper limit of uses, to avoid overdose, and [allow] appropriate time between doses,” she said, whilst issuing a warning about the possible side effects.
“I would worry that repeat inhalation of caffeine through the nose could result in damage to the nares,” Rao added.
On social media, one content creator suggested that it’s a good alternative if you’re trying to ‘quit cocaine’.
