 By J. Power, 14, HRM
I feel the biggest teen health threats are STD'S, STI'S, HIV, cervical cancer and teen pregnancy. In classes like PDR [health] they teach us about all that stuff and some people say if you have sex at a young age, you have a really good chance of having cervical cancer when you’re older. I feel that if you’re not ready to have a baby, you’re not ready for sex because even though you’re using a condom, sometimes people don’t know how to put them on right or it could break. Then what will you do?
How would you be able to tell your parents? The thought of that is really scary. If you thought you could get away with an abortion [which I feel is wrong] you wouldn’t be able to. It’s about $200 to get one and I’m pretty sure you need parental permission if you’re under the age of 18. So many kids are having sexual intercourse and they don’t realize how dangerous it is to your body and health. Now, at a young age I am being educated on another sexually transmitted virus called HPV… Human Papilloma Virus. My research shows there are approximately 100 types of HPV. Some HPV types only infect the genital area and may cause warts, some cause mild changes in cervical cells that do not turn into cancer, and some cause changes that may become cervical cancer if present for many years. Here are some good sites to get some information http://www.ashastd.org/hpv/hpv_learn_men.cfm or http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Health/TeenHealth/sexualhealth/stis/stihpv.htm
PREVENTION is the key to being safe, so...
Talk to your parents.
Ask the questions in PR class.
For most girls out there, if you’re having sex at a young age, I suggest you girls get a Pap test done.
Remember this is your body. Take care of it and it will take care of you. |
