Find out how many sexual partners you’ve been exposed to indirectly.
First, enter how many people you’ve slept with in each age group:
I've had sex with...
Men
How many people have you slept with in each age group?
Women
How many people have you slept with in each age group?
Indirect sexual partners:
Shocked?
You can see why our doctors bang on about using condoms!
We've calculated how many people your partners are likely to have slept with before you. Then we calculated your partners' partners, and their partners' partners, and so on - for just six degrees. This number illustrates how exposed you can be to STIs, and how important safe sex is.
But even when using condoms, you're still at risk from STIs such as warts and herpes, and you may already be carrying a symptomless STI, so it's safest to get tested after each new partner.
Note: If you are not sexually active or have only one sexual partner who hasn’t had sex with anyone else, you will avoid sexually transmitted infections.
Get tested from home...
If you can't get time off work or you hate the idea of going to a clinic, order a test kit today and get tested from home.
If you have STI symptoms please visit your nearest GUM clinic or your local doctor for further advice.
Want to know your risk?
Our doctors can establish your STI risk and suggest the most appropriate tests.
Free Risk Assessment >Do you have symptoms?
If you have STI symptoms please visit your nearest GUM clinic or your local doctor for further advice.
Find your nearest clinic here.
About Sex Degrees of Separation – the STI risk calculator
Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) are on the rise, and many of these infections are symptomless. Here at LloydsPharmacy’s Online Doctor, we have decided to raise awareness about this worrying truth by illustrating the exponential effect of sexual contact.
Our Sex Degrees calculator is based on the theory of ‘Six Degrees of Separation’ – which is the sociological idea that we are all connected to each other by only six connections. Using this principle we take the number of partners you’ve had and what age they were when you last slept together, we multiply this by the number of partners they are statistically likely to have had, and by the partners of those partners, and the partners of those partners, (and so on) for six stages, or “degrees”, to estimate how many indirect partners you could have been exposed to sexually.
This calculator is not a diagnostic tool but it highlights how exposed you can be to STIs, and how this risk increases with each new partner. It’s not just your direct partners that you have to worry about, but your partners’ partners, and their partners’ partners, and so on. Obviously if you are not sexually active or have only one sexual partner who hasn’t had sex with anyone else, you will avoid sexually transmitted infections.
However, even if you use condoms you are still exposed to several types of STI; including genital warts and herpes which can also be transferred through skin-to-skin contact, oral sex, and even sex toys. So the key message is to practice safe sex, but also to get regularly tested for STIs. If you’re concerned about your sexual health, you can either talk to your local GP, GUM clinic, or you can order a discreet test via LloydsPharmacy’s Online Doctor service.
What is LloydsPharmacy’s Online Doctor Service?
LloydsPharmacy’s Online Doctor provides safe and reliable prescription treatments and services to anyone in the UK and Ireland. Our team of UK-based clinicians have treated over 1 million patients in Britain and are constantly developing new ways to provide remote healthcare in a convenient and safe way.
Amongst its many online services, LloydsPharmacy offers a discreet and convenient sexual health service which includes STI home testing kits and prescription treatments for the most common infections, along with treatments for other conditions such as erectile dysfunction.
Our tests can be ordered online and are sent in a plain unbranded package to the customer’s chosen address. Should any results return positively, then treatment may also be ordered online if it is clinically appropriate. We offer treatment for chlamydia, genital herpes and genital warts online, along with support and advice.
For a list of all our treatments visit: onlinedoctor.lloydspharmacy.com/uk/all-treatments.