It's important to be aware of your sexual health. Cases of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are on the up. Chlamydia alone increased by eight per cent between 2006 and 2008. If you do not practice safe sex you are putting yourself at risk of contracting an STI.

You may have heard of Six Degrees of Separation. It's the idea that we're all just six connections away from everyone else on the planet. This is the inspiration for Sex Degrees of Separation. By answering the questionnaire below we will be able to calculate the number of indirect (and direct) sexual partners you have had, going back six degrees of separation.

The calculator is not a diagnostic tool but does highlight how exposed you can be to STIs if you do not practice safe sex. If you are concerned about your sexual health you can either talk to your GP, pharmacist or visit your local GUM clinic. Information regarding a range of sexual health issues can be found via the menu on the left-hand side of the page.

In July 2009 Lloydspharmacy commissioned the polling firm YouGov to ask 6,000 people over 16 about their sexual behaviour, specifically how many sexual partners they have had. We then created 17 age ranges and calculated the average number of sexual partners within each of these ranges.

When you enter the age range of each person with whom you have had sexual intercourse, the calculator raids its database to work out how many previous sexual partners people within that age range have had on average. It then repeats this process for their partners, their partners, their partners, their partners and their partners.

This is added together to give a Sex Degrees of Separation total.

Sex Degrees of Separation is not intended to be a diagnostic tool. It is designed to give you a rough estimate of the number of indirect sexual partners you may have had, going back six degrees of separation. It is based on the averages of claimed sexual partners within 17 different age ranges.