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Staying Healthy After Having Unprotected Sex
Michelle Hopkins
If you have been in a situation where you had unprotected sex with an acquaintance or stranger, you will want to take steps in ensuring your health is not compromised afterwards. This can be an anxious time and most people tend to keep to themselves after being in this type of occurrence. To protect yourself, there are a few steps you should take to make sure you remain healthy after having unprotected sex.
Get Tested For Diseases
Unless you had seen documented evidence that the person you were intimate with had negative test results for sexually transmitted diseases, you are at risk for contracting one yourself. You cannot rely on someone's promise to you that they are not infected with a disease, making testing very important for your health. You can go to a clinic to get free STD testing done if you cannot afford to pay for them. This is a great alternative over going to your family doctor if you prefer to keep the incident private.
Testing would most likely be done via urine collection or blood draw. Some tests would need to be mailed to a laboratory for confirmation. You will need to call or go back to the facility to get the results. If you find you were infected with a sexual transmitted disease, follow-up would need to be done with your family physician to get proper treatment.
Consider Pregnancy Options
If you had a heterosexual encounter, pregnancy may be an issue. If you are a female, think about taking an emergency contraception pill if pregnancy is not desired at this time. If you are a male, keep in contact with the person you had unprotected sex with to talk about the possibility of an unplanned pregnancy. A pregnancy counselor can be contacted if a test is taken giving positive results a few weeks after you had unprotected sex. You would then be able to discuss your options, helping you to make a decision in how to handle the situation.
Discuss Your Feelings
If you are feeling upset or guilty about the sexual encounter you had experienced, think about talking with someone. If you want to make sure the same incident does not happen again in the future because you are unhappy with the way you feel afterwards, then talking about the situation with a professional may help. Talking with a counselor is better alternative than a friend if you do not want anyone knowing about your personal life. The discussion will be in confidence and you will have a chance to talk through your feelings without criticism or fear of others finding out.
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