Sex Question: Why Do I Keep Getting Bacterial Vaginosis?

Dear Dr. Kate,

I regularly get bacterial vaginosis (BV). I've gotten treatments from my doctor and it still comes back, sometimes just a few weeks later. I stopped taking my birth control because I thought it could be contributing to the BV, but it hasn't helped. Could I be getting it from my boyfriend?

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a tenacious infection, and up to half of women who get BV will get it again within a year. It's caused by a bacterium that normally lives in your vagina-bacteria that doesn't survive on the penis, so you're not getting it from your guy. Since it's part of the natural flora of the vagina, it can be hard to restore the right bacterial balance. If the standard treatments haven't worked, and you've had more than three infections in a year, ask your doctor about suppressive therapy. Some women have had success with metronidazole gel applied twice a week for three to six months. By the way, my suggestion would be to go back on your birth control-it isn't contributing to the infection, and you don't want to face an unplanned pregnancy on top of the stubborn infection!

Sex Question: Is It Time to Reevaluate My Relationship?

Dear Dr. H,

My boyfriend and I have been together only seven months, but it seems like seven years. The honeymoon phase is over; I don't feel the emotional part of our relationship anymore. I'm always the one to initiate sex and I feel like he's just not that into me anymore. What can I do?

Read on for Dr. Hilda Hutcherson's response.

A. I think you've answered your own question! If neither of you feel connected to each other any longer, it's probably time to think about your future together--and decide if there is one. Sex is never satisfying when only one person in the relationship is excited about it. If you aren't into each other any longer, my advice would be to consider whether it's time to just move on.

Sex Question: How Do I Tell My Partner I Have Herpes?

Dear Dr. H,

I did something very wrong. For 18 years I knew I had herpes and still had sex with guys just for affirmation. I wanted a good relationship but couldn't be honest because of the stigma. My current relationship is only 6 months old and I know I have to come clean with my boyfriend but don't know how to tell him. Do you have any advice? I've slept with too many men to count but don't want him to know anything he doesn't need to know. I know it sounds terrible but I made a lot of poor decisions when I drank too much.

Read on for Dr. Hilda Hutcherson's response.

A. I am happy that you have made the decision to come clean. It is important to let your partner know about any sexually transmitted diseases that you might have, preferably before you have sex for the first time. I know that it can be embarrassing and you may fear rejection, but it is the right and fair thing to do. My advice would be to begin the conversation outside the bedroom when you are both relaxed--not in an argument or tense scenario. You should tell him in a matter-of-fact way that you were exposed to herpes and carry the virus. Let him know that you have educated yourself on how to decrease the chance that he will become infected (this means no sex when you have an active lesion, and condoms at all other times). There is no need for embarrassment--herpes is common in sexually active adults, and it is quite likely that he has had this conversation before.

Rub on Your Birth Control? Meet the New Contraceptive Body Lotion

It sounds strange, but there are new reports that a contraceptive gel or body cream may be available in the near future. Would you ditch the pill for a cream?

Popular Science is reporting that the pill may soon be a moisturizer: "A new topical contraceptive gel that works in the same way as the pill has shown similar effectiveness when applied to the shoulders, arms, legs or abdomen daily--and works without the side effects of sickness, weight gain, or a muted sense of sexual desire," blogger Clay Dillow reports.

Similar to the contraceptive patch, the birth control "lotion" is said to release hormones directly into the skin. (Yeah, you probably wouldn't want to shower or go swimming directly afterward!) No word yet on when the newfangled gel might make its way to a pharmacy near you, but it's intriguing just the same.

Question of the Day

Question: How can I protect my eyes from the glare of my computer screen?

Answer: Install a glare screen over the monitor

According to Computers and Your Vision: What You Need to Know, the American Optometric Association endorses certain glare screens. When shopping for these, look for the AOA symbol on the outside of the box.

Get more ways to protect yourself while using your computer.

Milk Beats Broccoli

While veggie diets are good for the heart, such regimens may not provide what's needed for those bones. A Purdue University study says strict vegetarian diets that exclude dairy products -- called vegan diets -- do not give ThirdAgers enough calcium to ward off osteoporosis down the road.

