DocQ: Critics of trans kids have nothing to offer
During an Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) talkfest at Queensland Parliament House last week, a so-called ‘expert panel’ spent most of their time claiming a ‘gay conversion therapy’ ban would create trans kids. Dr. Fiona Bisshop, with on the job experience of hundreds of trans patients, looks at their claims. It’s hard to know where to …
DocQ on suicide: Asking for help is not weakness
It’s been a tough start to the year. Bushfires, upsetting stories about the suffering of our native animals and incessant heat. Then, in the last few days, an attack on a drag storytime event and a very public death by suicide of a troubled young man. We need to remember in difficult times, that asking …
DocQ Retrospective: Dr Fiona Bisshop’s decade in review
After over ten years of the DocQ column, Dr Fiona Bisshop looks back over a decade of healthcare advances in her DocQ retrospective. I realised when I began to write this, on the cusp of a new decade, that the column is now over ten years old. A lot happened in that time, especially in …
DocQ: Hooking Up With a Trans Guy
You see a really cute guy on Grindr and discover he’s a trans guy. Well, you’re only human – trans guys are hot, right?! But you have questions. You’ve never been with a trans guy before, and you wonder if there are things you need to know, and who do you ask? Here are some …
You Can’t Ask That! Douching with DocQ
There are a lot of questions that people are too embarrassed to ask, but I wish they would! Anything to do with bottoms can be awkward for people to talk about. However, as a sexual health doctor I do spend a large proportion of the day talking about and looking at people’s bums. This part …
DocQ: Lesbians more susceptible to breast cancer – Check today!
The risk of breast cancer in women increases with age. More than 70% of breast cancer occurs in women aged over 50. However, did you know that lesbians are two to three times more likely to develop breast cancer than straight women? This is because there are certain risk factors for breast cancer that are …
Sexual health and pap smears for trans men
Most people have heard of a Pap smear. It’s a test to check for precancerous changes in the cells of the cervix, the part of the body at the top of the vagina. Anyone who has a cervix and who has ever had penetrative sex (including with sex toys or fingers) should visit their GP …
AskDocQ: 14 things you need to know about syphilis
In the nineteenth century, hospitals used donkeys to breastfeed foundling babies born with syphilis. It’s true! They did it to protect wet nurses from catching the highly contagious disease. Syphilis, often thought of as an ancient disease, is on the rise again globally. There is currently an outbreak in the north of Australia mainly affecting …
AskDocQ: What does HIV viral load mean?
You’ve been cruising along with an undetectable HIV viral load for years. Suddenly – the horror – you go to your routine appointment and your doctor tells you there’s an actual detectable number for your virus. Maybe 30, 50 or 100, instead of the usual <20 result. It’s OK your doc says, it’s nothing to …
AskDocQ: The truth about steroids
Are you someone who uses performance enhancing substances? Maybe you’ve been thinking about buying steroids from a trainer or an online shop? Many guys use non-prescription testosterone and other substances to build up their muscles and get more out of their training sessions, sometimes “stacking” multiple anabolic androgenic steroids in a cycle. The levels of …