Archive for Март 27th, 2009

ROMANTIC AND SEXUAL FEELINGS: I’D LIKE TO HAVE A GIRL-FRIEND, BUT IS SOMEONE MY AGE (11) OLD ENOUGH TO HAVE SEX? I’M 12 AND THERE’S A CERTAIN BOY IN MY CLASS THAT I LIKE AND HE LIKES ME TOO. I’M SCARED OF HAVING SEX THOUGH. WHAT SHOULD I DO? WE KISSED GOODNIGHT AFTER OUR FIRST DATE. I WANT TO GO OUT WITH HIM AGAIN, BUT WHAT IF I GET PREGNANT?

Пятница, Март 27th, 2009

It’s usually younger boys and girls who ask these sorts of question. When we first heard questions like these, we have to admit that we were a bit shocked that boys and girls who were so young seemed to be asking questions about whether they were ready for sex. However, when we talked further with the very young boys and girls who asked these sorts of question, we realized that the reason they were asking them was often because they had very mistaken ideas about physical intimacy. Some of them seemed to think that kissing or being physically close in other ways happens almost as soon as you get involved with someone, or at least very

quickly – perhaps even before you’ve had a chance to get to know each other. Some seem to think that going on a date means you have to, at the very least, kiss the person goodnight or perhaps go further. Some even seem to think that having a boy-friend or girl-friend automatically means that you’re going to have sexual intercourse with that person.

These things just aren’t true, but it’s easy to see how a young person could get these mistaken ideas. In the books we read, it often seems as if two people no sooner meet than we turn the page and find them madly kissing each other. In the films it sometimes seems as if two perfect strangers no sooner look at each other than the next thing we know they’re having sex. Or on television programmes two people will be going out on their first date in one scene and in bed together in the next!

In real life things don’t usually happen quite like this. In real life a romantic relationship usually goes through several steps or stages of physical closeness before things get to the point of having sexual intercourse, if indeed the relationship ever goes that far. In real life it usually takes at least some time before a relationship ever gets to the point where two people are having intercourse. Moreover, in real life many romantic relationships, especially the ones we have when we’re young, never do get to the point of having sex. In fact, many relationships never go beyond the holding hands or goodnight kiss stage, if they go even that far.

So please don’t be confused by what you read in books or see on TV or in films. Going out or having boy-friends or girl-friends doesn’t mean that you have to have sex or kiss or even hold hands. Above all, remember that when it comes to romance and sex, you’re in charge and you don’t have to do anything that doesn’t feel right for you.

*139\95\2*

ROMANTIC AND SEXUAL FEELINGS: CRUSHES

Пятница, Март 27th, 2009

Crushes is yet another topic that always comes up when we talk about the kind of sexual and romantic feelings young people may have during their growing-up years. Having a crush means having sexual or romantic feelings towards a certain, special someone. Many young people develop crushes. Having a crush can be very exciting. Just thinking about or catching a glimpse of the person you have a crush on can brighten your whole day and you may spend delightful hours imagining a romance with that person.

Sometimes young people develop crushes on someone who isn’t vey likely to return their affections – a film star, a rock singer, a teacher, another adult or a friend of an older brother or sister. This sort of crush can be a safe and healthy way of experimenting with romantic and sexual attractions. These crushes are ‘safe’ because, no matter how much we may pretend otherwise, deep down we know that this unattainable person won’t really return our affections.

So we don’t have to worry about real life problems like what to say or how to act. And, because we’re making it all up, we’re free to imagine things turning out the way we want them to, without worrying about whether that person will like us back. In a way having a crush on someone unattainable is a way of rehearsing for the time in our lives when we will have a real romance.

But having a crush on someone unattainable can also cause a lot of suffering. One year some of the girls in our class developed crushes on a certain rock star. They plastered their bedroom walls with posters, wore badges with his face printed on them, pored over fan magazines, and generally had a great time sharing their feelings about him with one another. When the rock star got married, they were, naturally, somewhat disappointed, but one girl was more than disappointed. She was really upset. She had become too involved in her crush and the rock star’s marriage was devastating for her. If you find yourself developing a serious crush on someone unattainable, it helps to remind yourself from time to time that your crush isn’t very realistic and that this person isn’t very likely to return your affections.

