Today's lesson will concern aspects of sexual health and sexual relationships.

It might be a lesson that you feel more comfortable with a trusted adult nearby while you complete it, or with someone available to help answer any questions or for you to discuss aspects that may be sensitive to you.

So please make sure you have an exercise book or a piece of paper to hand and a pen, something to write with, so that you can complete today's lesson.

Let's begin.

So hopefully, you've already completed today's introduction quiz.

And then at the end of the lesson, I will, of course be directing you to the exit quiz.

In between those quizzes, you will be learning all about safer sex, and what's meant by that term, safer sex.

We'll be learning what some common STIs or sexually transmitted infections are.

We'll find out the symptoms of those STIs, and we'll talk about some help, testing and treatment that is available for you.

So our key word and term for today's lesson.

Safer sex is a way of reducing the chance of getting or passing on a sexually transmitted infection.

Today's lesson really is focusing on sexually transmitted infections, but the term safer sex also more broadly includes sex, where we are protecting our mental health as well.

Common STIs include chlamydia, gonorrhoea, HIV, syphilis, and herpes.

We're not going to learn about every single kind of STI in today's lesson.

That wouldn't be possible.

But we'll cover some of the most common ones and some of the most common symptoms to look out for, et cetera.

So hopefully, it will be really useful for you.

Obviously, any medical concerns at all in the future should always seek that medical attention just to be sure.

So even if they're symptoms that don't quite fit in to what we're going to talk about today, it may still be relevant to seek medical attention, just to pre-warn you before we begin.

So one way, it's not the only way, but one way of having safer sex is to use a condom.

So let's start with the true or false.

There are several different types of sexually transmitted infection.

Is that true or false? Please point to the correct answer now.

That is of course true, and common STI include chlamydia, gonorrhoea, HIV, syphilis, and herpes.

Thinking back to our last lesson in this unit, which was all about sexual health overall, can we please try to recall at least one potential positive we might associate with sexual relationships? What's a positive that comes out of having a sexual relationship? Please pause the video for a moment and jot that down now.

Wonderful.

Let's go through some potential answers.

Potential positives of sexual relationships include a feeling of intimacy, physical pleasure for both partners, and perhaps a wanted pregnancy, which can be fulfilling if that's the desire of both partners within that relationship.

There are other potential positives of sexual relationships too.

So you may have added different ones and that's absolutely fine.

So safer sex.

STIs, or sexually transmitted infections, can be transmitted through what's called mucus membranes, areas of the body, such as the mouth or tip of the penis, vagina or anus, or through the sharing of body fluids and the contact between you and a body fluid of somebody else.

Body fluids are for example, blood, saliva, vaginal mucus, et cetera.

An STI can be transmitted through different kinds of sexual activity.

Some can also be passed on through childbirth, skin-to-skin, sharing bedclothes, which is also worth bearing in mind.

Which of these options is not associated with STI transmission? Childbirth, mucus membranes, hugging and handholding, and bodily fluids.

So one of those is not associated with STI transmission or how STIs spread.

Decide which one of those it is and please point to the correct answer.

It is of course hugging and handholding.

We don't associate hugging and handholding with STI transmission.

However, it is worth noting that there are certain diseases and illnesses that could be passed on through touch, but they are not what we would consider STIs.

A little bit of a challenge for you there.

Can you remember the names of any of the mucous membranes and bodily fluids through which STIs can be transmitted? Let's see if you can jot down one or two of them.

Well done if you've had a go at that.

Maybe you've written down, as an example of a mucus membrane, the vagina or tip of the penis or the mouth.

And bodily fluids, you may have given the example of semen or blood or saliva.

Well done if you gave that a try.

The risk of sexually transmitted infections can be greatly reduced through safer sex.

That means keeping body fluids separate during sexual activity using what's known as a barrier method.

Now barrier methods can protect against STIs, and the most common barrier method used is a condom, of which there are both male and female varieties.

