The Condom Broke!

NOTEWORTHY WEDNESDAY!

When I worked as a nurse in a busy NYC Ob-Gyn practice “back in the day” women would call asking for the “morning after pill” if the condom broke…sex was fearless for the most part in the 70’s.
It was before too much was actually know about HIV and AIDS.
Herpes was a concern but mostly on talk shows…I never heard a mention of syphilis except when people were being tested prior to getting married, rarely was there a mention of gonorrhea, There was rarely a concern about hepatitis and never a mention of HPV. Chlamydia was for the most part unheard of.
Life did seem much more simple then but was it really simple?
No…HPV was present but we did not know all we now know and of course there was no vaccine being offered to young girls who were sexually active…pregnancy was preventable by taking “the pill” and there was no vaccine for hepatitis.
Fast Forward…
Today…if the condom breaks or if you choose not to use one you could be exposing yourself to many STD’s (sexually transmitted diseases). Some can cause complications leading to infertility, or cancer and in the case of AIDS death.
Sex education is a necessity…how early?
Well, as parents that seems to be a topic up for discussion along with who should provide sex education to our kids. Not providing sex education to me is a form of child neglect…our kids need to know how to take care of themselves and others.
The HPV vaccine is now available and parents should seriously consider this vaccine for their teenagers. But that discussion is being saved for another post. It seems parents are concerned that getting the HPV vaccine gives the go ahead to having sex.
Parents should figure out sooner than later how to discuss safe sex with their kids so that hopefully they will not have to be discussing something much more serious with them…
If the  condom does break… here are the tests and a nice discussion from BlogHer
  • Gonorrhea & Chlamydia– Can be tested for by a urine test or on certain types of Pap Smears
  • Herpes – Ask for a Type Specific Blood Test
  • HPV – Can be tested during a Pap Smear
  • Syphilis & HIV – A Blood Test
  • Hepatitis B & Hepatitis C – A Blood Test

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/morning-after-pill/MY01190