Just For Teens
Sexually Transmitted Diseases:
Warts and HPV: ‘HPV’ is short for Human Papilloma Virus Papilloma are warts. Warts are highly contagious. Warts are easily treated in the office or possibly with medications you can apply at home, but they require several treatments to go away completely. HPV is a virus that has hundreds of sub-types. Some strains of HPV cause warts on your fingers, but not on your genitals; others cause warts on your genitals; and others increase your risk to develop cancer. HPV is very easily transmitted sexually and having multiple sexual partners is a significant risk factor to developing cancer. Dr. Lewis knows of a 26 year old woman who’s cancer had spread by the time she was diagnosed and she was ‘inoperable’ and did not have a great prognosis (survival was not great). This patients main risk factors for her cancer were smoking and multiple sexual partners. HPV can come and go on its own, too. If you test positive for high-risk HPV (the HPV subtypes that can cause cancer), do not panic as your body might fight it off on its own; but it can take months or years. You must instead keep up with all of the recommended tests and appointments to make sure nothing progresses. Ask us questions to make sure we are all on the ‘right track’ with your follow up treatment plan.
Gonorrhea and Chlamydia: These are bacteria that are also transmitted through sex. They may or may not create an unusual discharge and you may or may not know you even have the bacteria present. Both Gonorrhea and Chlamydia can cause pelvic infections (an infection that travels up from your vagina into your body/uterus/tubes/ and ovaries) that can create infertility (difficulty having children) later in life. We may do a routine screen for Gonorrhea/Chlamydia along with your PAP smear. If you are certain you’d like us to check for this, let us know and all we have to do is check an extra box that goes with your paperwork to the lab with your PAP smear.
Herpes Simplex: Herpes simplex is caused by a virus we call, “HSV”. Herpes is considered a sexually transmitted disease but some say that it can spread from touching a cold sore (maybe in your mouth) and then touching the genital region. HSV does not leave your body for life. HSV is not curable. HSV causes painful ‘cold sores’. We can give you medication to help your body fight outbreaks faster, but you can have intermittent outbreaks for life. It is a very common sexually transmitted disease.
Syphilis: Syphilis is an older sexually transmitted disease that became rare; but now the incidence is on the rise in the United States. Syphilis can live in a person’s body for years and may eventually affect major blood vessels and nerves in the body if left untreated. Syphilis testing is not routine except in pregnancy.
Preventing Sexually Transmitted Diseases: Abstinence – complete ALWAYS use condoms. No matter how serious you feel the relationship, always use condoms.
BIRTH CONTROL:
If you decide to have sexual intercourse and you are able to speak to your parents, let them know and you may be surprised at their response! They might be more open than you realize! They can help you prevent unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases that may not have cures.
Birth control pills: These are the most common forms of birth control and there are several brands, choices, levels of hormones, and prices! Facts: *Just about any birth control pill will help with acne. If you are unhappy with the pill you are trying, let us know and we can help change brands. *You must be faithful and take your pills everyday. ` *You should not gain weight from the pill. If you are unhappy with your pill, let us know and we can help change brands. *You have higher risks for blood clots in your first year of use. Blood clots can cause strokes (you can become paralyzed or unable to talk). You must come in for regular checks while on the pill, including a blood pressure check in the first 3 months of starting any new brand of pills. *Birth control pills will NOT affect future fertility. *Birth control pills should make periods lighter with less cramps.
Myths: *Weight gain. *Birth control pills will not protect you from sexually transmitted diseases! Birth Control Patches and Rings – they are essentially birth control pills in a different form. Patches must be changed weekly. Patches work best if you are under 160 pounds.
Birth Control Shots: Depo Provera is a birth control shot that is given every three months. Women may have irregular bleeding, constant bleeding, or the lucky ladies who have no periods while on Depo Provera. If you have constant bleeding on Depo Provera, the best thing is to wait for the shot to completely leave your system. This may take 6 or more months to have regular periods after an injection is given. New recommendations: only use the Depo Provera injections for 2 years maximum.
Click here to view Birth Control Fact Sheet
THE FEMALE EXAM:
PAP Smear: The PAP smear was invented by Dr. Papanicolaou. It is the ONLY test so far that PREVENTS cancer in women. All other tests (for example a mammogram) only help us find cancers after they exist. Pap smears can detect pre-cancers that we can treat before ever turning into cancer. The Pap smear involves rubbing your cervix to test the skin cells on its surface. We send the sample to the lab and should be contacting you with results within 2 weeks. If you have not heard from us by two weeks, call us.
PELVIC exam: The pelvic exam is different from a Pap smear. A Pap smear is performed when we ‘smear’ your cervix skin cells on a slide or slush them in a bottle of liquid and send it to the lab. A pelvic exam might be just looking at your cervix or testing some of the mucous for an infection. A pelvic exam also includes a ‘bimanual exam’. A bimanual exam means we use both hands to get an idea how big your female organs are – we place a finger in your vagina to gently press on your cervix and use our other hand to gently press on your abdomen. This should be a painless exam.
Your Anatomy: Your uterus is a hollow muscle that is there to hold a baby when you are pregnant and flush out every month if you are not pregnant. It is about the same size and shape as a regular light bulb. Your cervix is the bottom part of your uterus. It has an opening that dilates when you have a baby and holds the baby in your uterus while you are pregnant. The cervix would be equivalent to the screw in part of a light bulb (the bottom part) and is ‘screwed’ into the top of your vagina, which is just a wrinkled up tube. Your vagina is a wrinkled up tube that provides the passage way for a baby to come out. It is a dead end at your cervix. It stretches. Your tubes are the tubes that allow the sperm and egg to be transported toward each other. They are up inside, just behind your pubic bone, on the right and left sides. Your ovaries are about the size of prunes and they produce your hormones and the egg. Birth control pills/patches/rings/ and shots all prevent your ovaries from making eggs.