Plan B

Merry Christmas! Hope everyone’s semesters went well and you’re enjoying your winter break now. I know I am! I finally have some free time to breath and relax, so I thought what better opportunity to make another post?

Even though there’s a lot of different kinds of birth control out there, I think there are three main ones that kids our age know about and use. Condoms and the pill are two of them. The third is one that a lot of kids hope they never have to use, but consider a lifesaver when they do use it: Plan B.

Like the name implies, Plan B is a last resort sort of thing - you don’t want to use it unless you absolutely have to. It’s a couple pills that you take within 72 hours of having sex if your other contraceptive method failed (like if the condom broke) or if you just didn’t use one. You can take the first pill any time within 72 hours, then take the second 12 hours after the first. Plan B is extremely effective, but there’s a reason it’s a last resort.
It’s expensive, for one thing. As you can see at that link, it’s $55 for the two pills, so one use. That’s like paying $55 for one condom. But worse than that, it hurts like a bitch. How it works is it floods your system with hormones, so it’s going to make you sick, no question. That’s why it’s called “emergency” contraception - you should only use it in emergencies when you’re worried that you had unprotected sex. And a note, it doesn’t protect against STDs, obviously. But if you had unprotected sex, even though it sucks, you SHOULD use Plan B. It will work, pretty much guaranteed. And I think we can all agree that the price and the feeling like shit for a day afterward are worth not being pregnant. So even though you should use Plan B as a LAST RESORT, you SHOULD use it if you didn’t use any other form of birth control. Oh, also, even though I linked to a website, don’t buy it online. It won’t get there in time, even if you do express shipping you don’t want to risk it. You can buy it over the counter at your local drugstore. I’ve heard that you need a prescription if you’re under 18, but I’m not positive about that. 18 and older you can definitely get it over the counter, though. Alright, I think that’s it about Plan B. If you have any questions, as always, ask away. Enjoy the rest of your winter break, and be safe!

Dental Dams

Damn, this semester might be my busiest yet. Sorry it’s been over a month since my last post. I’ve just been swamped with work and homework and I haven’t really had the time for this, as much as I wish I did, because it’s still important to me.
You know, you’d think with how long it’s been I’d have something to post about burning at the forefront of my mind, but I don’t, really. I think I’ve sufficiently beaten the message of USE CONDOMS into your head, and I’ve talked quite a bit about the pill, too. And really, I don’t know what other forms of birth control I can talk about. All of the others fall into one of two categories. They’re either not effective enough to warrant mentioning (like diaphragms and cervical caps) - seriously, if you want an over-the-counter prevention method, use a condom. They’re the most effective over-the-counter; that’s why they’re so popular. And then there are several other more effective methods, but they require a doctor to prescribe them to you and they’re not all that common. That’s stuff like Depo-Provera injections or Norplant inserts. I don’t know nearly enough about them to talk about them much, so I’m not going to pretend to. Really, the only birth control I know a lot about are condoms and the pill, but those are the most important, I feel, because they’re the two used most by college students.
Come to think of it, though, there are some other products I could talk about. There are products, for example, designed to help protect against STDs that don’t prevent pregnancy. The most common of these is the dental dam.

This is an example of a dental dam. They’re used during oral sex to prevent the spread of STDs. Now, I know, you’re probably all laughing at me for even suggesting this. Because they’re really not common, at all. I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve never seen one before in your life. Most teenagers haven’t. And I’ll agree, they’re less important than condoms. But if you know that your partner has an STD around his mouth - and YES, that is just as possible as having one in your genital area - I’d recommend using dental dams when you engage in oral sex. If you know your partner doesn’t have an STD, you don’t have to worry about it - and don’t just take his word for it if you don’t know him that well. Guys lie. Big surprise. But if you think he does, as lame as it might seem, a dental dam might be a good choice. Better the embarrassment of pulling one of these out than getting an STD from oral sex. And just for emphasis, I’ll repeat - you CAN get an STD from oral sex. So it can be just as important to protect yourself then as during regular sex. I know most of you probably won’t start using dental dams as a result of this post, but I felt that I should make it to educate you about them, at the very least. Hopefully at least knowing the information was helpful to you.