“Religion isn't the only reason teens decide to wait until marriage to have sex. It's also dignity and preservation of self. I'm 18 and still a virgin.”
—Lea, 18, KY
I just had unprotected sex. Is there anything I can do?
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.
If you are under 18 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 18 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 by calling the Emergency Contraception Hotline at 1-888-NOT-2-LATE (668-2528). You can also find a list of providers, 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.
If you need to find a clinic, click here.
If you need a different type of hotline, check out our list here.
 Find Plan B here: NOT-2-LATE.com |
If you are under 18 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 18 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 by calling the Emergency Contraception Hotline at 1-888-NOT-2-LATE (668-2528). You can also find a list of providers, 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.
If you need to find a clinic, click here.
If you need a different type of hotline, check out our list here.
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Your Comments
question..
Posted by: Morginne on Mar 27th, 2008 2:40am
Do you know how effective plan B is if you take it the day
you had unprotected sex.. like say i had sex @ 2 AM on
monday, and took the pill at 2pm.. then at midnight on that
same day, i had unprotected sex again.. is it still
effective since it's in my system still? HELP!!
RE: This might sound so stupid
Posted by: DanR on Jan 24th, 2008 1:13pm
Not stupid at all! It is great that you have taken such
care in preventing pregnancy. A couple of important facts
for you: unless your boyfriend had ejaculated prior, there
is no sperm in pre-cum. If there was, the combination of
your birth control pill and Plan B are a good source of
protection. My two words of caution are to make sure you
are taking your birth control pills regularly or they are
not as effective, and to make sure you are also using
protection against STDs as well.
This might sound so stupid
Posted by: twirlygirlie on Jan 23rd, 2008 10:10pm
Okay, so I didn't actually have sex with my guy but I'm
still scared. We were messing around and he got some pre cum
on his hands. About 2 hours later he fingered me. Well I'm
usually on the pill but didn't take it the night before but
took it the night it happened (like 6 hours later) and took
the morning after pill about 28 hours after the whole thing
happened. What are my chances of getting pregnant? Thanks
for the help <3
cost!!!
Posted by: guatemalanlovers18 on Nov 27th, 2007 3:08am
one thing to keep in mind is that plan B and other EC are
for emergency. i am all about getting them when its a
EMERGENCY. its true that ppl get caught up in the moment.
ive had to use Plan B and sense i am underage my bf has had
to buy it for me, and its very hard for us to find the $50
to go buy it, and in some stores the $60 to go buy it. so if
we practice safe sex to begin with you will not only feel
better about yourself but also have some more moolah in the
wallet.
OVER THE COUNTER:
Posted by: freakonaleash on Aug 28th, 2007 11:17pm
This pill is not an abortion...
it is a condom in pill form
(minus the STD protection)
A condom can be bought by anyone
of any age: just check out your local men's room, for
goodness sake!!
If a man can get a condom, a woman she be
able to take a pill.
If the condome breaks? PILL IT!
Like
teenagers under 18 don't have friends or bro's/sis's who are
of legal age! If I wanted to my 18 year old b/f could get it
for me, who is underage. Actually, I think I'll have him do
so to prove my point!
very true
Posted by: babygirl877 on Aug 28th, 2007 4:51pm
i think it shouldnt be that hard for plan B either..but if
everyone could just get it then nobody would use the proper
condom& birth control methods. so its hard thing. im only 15
and i had to get PLAN B also, and i had to ask my sister
whos over 18 to get it for me since im still underage. its
kind of more of a lesson if anything for me. i mean..its
scary and i mean STDs and all that..you gotta think and the
guy should think too, ya know use the right stuff and we
wouldnt need a plan "b". =|
this sucks
Posted by: Morginne on Aug 27th, 2007 12:15am
i just had unprotected sex and i need to get EC but since im
not 18, i cant get it @ the pharmacy, and there's no way im
having my mom get it for me. it sucks because now i have to
go to planned parenthood in the next 2 days. i think they
should have EC available over the counter for girls 16 and
up.
i agree...it should be availible ova the counter
Posted by: sweetgirlstephahoo.com on Aug 1st, 2007 3:16am
i agree...i am 13 and i am not having sex yet and dont plan
on it any time soon but just say if one of my friends were
to have sex and no use a condom or the condom breaks i meen
i have a cousin that is 13 also so say it would happen to
her i meen they would need somethin to make sure that she
they dont get pregnant at 13 i meen it is embarassing to
talk to ur parent and even ur mom bout all this stuff it
would be horrible to have to tell her that you had sex and u
might be pregnant
should be available over the counter
Posted by: hello5 on May 29th, 2007 7:21pm
if someone is in a sticky situation they may not be
comfortable going to the doctor for a prescription, or may
not want their parents taking them. i think that it would
reduce the amount of unwanted pregnancies greatly. say a
condom is used but it breaks and you want the emergency
contraception fast but cant tell your parents you had sex,
what do you do? something should be done to make it
available over the counter in ALL states!
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RE: question..
Posted by: DanR on Mar 27th, 2008 9:36am
Plan B is a high dose of birth control that can be taken up
to 5 days after unprotected sex. The sooner it is taken
after unprotected sex, the more effective it is. Because
Plan B is working to prevent you from ovulating, you should
be OK, but may not be 100% effective. You should not use
Plan B as a regular form of birth control, and you should
know that Plan B does not protect you against STDs. For
more information on Plan B, check out this site:
http://ec.princeton.edu/.