The study says even if you avoid salt, protein, caffeine and other substances that increase calcium loss you still won't get enough calcium in a vegan diet. Connie Weaver, head of Purdue's Department of Foods and Nutrition, says while there are many non-dairy foods that contain calcium -- and those eating a vegan diet may substitute those for dairy products -- the amount of calcium in vegetables is very low when compared to the real thing.

Understanding Penny Slot Games

One of the top innovations from slot game is penny slot machine. The machine seems to be quite silly because penny is the lowest denomination ever and in this modern time, people tend to play with a huge bet and it is quite hard to find stuff that can be purchased with penny. However, even though it sound quite silly, but we can find penny slot machine in the brick and mortar casino and online casino. In slot world, penny can be so valuable because it can be a capital to get a life changing slot jackpot.

Penny slot machine is served with multi lines and as we all know, we should use all the lines if we want to play slot. From the fact, we can say that there is actually no penny slot machine, but since it allows penny, the amount of money we have to spend for a game is smaller than the other slot machines. It means penny slot machine suits for those who have a little budget on slot. Therefore, if we want to play in penny slot games it will be better for us to read the information about the machine such as how many reels are in the machine. If we have known how many reels available, then we can multiply the amount of the coin per reel with the reel number. The result is the cost that we should pay per spin.

Major Depression Study Launched

Psychiatrists have long known depression can be passed genetically through families, but not precisely how. Now, the National Institute of Mental Health has launched a large-scale study to try to answer that question.

Discovery of the specific genetic sequence responsible would offer new hope for more accurate diagnoses, better treatment and the possibility for prevention of the often disabling illness that afflicts more than 17 million Americans a year, experts say. Studies show the parents, siblings and children of a person who has major depression before age 30 are more likely to have it themselves.

Lose Weight and Feel Great! Sign up for the Easiest Weight-Loss Plan Ever

We heard you! Glamour's Exactly What to Eat to Lose Weight plan has been so successful that we're relaunching it with an incredible prize. You can lose up to 8 pounds this month with our free healthy eating plan. Bonus: You'll be entered to win a spa vacation just for signing up! Read on for how to eat more and weigh less!

Get to your healthiest weight--without the guesswork. Sign up here and we'll give you daily menus with breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks designed by Kathy McManus, R.D., director of nutrition at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, for the next month. Each time you try a menu, check it off the list. Bookmark your favorites, keep private notes and share your comments with other users. In 30 days you'll be eating better than ever before--and feeling healthier.

Let's Get to the Bottom of This: Do Empire Waist Tops Hide or Accentuate Our Bellies?

I used to think that empire waist tops--you know, the type that cinch up just under your boobs and flow out from there--were the ultimate flatter-the-belly-and-body attire. Then I saw a photo of myself in one, and I'm second-guessing this age-old "slimming" look. Let's get to the bottom of this fashion question...

Erin, over at Single-ish, wrote this funny post about empire waist tops (and why guys hate them!). It's a subject I've been mulling for a long time, myself.

Haven't we all seen Stacy and Clinton steering their fashion pupils into empire tops and dresses on What Not to Wear? We're sort of conditioned to think that empire = slimming. But wait, is it?

Lactase Deficiency

Pity the poor fellow who gulps a glass of milk. Pretty soon he has gas, stomach cramps, and diarrhea, and it never occurs to him (or, probably, to his doctor) that the culprit is milk. After all, milk didn’t make him sick when he was ten years old.

The answer may be something called lactase deficiency. Lactase is an enzyme that facilitates the digestion of sugar (lactose) that is a key ingredient of milk and milk products. If this sugar is not properly digested it causes an increase in intestinal bacteria, which in turn causes gas, stomach cramps, even diarrhea. Most children manufacture all the lactase they need. But for some unexplained reason, the production of lactase declines dramatically in 50 million adults. And because lactose is so common in so many foods – breads, cakes, cereals – and is also an ingredient in many common drugs, doctors often overlook lactase deficiency as the cause of stomach trouble.