I teach the sex-ed class at my kids school.  I start with the girls in 4th grade with a very benign discussion about the changes their bodies will be going through soon.  It progresses from there-in 5th grade, I spill the big secret about what sex is.  In sixth grade we talk a lot about periods and more about sex. 

By 7th grade, it starts to get a little dicey-we talk about contraception, and we put condoms on vegetables.  Then comes 8th grade, and anything goes.  Not because I want it that way, but because these kids already know everything, or think they do, and they are dying for some good, true information. 

In 8th grade we talk about STDs, sexually transmitted diseases.  I tell the kids what a disease is, how you get it, what the symptoms (if any) are, and how to treat it (the best treatment of course, is not to have sex).  I tell the kids by the time I’m done with them, they will know more than their parents.  And I think in many cases, that may be true.

By the time I am done with them, they know that they should get screened for chlamydia yearly when they become sexually active, as 50% or more of chlamydia infections are asymptomatic.  Chlamydia can cause devastating consequences down the road, including chronic pelvic pain and infertility.  What woman wants to sit in her doctor’s office at 35 years old, with her husband, “Mr. Right,” and 2 years of infertility behind her and be told that she tests positive for chlamydia antibodies-meaning that she had chlamydia at some time in her past and never knew????

But chlamydia does not just affect teens. It has no age limitations and anyone can get it.  And the consequences can still be devastating-scar tissue and pain, pelvic abscesses necessitating urgent surgery, including hysterectomy and removal of the ovaries.  It doesn’t matter if a woman is all grown up, mature, well-off, she can still contract a sexually transmitted disease, and still suffer the devastating consequences.  

And lets not forget about some of the other things out there.  There’s human papilloma virus (HPV), the virus that causes cervical cancer.  HPV is very common, but there are some bad, high risk strains out there that if left untreated, will cause cancer of the cervix.  A couple of the strains cause genital warts.  There’s herpes, which is the most common sexually transmitted disease.  Often times, when someone is first exposed to genital herpes it is wildly painful, necessitating narcotic pain relief, and this is accompanied by systemic symptoms like pain and fever.  Not good. 

There are others as well, but let me just summarize by saying that everyone needs to be careful.  Be careful who you have sex with, no matter how old you are. 

If you are very young, best to wait to have sex until you are married or in a committed relationship because a few minutes of fun could change your life forever. 

If you are all grown up, you are not immune.  Choose your sexual partner carefully and protect yourself.  Everyone needs to protect themselves. Use condoms, though even condoms do not necessarily protect you from HPV or herpes.

I tell the 8th grade girls if you cannot look your boyfriend in the eyes and say “use a condom, we need to be safe” then you have no business having sex.  If you can’t ask him if he’s ever had any STDs like herpes or chlamydia, then you are not ready.  I hope they remember that for the rest of their lives, as you are never immune.