I know some teens think that having unprotected sex is no big deal, because they don’t think STI’s or unplanned pregnancy will happen to them. I understand your thinking process. I was also that kid who believed I’d never catch anything or that gross things like STI’s would  happen to anyone I knew. Then my mother opened the floodgates and taught me everything about sex education and the consequences of having unprotected sex.

Every week, we get a ton of questions asking everything from how to use a condom to how to talk to that cute guy in AP English. When we get a really good one, we want to share it with the world because—chances are—more than one person has the very same question. So, from time to time, we'll be sharing the best of the best (anonymously of course!)…have a question for us? Send us an email!

Spoiler Alert!  Unless you get tested by your doctor, there is no definitive way to know if you have a sexually transmitted infection (STI). It’s easy to fall into the trap of diagnosing yourself/your partner based on certain facts, pictures you’ve found on the Internet, or your own intuition. Unfortunately, it’s just not that simple. The following are some faulty assumptions people commonly make about STIs.  

THE MYTH: Douching with Coca-Cola (“Coke”) right after sex will prevent pregnancy.

My friends that have been pregnant have been through rough paths. For example, not being able to hang out with friends, go to parties, having to put their lives on hold. Having a child can be the biggest blessing for a woman, but a woman hecha y derecha.* A woman who knows what she’s doing, a woman that is already independent and doesn’t have to depend on her parents to help her with the baby, or her baby daddy to help her with anything.

This fall, The Possibility Project, a non-profit that runs youth programs in New York City, tackled the issue of safe sex and condom. But instead of printing out pamphlets or just passing out condoms, the Possibility Project kids decided to do something super innovative: they created a flash mob.

I love my siblings and my friends, and I would do everything to prevent them from getting hurt physically and emotionally. There is so much advice that I would give to my siblings and my friends about relationships but the most important ones that I think they should are STIs, pregnancy, and rumors.

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs)—the name pretty much says it all…they are infections that you catch through sexual contact. There’s a lot of different ones and their treatment, symptoms, and severity depend on which STI you’re talking about. The bottom line, though? You don’t want to get any of these. The surest way to avoid STIs is to avoid having sex. If you are having sex, though, make sure you’re using birth control that protects against STIs each and every single time you have sex.

Sometimes it seems like everyone is doing it…especially if you’re not. But less than half of teens in high school (only 42% of girls and 43% of boys) have had sex. That means that more than half of all high school students are virgins. And the younger someone is, the more likely they’re a virgin. For example, less than one-third of teenagers age 17 and younger have had sex, while 60% of 18- and 19- year-olds have.