Thursday, June 7, 2007

Unsafe Sex - dont panic

Face it: Accidents happen. One night a condom could break. Or you stupidly might not have used one at all. But don't panic. Here's a complete primer on everything you need to know about preventing pregnancy and protecting yourself from STDs after you've done the deed.

There are few things more nerve-racking than waking up and remembering you had unprotected sex the night before. If you hav'nt experienced this dilemma yet, chances are you will, whether because the condom broke or you were so caught up in the moment that you threw caution to the wind and didn't even use one. Because as it turns out, bedroom blunders happen with alarming frequency: Research coordinated by Group Health Cooperative, a nonprofit health-care system, found that within a three-month period, 19 percent of women surveyed experienced condom slippage or breakage. Moreover, this isn't something your doctor's going to prepare you for; a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that only 25 percent of gynos say they routinely talk about emergency contraception with their patients.

If you wind up in this nail-biting situation, don't waste time cursing yourself out for not being more careful. You need to act quickly to prevent your biggest concerns from coming true. Whether you're worried about an unwanted pregnancy or an STD infection -- or both -- we've mapped out a clear guide to get you through. You'll want to print out these pages and keep them in your nightstand...just in case.

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