Five dangerous sex myths and what you need to know

MYTH: The morning-after pill is an abortion pill.

TRUTH: Morning-after pills are NOT the same as the abortion pill. Emergency contraceptive pills such as Plan B prevent pregnancy. The abortion pill terminates an established pregnancy.

HOW IT REALLY WORKS: The active ingredients in morning-after pills are similar to those in birth control pills, except in higher doses. Human conception rarely occurs immediately after intercourse. Instead, it occurs as much as several days later, after ovulation. During the time between intercourse and conception, sperm continue to travel through the fallopian tube until the egg appears. So taking emergency birth control, even three mornings after, isn’t too late to prevent pregnancy. The morning-after pill has to be taken within 72 hours of intercourse with a second dose taken 12 hours later. I cannot stress enough: The morning-after pill WILL NOT TERMINATE AN ESTABLISHED PREGNANCY.

MYTH: Oral contraceptive pills make you gain weight.

TRUTH: A recent study combining the results of 47 separate trials showed no relationship between oral contraceptive use and weight gain.

WHY YOU THINK THEY DO: About 60% of the websites inspected in Dr. Sophia Yen’s research displayed incorrect information about the side effects of birth control pills, including that they cause weight gain. Since so many teens and women get their health information online, it’s no surprise that this myth gets easily perpetuated.

MYTH: Lesbians and virgins don’t need annual pap tests; also, pap tests test for AIDS.

TRUTH: Pap tests test for Human Papilloma virus (HPV) and nothing else. HPV can cause cervical cancer. Every woman needs a pap test.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: You should have your first Pap test at age 21 or within three years of becoming sexually active, whichever comes first. All women should have an annual Pap test until the age of 30, when they can get the “DNA with Pap Test” to test for HPV at the same time. DO NOT douche before the test (or ever). Douching may remove cells your doctor is trying to collect on the smear.

MYTH: You have to have sex to get an STD.

TRUTH: Many STDs, including herpes and genital warts, can be spread through kissing and skin-to-skin contact.

WHAT THAT MEANS TO YOU: This means you can get an STD even with a condom. There are no tests for genital warts, and herpes blood tests do not indicate whether the infection is genital or oral. Discuss these two diseases with any new partner. Have you or your partner ever had genital herpes or cold sores on the mouth? Have either of you ever had genital warts diagnosed?

MYTH: An IUD (intrauterine device) is dangerous, painful and can only be used after you have a baby or are older than 25.

TRUTH: Unlike its archaic predecessors, an IUD like Mirena is one of the safest, most reliable methods of birth control and can absolutely be used by teens, women with no children and virgins.

WHY THEY GOT A BAD RAP: In the past, before the approval of today’s IUDs, some women experienced severe complications from certain IUDs. Though most complications were due to STDs (women were not tested before insertion back then), the associated devices have since been taken off the market. Partly due to its past negative image and despite its advantages, the IUD is still not as commonly used among U.S. women, though more than 85 million women worldwide take advantage of its extreme ease and effectiveness. It offers numerous advantages, including a high level of protection against pregnancy (0.1 pregnancies in 100 users vs. 8 per 100 in pill users), long-term protection, cost-effective (according to Planned Parenthood, IUDs are the most inexpensive, long-term, reversible contraception available in the world), they allow women to be more spontaneous (there’s nothing to mess with before sex and neither partner can feel it), privacy (no pills or packaging), it can be removed at any time by a health care provider and the copper IUD can be used by women who cannot use hormonal birth control.