to be uterly depressed watching The Hospital

[Fibilou]

The last episode was on sexual health in teens. The kid are just so clueless, the "safe sex" message just doesn't seem to be getting through.
"how many partners have you had this week" "4" "did you use a condom" "with two I think"

"do you wear a condom" "only if the girl asks"

There was a bloke that thought chlamydia was a "rite of passage" and didn't seem at bothered about his genital herpes when he was told it couldbe "managed".

And no judgement, no telling them to stop shagging anything that moves, completely unprotected. Perish the thought someone might tell them they're doing something stupid. All the HCPs just trottedout platitudes about it being "very common" and "not to worry about it".

I know it's only a TV programme and was only a tiny fraction of teenagers so not representative of all teens/young adults but I found the ignorance and lack of interest in their sexual health really shocking. And a bit of a damning indictment of our sex education classes

Sex Ed in our school was pretty poor. In fact, we had a talk on periods and puberty in 4th year (when we were 15) and about 98% of the girls had started their periods long ago.

I remember some vague sex ed lessons from our maiden science teacher when we were around 13. But it was more about: you're a boy, you have a penis; you're a girl, you have a vagina.

I learnt all I knew from books, TV and talking to people.

The school I went to was pretty rough, lots of teen pregnancies and girls with low self-esteem.

Have just found out that the most utterly irresponsible 18 year old I know is about to have a baby, very sad.

irresponsible as in couldn't hold down a job with us for more than a few days, gets drunk/fights/gets arrested every weekend.

Not suggesting all teenage mums are irresponsible.

Ripeberry - i used to volunteer for a charity that did just that, go into secondary schools and talk to young people about sexual health.

Groups of 'At risk' teens were identified and we talked to them about respecting themselves and others, about HIV/AIDS and other STI's, showed them how to put a condom on properly ect. We used to go around most of the secondary schools in our area at least once a year (except for the local Catholic school) and we did good work.

Sadly our funding was pulled and the charity closed down soon after.

tokyonambu Can i just point out that you're saying 'The spread of AIDS infection' and that's actually wrong. You cannot spread AIDS. You can however spread HIV, which can lead to an AIDS related illness.

Sorry - i think i was a pedant in a previous life.

as a youngster I went there to have some genital warts iced off

happy days.....happy memories.................

BarmyArmy - Ummmmm - I think that most children know what fireworks as cigarettes are and how to use them. What with the whole seeing people using them thing.

Disturbing that so many didn't use condoms. I felt that they should have been shouted at a bit more.
But to be honest, I think you're all being slightly too critical of somet of them.
How bothered should the boy who got herpes have been? What was he meant to do, sit there and cry? It isn't actually a big deal to get genital herpes, I'm sure lots of people on here have cold sores. There was nothing he could do about it, so once he was told by the nurse that it 'could be managed', then why should he be too bothered? And herpes/genital warts can both be spread even if condoms are used.

Having said that, I think there should be greater campaigns on HIV/HPV/HSV- all you see on tv are ads on chlamydia. HIV is no longer a huge fear.

I believe that Sex Education at Schools are relativly OK but it's not down to earth enough teenagers don't listen to somebody going on about the science of sex they want to know the nitty gritty details and the myths weather they are true or not for example, You don't get pregnant if you jump up and down after sex.. It should be like the sex education show that is shown on tv every year? Teenagers listen if your honest with them.

It is a big deal to get genital herpes..it is painful and you get recurrent outbreaks for life, you have to take measures to stop it spreading with every partner and tell them about it. I know a lady in her 70s who still gets painful outbreaks, she would disagree that it is not a big deal.

(must point out I haven't had it!)

I'm with swishswish in that they should have been told off for not using condoms. Seems that the clinic staff are so terrified of putting them off attending that they are condoning the behaviour in order to keep them turning up. What's the point in them turning up if you just hand out condoms that they don't use? They need to be rollocked a bit imo to realise that it is NOT a rite of passage to have chlamydia. It's serious and has repercussions for everyone else you have sexual contact with. That bloke who was so blase about it made me so angry. As long as there is no judginess, surely they just think "everyone does it, why shouldn't I?" Let's not forget that a lot of teenagers actually respond really well to clear guidelines and want to please adults they perceive as caring genuinely for them. Seems like every professional they come into contact with is affirming that unprotected sex is inevitable.

Yes well I do have it and the OBs are very painful but all you can tell yourself is 'it's not a big deal' and when the doctor tells you it's herpes one month after you've had sex for the very first time (with a condom!) you smile and tell yourself 'it's not a big deal'. When the doctor says 'people with herpes can live normal lives too' you grimace and think 'it's not such a big deal'

Yes it bloody BLOODY hurts but the only thing to remember is it is not a big deal. I just felt really sorry for the boy, what was he supposed to do to react to it properly?

I don't think I am making much sense But the point is that you'd rather not get herpes, but when you do...well you've got it, so no point getting too upset about it.

I see, I didn't see that people expected him to cry and wail. I suppose he could react however he wanted to the news.

