Taking Care of Your Body with Information

What is sexual and reproductive health?

Health is not just "not being sick." The World Health Organization understands it as physical, mental, and social well-being. Sexual and reproductive health applies that idea to your body, your emotions, your relationships, and your decisions.

It has three dimensions that support each other:

Concrete actions that help maintain it:

• Daily hygiene and caring for your body.

• Getting information from reliable sources: your teacher, science books, the doctor, the health center.

• Going to the doctor with any question or discomfort, without embarrassment.

• Respecting your decisions and those of others: no one should pressure you.

Why get informed starting in secondary school?

In adolescence your body changes because of hormones, and new questions begin. It is better to resolve them before you need the answer. Preventing means acting before the problem happens.

Two good arguments for getting informed early:

1. Information lets you prevent. Many risks can be avoided if you know how they happen (infections, unplanned pregnancies) before facing them.

2. Myths spread fast. Among friends and on social media there is a lot of misinformation; if you already know reliable facts, you can tell what is false.

Reliable sources

Not all information is equally useful. Before believing something, ask yourself who is saying it and what evidence supports it.

Adolescents can go to the adolescent-friendly services at health centers (Secretaría de Salud, IMSS, ISSSTE): they offer free and respectful guidance.

What STIs are and why prevention matters

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are diseases caused by bacteria or viruses that are spread mainly through unprotected sexual contact. The abbreviation is "STI" (STD is a more casual usage).

Depending on the microorganism that causes them, what treatment can do changes:

• Bacterial STIs (for example, syphilis and gonorrhea): they can be cured with antibiotics prescribed by a doctor.

• Viral STIs (for example, HIV and human papillomavirus, HPV): in general they are not curable, but they can be controlled with medical treatment, and some can be prevented with vaccines (HPV, hepatitis B).

The most important thing: some STIs show no symptoms for a long time. A person can be infected, feel fine, and spread the infection without knowing it. That is why it is not enough to "wait until you feel something."

That is why two actions are essential:

• Prevention: getting informed and using protective measures (you will see them in the next sections).

• Early detection: going for checkups and tests even if you feel nothing.

Asking for help without embarrassment

Asking is not rude or something only "careless people" do: it is what responsible people do. You can go to:

• A trusted adult (mom, dad, aunt or uncle, teacher).

• The family doctor or the clinic (IMSS, ISSSTE, Secretaría de Salud).

• The adolescent-friendly services.

If something worries you or someone pressures or hurts you, tell a trusted adult: your well-being matters.

Back to the beginning: Ximena should believe the doctor, the science book, or the health center, not five random opinions. And it is better for her to know now because being informed makes it possible to prevent problems before they happen.

Resumen

• Sexual and reproductive health is well-being of the body, emotions, and relationships, with free decisions and respect.

• Getting informed starting in secondary school allows you to prevent problems and tell myths from facts.

• Reliable sources are doctors, health centers, science books, and health institutions.

• STIs are infections caused by bacteria or viruses that are spread through unprotected sexual contact; many cause no symptoms for a long time.

• Bacterial ones (syphilis, gonorrhea) are cured with antibiotics; viral ones (HIV, HPV) are controlled and some can be prevented with vaccines.

• Prevention and early detection are essential; asking for help is a responsible decision.