Ask a simple question, get a pretty complicated answer. For one thing, is “sexual health” the same as “healthy sex”?
No, not for the purposes of this article. It actually may be easier to agree on a definition of “sexual health” in terms of what it’s not. It is not sex that results in the transmission of a sexually transmitted infection, the creation of an unintended or undesired pregnancy, or sex that occurs in the context of sexual assault wherein there is an absence of mutual consent.
Let me make it perfectly clear that my intention here is to provide you with useful health information based exclusively on my medical expertise and experience, and absolutely not as any type of moral authority. This week we’ll focus on the physical/biological aspects of sexual health. Next week, Nicole Green, director of the Campus Assault Resources and Education Program at UCLA Counseling and Psychological Services, will address the emotional/psychological side of the story.
If you are now or have ever been sexually active (i.e. engaged in oral sex, vaginal or anal intercourse); whether with a single partner or many, of the same or opposite sex, used adequate protection consistently or not; you should be screened for infections.
See a clinician at the Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center and ask to be screened for hepatitis C, HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia. These diseases can all be asymptomatic, sometimes for many years, but can still be transmitted even if you don’t know you have them.
Once you’ve been screened and (hopefully) find out you don’t have any of these awful diseases, grab a handful of free condoms as you’re leaving the Ashe Center and then use one every single time you have intercourse. Condoms are remarkably effective when used properly and consistently at protecting against both STIs and pregnancy.
Next, take advantage of the protection that is available in the form of vaccines. The human papillomavirus vaccine is approved for both men and women up to age 26 and provides outstanding protection against cervical cancer in women and genital warts on men that can transmit the virus.
And if you still haven’t completed the three-shot hepatitis B vaccine series, what are you waiting for? It’s also sexually transmitted and potentially devastating.
If you have the UC Student Health Insurance Plan then all the services I’ve described already are fully covered. And if you’ve waived the insurance and have outside insurance, most or all of it is probably covered, too.
Even if you’re not sure whether you’re going to become or continue to be sexually active, come see your personal primary care provider at the Ashe Center and find out about the options so that you are prepared when the time comes that you may need birth control.
Finally, for this week, let me just touch on alcohol, drugs and sex. When you get buzzed, drunk or high, you are no longer capable of making the same clear-minded and safe decisions that you would make while not under the influence.
People using drugs or alcohol are more likely to have sex with someone they’ve just met, with someone they may already know well but hadn’t intended to become sexually intimate with yet, forget to use a condom, not notice when a condom falls off or breaks, or find themselves in a dangerous place or situation where sexual assault is a greater risk. So understand the risks of allowing a drug or alcohol to take the place of your otherwise good judgment.
Sex is a deceptively simple little three-letter word, and a basic biological function critical to the survival of humanity. But it sure is complicated. Always has been. Always will be.
Dr. David Baron is the executive director of the Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center.