Wagga youth are being urged to utilise free sexual health resources including new sexual health app Geni, and/or speak to their general practitioner before and after engaging in sexual activity.
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Glenrock Country Practice GP Dr Ayman Shenouda said it's important for youth to be having those important conversations around sexual health and what it means, and a good place to start is with the local GP or by downloading Geni.
"There are a lot of things that we need to discuss," Dr Shenouda said.
"Sexual health includes discussions regarding contraception, consent, pregnancy, understanding what your rights are and sexually transmitted infections [STI's].
"In Wagga, we need to see more youth coming in for sexual health checkups, it's not happening enough."
Dr Shenouder said youth should be learning about sexual health and discussing it with a GP before even thinking about having sexual intercourse.
"Young people need to feel free to talk to their GP and understand that whatever is exposed to their GP is very confidential. It's about their health and the health of others.
"Don't be shy, come in and discuss it, if you want more information, you can also access sexual health apps such as Geni.
"Geni will help guide patients- it not only has excellent education resources for sexual health but it also helps patients to make the right choices and decisions.
"If visiting your local GP is too confronting, then at least download the app."
Dr Shenouda said it is important to understand sexual health is related to a magnitude of things.
"Teenagers, when they come to approach sex, consent is also a major issue in our region," he said.
"There are a lot of issues we need to explore and the best person to do that with is your local GP.
"Before you even embark on a sexual activity, I think it's very healthy to have a discussion with a GP, regardless of your gender."
IN OTHER NEWS:
While sexual health comprises of various components, one major one is sexually transmitted infections, an issue that doesn't discriminate when it comes to age or gender.
"We know that with STI's, especially within our region, there's a lot of issues with it," Dr Shenouda said.
"If you don't have a regular partner then you have to use contraception- the common thing we say is if it's not on, it's not on.
"We want to encourage youth and empower them to say what they need to say, especially when it comes to being in an intimate relationship.
"Having an STI can affect sexual health in general, there can be chronic issues that can last forever that will affect sexual activity in the future, future sexual partners and spouses, but also it can affect their fertility and a lot of other things.
"Opening up and discussing treatment in good timing is the best thing to happen for them and others."
Dr Shenouda said STI's can have the same 'devastating' effects for all genders.
"Advice should be just as hard for males as anyone," he said.
"Males fertility can also be affected by an STI.
"It can cause chronic disease in the tubes that carry the sperm which can affect their fertility."
Geni is available to all youth free of charge and can be downloaded onto your phone.
The sexual health app assesses a person's risk of having an STI, creates non-invasive reminders for when a person should attend a sexual health check and delivers informed sexual health advice that has been fact-checked by healthcare professionals.
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