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 Be an Askable Parent
Does your child feel it's OK to talk with you about
sexuality?
Read
more...
 Continue
to Learn
Anticipate your child's questions by learning the
stage of your child's sexual development. Read
more...
 Build
Bridges
If a child does not learn about sexuality issues
from a parent, the child will learn about sex elsewhere—from friends,
the internet, magazines, television and other sources. Read
more...
 Talking
to Your
Teens about
STIs
Each
year,
1 in
4 sexually
active
teens
will
get
an
STI.
Learn
what
you
can
do
as
a concerned
parent. Read
more...
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I'm
a teenager, I'm not at risk for an STI, right?
Wrong.
One
in every four teenagers will get an STI, even
though lots of teenagers think they know how
to protect themselves. There are other STIs
out there besides HIV, and they are on the
rise among teens. They include chlamydia, gonorrhea,
syphilis, herpes, and human papillomavirus
(HPV). |
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Can
you get an STI from a toilet seat?
No! You get
STIs by having sex (vaginal, oral
or anal) or by skin-to-skin touching.
Crabs, or pubic lice, may be transmitted
through sexual contact, sleeping
in infected bedding, sharing infected
clothing and possibly through sitting
on an infested toilet seat. However,
lice cannot survive away from the
human body for longer than 24 hours.
So contracting pubic lice from a
toilet seat is possible, but it's
unlikely.
Can I get HIV or another STI from getting
a tattoo or through body piercing?
There can be
a risk for HIV or another blood-borne
infection (like hepatitis B or C) if
the instruments used for piercing or
tattooing either are not sterilized
or disinfected between clients. Any
instrument used to pierce or cut the
skin should be used once and thrown
away. Ask the staff at the parlor
about their equipment. They should show
you what precautions they use,
or don't get pierced or tattooed there.
Can I get an STI from kissing?
This is
possible but not very common. If
your partner's mouth is infected
with an STI, then he or she may
be able to pass that infection
to your mouth during a kiss. Fever
blisters and cold sores (oral herpes)
can be passed through a kiss if
your partner is infected. HIV or
hepatitis B or C can only be passed
through kissing if there is the
exchange of infected blood. If
your partner has an infection in
his or her genital area, then you
won't get an infection from kissing.
Can I get an STI from oral sex?
Yes. During
oral sex, you can give your partner your STI and you can
get theirs. If you have a cold sore on your mouth and give
your partner oral sex, you and they can give each other an
STI.
Why do so many
teens get an STI?
It's
not always because you don't know.
Sometimes you. . .
- are
embarrassed about buying or getting
condoms
- feel
peer/date pressure
- use
alcohol and drugs
- have
a lack of knowledge
- believe
using birth control pills is enough
protection
- are
embarrassed about asking questions
- don't
plan ahead!
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See also . . .
FAQs | Sexual Intercourse
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