Your sexual health
Girls face lots of physical and emotional changes when they become a teenager and it can be a very turbulent time. Girls get monthly periods (menstruation), develop breasts and grow hair near their genitals and under their arms.
It’s really important to look after your body and this includes looking after your sexual health.
Staying free from sexually transmitted infections is important because if they are left untreated they may have serious health consequences and may even prevent you being able to have children in future years.
Watch out for infections
- Just like the rest of your body, your vagina can be affected by infections and when you are sick, stressed or on antibiotics.
- You can catch infections by having sex with a person who has a sexually transmissible infection (STIs). See your doctor as soon as possible if you notice something different such as itching, soreness, unusual discharge, swelling or pain.
Get a Pap smear regularly:
- You are encouraged to have a Pap smear test two years after you first have sex.
- The Pap smear test involves taking a sample of cells from the cervix to detect if there are any changes to the tissues or cells of the cervix. One of the most common causes of these changes is the Human Papillomavirus which is also responsible for causing genital warts.
- You don’t have to have a Pap smear before you can get the Pill.
- Remember the Pap smear is a routine test done by doctors and nurses all the time so there is no need to feel embarrassed.
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