Can emojis prevent AIDS?

Condom emoji may save you from unsafe sex

Soon, the world may have condom emoji on our emoji keyboard as Durex has launched an international campaign calling for its creation ahead of world AIDS Day on December 1.

It may be easy to suggest sex with emojis, but there's nothing that shows safe sex. Now, Durex is encouraging its customers to call upon the Unicode Consortium, who oversee the introduction of new emoji, to introduce a condom emoji in their next update, the Independent reported.

As per Durex, an official safe sex emoji will enable young people to overcome embarrassment around the discussion of safe sex.

They also say that the condom emoji could encourage conversation and raise awareness of the importance of using condoms in protecting against sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV and AIDS.

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Now, STD home-testing kits that can spare blushes

Now there's a new STD home-testing kit that will answer prayer's of those who are too embarrassed to go to a clinic.

Now, you can order "sex MOT," the do-it-yourself STD testing kit that's available online from your smartphone, the Mirror reported.

By going online they will be sent a home testing kit and samples are then posted to a lab with results sent via text or email. The mail-order tests for Chlamydia, Gonorrhoea, Syphilis and HIV.

If they test positive patients are referred to their local clinic and fast tracked dodging the queue. The tests results are sent back in just days rather than the current 7 to 10 days.

The not for profit firm behind the cyber-testing scheme said it can slash the costs to the NHS by over half.

Gillian Holdsworth, a consultant in Public Health Medicine and Programme Director for the scheme SH:24, said that it aims to increase efficiency and improve the experience for users and radically improve sexual health outcomes.

It is available 24 hours a day, with confidentiality and results by text within a week guaranteed.

Photograph: Veronica Belmont/Creative Commons