Not all crushes are unrealistic. You may develop a crush on someone near your own age who you actually know through school, church, temple or some other group. If that person is interested in you, the crush can be especially exciting. But yearning after a person who doesn’t return your affections can be painful. If you find that your crushes are causing you problems, it helps to find someone – a friend, a parent, a teacher, another adult or a counsellor-with whom you can discuss your feelings.

*128\95\2*

OTHER HEALTH PROBLEMS: WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF A BOY ONLY HAD ONE TESTICLE? WHAT IS AN UNDESCENDED TESTICLE?

Пятница, Март 27th, 2009

Most males are born with two testicles. Every once in a great while someone is born with only one. Sometimes a man or boy could have an injury or accident that could crush one testicle so badly that it has to be surgically removed.

If a man has only one testicle, the other testicle takes over for the missing one and produces enough sperm so that he’ll still be able to make a woman pregnant. His sex life and everything else about him will be completely normal.

What is an undescended testicle?

Before a boy is born his testicles are up inside his body. After he is born, they descend (come down) into his scrotal sac. Sometimes one or both testicles don’t descend and then the boy has what doctors call an undescended testicle. (At times, cold weather, a cold bath, excitement or extreme physical activity will cause one or both of a boy’s testicles to retract, that is, to draw up close to his body, for a while. But this is a temporary condition. It’s not the same as an undescended testicle.)

No one knows what causes an undescended testicle, but doctors do know how to cure it. Sometimes the doctor can use medicine to make the testicle descend; at other times it’s necessary for the boy to have an operation.

*117\95\2*

SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES: CHLAMYDIA AND GENITAL HERPES

Пятница, Март 27th, 2009

This is another common STD, which can cause symptoms similar to those caused by gonorrhoea. The information on gonorrhoea also applies to chlamydia. Females are even more apt to be asymptomatic (without symptoms) with chlamydia. Like gonorrhoea, untreated chlamydia in females may lead to PID, infertility and other serious medical problems.

Genital herpes-This STD is caused by a virus known as herpes virus type II, or HV-2. The chief symptom is painful, blister-like sores in, on or around the sex organs. There may also be pain on urination, fever and flu-like symptoms. Genital herpes is incurable – that is, there is no medication that will rid the body of the virus. However, a person doesn’t always have the sores; they go away on their own, usually in, at most, a couple of weeks, but the virus remains in the body. It retreats deep into the body and usually comes back to the surface from time to time, causing new outbreaks of sores. A person can pass the disease during an outbreak and also for a period of time before and after an outbreak, so herpes sufferers must take special precautions to avoid passing the disease to others. Genital herpes is serious because there’s no cure and because having the disease increases a female’s chances of getting pre-cancerous and cancerous conditions of the cervix (the lower portion of the uterus which protrudes into the top of the vagina). Women who have genital herpes should have a cervical smear test every year to detect any changes in cells. If a woman has an attack of genital herpes when she is due to give birth, she might have a Caesarean section.

*103\95\2*

METHODS OF CONTRACEPTION: EFFECTIVENESS

Пятница, Март 27th, 2009

How effective a method is at preventing pregnancy is another important consideration. No method is 100 per cent effective. People sometimes become pregnant, even after sterilization, though this is rare.

However, there are some methods-the contraceptive sponge, the rhythm method, spermicidal pessaries and spermicidal creams and jellies when used alone (without a cap or diaphragm) – that aren’t very effective even if a person always uses them exactly according to instructions. For this reason, these methods should not be used by people unless they really wouldn’t mind if they became pregnant. These methods are not recommended for people who absolutely don’t want to become pregnant.

With the exception of the methods we just mentioned, the other methods listed in the contraception chart are quite effective, provided they are used properly and consistently. How effective these methods are depends on two things: on the method itself and on the user of the method. Most of the time, unplanned pregnancies are a result of the fact that people have failed to use their methods properly or at all. Even when people use their methods absolutely correctly, unplanned pregnancies can still occur because sometimes the method itself simply fails to do its job. For instance: a woman might ovulate despite the fact that she took her pills on schedule; a diaphragm might become dislodged during intercourse; a condom might break or leak, allowing sperm to get into the vagina; and so on.

*92\95\2*