How is your sexual health?
Talking about sex doesn’t have to be as difficult as you think.
Whether it’s knowing about your contraceptive choices, explaining STIs or pregnancy choices, you'll find
a brief overview below and contact advice to ensure you can access straightforward information.
All about STIs
Here's where you can start finding out more about STIs. Find out what they are, how you know the
symptoms and where you go for treatment. Knowing more is the best way to protect yourself and
other people from infections.
Some STIs can have no symptoms. If you don’t know you are infected and you don’t get treated, you can
be storing up some serious long-term health problems.
What is an STI?
An STI – or sexually transmitted infection – is basically any kind of bacterial or viral infection that can be spread through sexual contact. This doesn’t just mean unprotected sex. Some STIs can be passed on through oral sex (kissing, licking or sucking someone’s genitals), and some can be passed through sexual touching and skin-to-skin contact.
There are lots of STIs out there and you will probably already have heard of some like Chlamydia, gonorrhoea, genital warts, genital herpes, HIV...
Many are on the increase, and all of them can affect anyone. Some don’t show up straight after you get infected. Some can show signs a few days after unprotected sex. Others can go unnoticed for a long period of time. Some don’t ever show any symptoms at all.
The good thing about infections is that they’re often easy to sort out. But leave them untreated and they may cause serious damage to your long-term health.
Get tested quickly
If you're worried you may have an STI the most important thing is to get tested as soon as possible.
It’s easy to diagnose and treat most STIs so if you are even slightly worried that you may have one, you should go straight to your local sexual health clinic. These are usually based in hospitals and are called Genito-Urinary Medicine (or GUM) clinic, but you can also get tested at some Brook centres and Contraception and Sexual Health (CASH) clinics.
Don’t worry. All services are completely confidential and you can go to any clinic you want – it doesn’t have to be your local one. The staff are friendly and they won’t judge you. You don’t even need to give your name if you don’t want to.
It's wise to call before going to the GUM clinic to find out:
• Clinic opening times
• Where they are
• Whether you need an appointment or can just walk in
All about contraception
Types of contraception
There are lots of types of contraception to choose from and different things will suit different people.
All contraception is free on the NHS in the UK. If you’re not sure which type of contraception
you want to use, it’s a good idea to talk it through with someone you trust.
You can pick up free contraception and get confidential advice on which
method might be right for you from:
• Another young people's service
• A family planning clinic
• Your GP
• Another GP (if you don't want to go to your GP
• A Brook centre (if you are under 25)
All about pregnancy
What if I am pregnant?
Everyone has different reactions to finding out they're pregnant. Some people will be delighted, others will feel shocked. Everybody will need some time to think and some information about what to do next.
When a woman finds out that she’s pregnant she has three main options:
• To continue with the pregnancy
• To have an abortion
• To have the baby adopted.
Choosing whether or not to continue with a pregnancy is a really big decision and some people find it helpful to talk things through with a counsellor.
You can speak to a counsellor at some family planning centres or young person’s services or at a Brook Centre.
A counsellor can listen to how you’re feeling, answer any questions you might have and give you lots of information and support to help you make a decision that feels right for you.
All these services will be completely confidential, so no one will be told about your visit unless you say it’s OK.
Abortion
Abortion means deliberately ending a pregnancy so that you don’t have a baby.
People have lots of different feelings about abortion and you will need to think
about how you feel about it for yourself.
England, Wales and Scotland
In England, Wales and Scotland abortion is legal if you are less than 24 weeks pregnant and if two
doctors agree that it is necessary for one of the following reasons:
• Having a baby would upset your mental or physical health more than having an abortion. This means you
need to explain how you feel the pregnancy would affect your life to a doctor.
• Having the baby would harm the mental or physical health of any children you already have.
An abortion is also legal at any time in pregnancy if two doctors agree that:
• An abortion is necessary to save your life
• An abortion would prevent serious permanent harm to your mental or physical health
• There is a high risk that the baby would be seriously handicapped.
The number of weeks pregnant you are is calculated from the first day of your last period. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know exactly, a doctor will help you work it out.
To get an abortion free on the NHS, you need to be referred by a doctor or, in some cases, a nurse. This can be your own GP, or a doctor at a local family planning clinic, or at a Brook Centre if you are under 25.
So the first thing to do, if you think you want to have an abortion, is go to your doctor, a family planning clinic or a Brook centre. Once you have been referred for an abortion, you will need an appointment at the abortion clinic. Your medical history will be taken and a nurse or doctor will discuss what will happen next.
You can get abortions on the NHS, and you can also pay for an abortion. The earlier you decide to have an abortion, the easier it is to get a free abortion on the NHS.
There are a number of different places you can go for sexual health help, support, advice, testing and treatment. If you are in an emergency situation (like you need emergency contraception), you may choose to go to a different service than if you are thinking about your future contraceptive needs and would like to talk it through with someone.
Contacts:
NHS Choices -Will provide you with a comprehensive list of your nearest services.
Ask Brook 0808 802 1234
Confidential advice for under 25’s on all aspects of sexual health.
