Protective measures
to take if you had unprotected sex
Unprotected sex is engaging in sexual intercourse (vaginal,
anal or oral) without a condom, especially with a partner one is just meeting
for the first time and whom one does not know anything about their sexual
lifestyle and history prior to that point. A situation where the condom tears
during intercourse with such one-night-stand partner is also an unprotected
sex.
The danger of having unprotected sex is majorly the very
high risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) such as HIV;
secondly, there's the risk of unwanted pregnancy for women in addition to
contracting an STD. Doctors advice; whenever you engage in an unprotected
sexual intercourse, don't hesitate to take the following steps to make sure
nothing goes wrong with you health wise:
1. Seek an Emergency Contraception.
For women, unprotected sex comes in the form of sex without
a condom, which can happen in a one-night-stand setting or a rape situation; or
the condom tearing during intercourse. Once any of these happens, efforts should
be made to rush to a good hospital (a specialist
gynaecology clinic is highly recommended) or a good pharmacy nearby
to get an emergency contraception.
An emergency contraception is a form birth control method
taken after an unprotected sex that prevents the woman from getting pregnant.
For it to be effective, it must be taken within 5 days after the unprotected
sexual intercourse. Some examples of emergency contraception include Postinor
which is most effective when taken within a day after the unprotected sex; its
effectiveness at preventing pregnancy declines rapidly if you delay taking it
to any time beyond 2 days after the unprotected intercourse. Postinor may have
side effects in some women and these include very scanty or very heavy
menstrual bleeding, dizziness, lower abdominal pain, and vomiting.
However, postinor may not work in women who are overweight
or obese. In this case, a specialist gynaecology clinic is the best place to go
where an intrauterine contraceptive device (IUCD) will be inserted into the
woman. IUCD is close to 99% effective at preventing pregnancy if inserted
within 5 days after the unprotected sexual intercourse.
2. Go for HIV screening and tests for other sexual
transmitted infections (STIs).
Both men and women should go for HIV screening and tests for
other STIs as soon as possible after having an unprotected one-night-stand sex.
For HIV test, a screening test
is done after which one is required to come back in 3 months' time for another
screening. If there's a very high suspicion that the partner could be
HIV-positive, the doctor may advise you start the highly active antiretroviral
therapy regimen (HAART) as a post-exposure preventive treatment and come back
in 3 months for HIV test.
Also, both the man and woman should watch out for any
symptoms like unusual discharge from their private part and quickly go for a
test for STIs in order to start treatment for them immediately.
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