It depends on what you mean by "just," and it depends on what you mean by "sex." If a girl had unprotected vaginal sex with a guy in the last 120 hours (about five days), she can take emergency contraception (EC). EC is basically two high doses of certain types of birth control pills taken 12 hours apart. It is NOT an abortion; it helps to keep a girl from getting pregnant.

 

Find Plan B here: NOT-2-LATE.com

If you are under 17 years old you will need to get a prescription for emergency contraception unless you live in Alaska, California, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, and Washington State. If you live in one of these states you can get emergency contraception directly from a pharmacist.

If you are 17 or older you can get the emergency contraceptive pill Plan B directly from a pharmacist in ALL 50 states and Washington D.C.

If you need a prescription for EC, you can find a health care provider near you, as well as answers to your questions about EC, at NOT-2-LATE.com, the Emergency Contraception Web site.

Remember that you must take the first dose of EC within 120 hours of unprotected sex.

The sooner a girl takes EC, the better. EC works within 120 hours after unprotected sex and the closer she takes it to the actual time of sex, the better. It can reduce the chance of a pregnancy by 75 to 89 percent.

As with any birth control pills, there are some possible side effects to taking EC. Some girls experience side effects, but most don’t experience any at all. The most common side effects are nausea and vomiting, although this tends to happen in fewer than half of the girls who take EC. Other common side effects include headache, tender breasts, fatigue and dizziness.

But keep in mind: Pregnancy isn’t the only thing you need to be worried about if you have unprotected intercourse. There are more than 30 sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) out there and many have no symptoms. So you can’t tell who has one just by looking at them. And basically, if you are at risk for pregnancy, or you could have caused a pregnancy, you’re at risk for an STD.

If you had unprotected sex of any kind, you AND your partner should be tested for STDs. Then be sure to use condoms every time you have vaginal or anal sex and condoms or dental dams every time you have oral sex, unless you know for sure that you AND your partner are STD-free. EC offers no protection against STDs.

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