Sorry, didn't mean to depress you about it, I can only go by the experience of the person I know with it.

I'm not depressed, I don't quite know what I'm whittering (sp) on about.

Just think teenagers need to be shouted at a bit more, more education on the dangers of sex, not just the emotional bit and protecting against pregnancy.

I have a friend who has slept with 15 people and has never had a sexual health screening.

it's scary, I know I was really ignorant as a teenager too, luckily I did not get up to much so wasn't exposed to anything!!

HIV infection in the under 25's is on the increase in the UK.

They don't tell them off for lots of reasons. Young people use these clinics by word of mouth amongst each other, if they think they are going to get a bollocking or have had a bad experience they just won't use them.

Telling them off acheives nothing - they will still go and make the same mistakes.

They would rather YP accessed the services and continued to get condoms and get tested rather than not going and continuing to pass STIs around amongst themselves.

The problem with working with many young people is that if you tell them something they don't want to hear, or criticise their behaviour or attitudes, or imply that they are being irresponsible they just get up and walk out. They don't want to hear you, they won't come and see you again and they are less likely to access health services.

It's a really tricky line to balance on; you want to develop a trusting relationship with them but also want to knock some common sense into them.

Remember that the programme was heavily edited so we may not have been shown the 'flea in their ears' talk from the HCPs, if it happened.

I think the Sex Ed Roadshow that was also on Ch4 a little while ago was excellent actually - it showed young people their bodies in a factual and informative way, warts and all (literally) and for many young people they need to see that. They need to know what genitalia look like, what having herpes and chlamydia can look like and do to you. But they need that balanced with a culture of self-respect and personal integrity and sadly for too many young people that is lacking.

only read first and last post.

As well as the reasons outlined in ladyanonymous' post, the HCP's don't reprimand the patients attending clinics because it is not their job. They are there to treat and provide advice if required, they are not there as moral guardians. One of the things you have to learn as a HCP is not to judge the people you treat.

Humans make bad decisions, some humans make more than others and some don't learn from them, but as galling as it must be to see the same old faces coming through the door with the same old problems, you just have patch them up and send them on their way.

I work with young people, and yes they can be shockingly ignorant/ convinced of their own mortality.

It doesn't help that sex education is not allowed in the catholic schools (we had to put the catholic kids on sex ed courses in the summer so we didn't have to get school permission)

re bum sex being a solely homosexual activity

In the aforementioned catholic schools I have been reliably informed that bumsex is the way to go as:

• you don't need to use a condom as you won't get pregnant
• you are still a virgin

OMG....what about prolapsed anus though

I watched the Sex Education show recently with my 15 yr old son and my 12 yr old daughter wanted to watch so we let her. It was an education for all the family actually and really good for us to talk without getting embarrassed. The kids were really quite impressed! I previewed the latest show dealing with Porn on iplayer and was dismayed to hear the no brainer - avoid STIs by abstaining from sex! My Mum put it far better when she advised her daughters " Make sure your first time is special and a memory you can look back on with a smile and not distaste". If you take you time to get to know someone you can decide how trustworthy they are re STI's, whether you find their personal hygiene acceptable and how mature they are (and hey how much they care about you as a person). This advice stood me and my sister in good stead and we are passing it on to our three daughters.

Please remember that this is a television show and therefore all the mortified teenagers who were totally embarassed will have refused permission to appear on screen and the focus will have been on 'shocking' irresponsible teenagers, as this is considered better telly than thoughtful, responsible teenagers.

As far as sex education is concerned, although I tried hard with my two I still feel I didnt make a good enough job of it, partly because of my daughter's teen pregnancy but my son managed to conduct himself responsibly as far as I know and is now 28 and in a stable relationship.

I talked to both my children about sex education but they were a bit embarrassed and seemed to think they knew it all. They did have sex education in school, I remember going to a meeting when they were around year 5 or 6 which told parents how sex education was handled and showed them the films they would see. I also backed up my talks with books on the subject, mostly the Usborne ones.

I now have the rather onerous task of bringing up my 4 grandchildren, including 3 girls. I see the girls growing up around here, coming out of the secondary school all dyed hair and makeup, hanging around with boys from a young age, and I feel they look so common and dont want my girls to be like that. I do wonder how much the secondary school they attend and the area they live in determines how they conduct themselves, and short of locking the girls up I dont think there is an answer.

Im confused in a way because the teen pregnancy rate seems to be increasing, but the amount of sex education children receive is also increasing, so its obviously not working. Im not saying dont bother with sex ed, but I think the state should invest heavily in research on how to deliver this effectively as its just as important, if not more, than maths and English. It sets the stage for the rest of your life.

My parents never talked to me about sex. I learned enough to know that you could contract horrible diseases and or become pregnant
through other means. It was enough to stop me.
Maybe I'm odd though I have only ever had one partner. I'm lucky in that I don't regret my

I'm wondering if we've gone too soft and all, oh its ok dear rather than putting the fear of god into them (a phrase not meant religously)

What are the stats for sex education in schools and what are they for levels of stis/teenage pregnancies?