Health Topic

Teen Sexual Health

During your teens you go through puberty and become sexually mature. Whether you choose to have sex or not, you should know how sex affects your health.

Reviewed Reviewed by a registered pharmacistGeneral information

Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.

About Teen Sexual Health

Teen sexual health is about how sex affects your physical and emotional health. It means knowing how to form healthy relationships and making decisions about sex that are right for you.

As your body changes during puberty, how you think, feel, and interact with others also changes. You may have new feelings and thoughts about sex. Understanding who you're becoming as a sexual young adult is also part of teen sexual health.

For all teens, taking responsibility for sexual health is part of growing up. Whether you choose to have sex or wait, responsibility includes knowing about:

  • Sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
  • Birth control
  • What a healthy relationship is

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), or sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), are caused by bacteria, viruses, and parasites that spread from person to person, usually during vaginal, oral, or anal sex. Some STIs are spread by skin-to-skin contact. Without treatment, some STIs can cause long-term health problems.

There are more than 20 types of STIs, including:

  • Chlamydia
  • Genital herpes
  • Gonorrhea
  • HIV
  • HPV (human papillomavirus)
  • Pubic lice
  • Syphilis
  • Trichomoniasis

STIs don't always cause symptoms. So it is possible to have an infection without knowing it and then pass it on to someone else. The only way to know for sure whether you have an STI is to get tested.

The most reliable way to avoid infection is to not have vaginal, oral, or anal sex. Saying "no" to sex is the right choice for many teens.

If you decide to have sex, "safer sex" practices will lower your chance of getting an STI. They include:

  • Talking with your partner about preventing STIs and getting tested before having sex. If you can't talk about STIs, you aren't ready to have sex.
  • Getting the HPV vaccine. You can be vaccinated between ages 9 and 26.
  • Using condoms correctly every time you have vaginal, oral, or anal sex: External (male) latex condoms provide the best protection against STIs. If you or your partner is allergic to latex, you can use polyurethane condoms.
  • Internal (female) condoms, made of nitrile, are placed inside the body (vagina or anus). They may be less effective against STIs than latex external condoms.
  • Don't use both type of condoms together because that increases the chance they'll rip
  • Use a dental dam (a square piece of latex, polyurethane, or nitrile) to protect the mouth during oral sex

The only sure way to avoid pregnancy is not to have vaginal sex.

If you decide to have vaginal sex, birth control can help prevent pregnancy. There are many types of birth control that work in different ways. Your health care provider can help you choose birth control that's best for you.

Condoms are the only birth control method that protects against STIs. But condoms alone aren't the most effective form of birth control. It's safest to use condoms with another form of birth control to prevent both STIs and pregnancy.

Healthy sex starts with a healthy relationship, so it's important to take an honest look at how you and your partner treat each other. Your relationship may be healthy if it includes:

  • Respect. You and your partner value each other's feelings. Neither of you pressure the other to do things they don't want to do.
  • Trust and honesty. You always tell the truth and trust your partner to do the same.
  • Good communication. You feel safe talking openly about your feelings, STIs, and other relationships. And you both listen.

Your relationship may be unhealthy if it includes:

  • Jealousy and control. One of you wants to make all the decisions and tries to keep the other from spending time with their friends and family.
  • Disrespect. One of you makes fun of the other person's ideas and feelings.
  • Pressure. One of you tries to bully the other into doing sexual things they don't want to do.
  • Violence. Hitting, shoving, grabbing, and sexual assault should never be part of a relationship. If you don't know how to end a violent relationship, get help.

Your decisions about sex can affect your future health. Make sure that you know the facts so you can decide what is right for you.

It sits within Children and Teenagers and Sexual Health Issues.

When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.

Research on Teen Sexual Health

277 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.

What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.

Research currently under way

Research already completed

Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.

Where to read more

Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.

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Diagnosis and Tests

Related Issues

Clinical Trials

Medical subject headings

Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Adolescent, Sexual Behavior. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.

This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Teen Sexual Health, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.