There's also something known as a dental dam, and that's essentially a sheath that creates a barrier between the mouth and the genitals or the mouth and the anus.

Now safer sex does not always stop pregnancy or guarantee that someone will not get an STI.

For a person who is at high risk of HIV, they can take a medication called PrEP that can help prevent them getting the virus.

It essentially minimises transition.

Now, people who are at most risk of HIV might be someone with a current or previous partner with HIV; someone who's from an area with high HIV rates, or someone who has unprotected sex.

There are other examples of people who are at a higher risk of HIV, and they can be found on the NHS website.

Obviously, if somebody is engaging in unprotected sex regularly, or if they are somebody who knows that they're wanting to embark on a sexual relationship with somebody who is HIV positive, then of course seeking the right medical advice via a GP, sexual health professional, et cetera, is the right way to go about ensuring that the medication can be given and administered in the right way to protect against the transmission of HIV.

So true or false.

There are different types of condom available for males and females to wear.

Please point to the correct answer now.

The answer is, of course, true.

Condoms are available in male and female designs as they are referred to, but it's the condom for the penis, traditionally called the male design, that's more popular and more common.

You can buy them in many different locations, something that we're going to go and talk about now.

The most common type of barrier method used in sex is the male version of the condom, which is rolled out onto the penis before sex takes place.

Condoms can prevent STI transmission and they can prevent unwanted pregnancy.

They have a really high success rate, although of course they're not 100% successful, and instruction should always be followed in order to ensure that the use of the condom is as preventative as possible against STIs and unwanted pregnancy.

Now condoms are widely available from chemists, supermarkets, GPs, clinics, and even some school nurses will provide them for free.

It's also worth noting that condoms, because they prevent against STIs, have that function, that they are also used in same sex relationships.

Anybody with a penis can and should use a condom to help protect themselves during sex.

They aren't just something used between a male and a female.

So reflecting on what we just talked about in terms of condoms, please can you pause the video and complete the sentence, jotting down the remainder of the sentence after your reflection? So some advantages of condoms are.

Please pause the video to finish that sentence and then we'll resume.

Thank you for coming back to me.

Let's have a look.

So some advantages of condoms are, that they're widely available.

As we've said, supermarkets, doctor surgeries, chemists; vending machines in many public places as well will also supply condoms. And they protect against STIs and pregnancy.

Remember not 100%, but certainly they gave a decent amount of protection.

So let's look at some common STIs.

Generally, STIs will affect people in the following ways: their physical health, potentially their mental wellbeing due to stigmatising behaviour from others if they find out they've got an STI and are quite immature in their approach to talking about that.

Or perhaps people just feel general embarrassment.

Mental wellbeing can be affected through STIs that way.

And some STI' can affect fertility, the ability to get pregnant or to make somebody pregnant, and reproductive health.

So there are general effects there of STIs.

I'm going to give you some examples of common STIs now, and three different kinds the fall into three different categories.

So chlamydia.

Really, really common, particularly among young people.

But that's not to say older people don't contract chlamydia because they do, but it's really, really common.

And it's a bacterial infection.

That means it can be easily treated with antibiotics.

It's a bacterial infection.

Antibiotics will help to get rid of that infection.

The danger with chlamydia is it's often symptomless; and if untreated, it can lead to longterm health problems. So therefore, it's important if you are having regular sex, and if that sex is unprotected or there's a variety of partners, regular sexual health screening to ensure you've not got chlamydia is really important.

Suddenly someone got in touch with you and said that they had chlamydia and you'd been a sexual partner of theirs.

It would really be worth getting tested, even if you were safe, just to be on the safe side, because as we said, it can remain symptomless.

but it is really easily treatable and it is really, really common.

A different kind of STI is pubic lice.

This is a parasitic infection.

It's a different type of infection to chlamydia.

Tiny insects live on coarse human body hair, such as the pubic hair, and they cause itching and irritation.

Again, pubic lice is easily treatable and it's the itching there that is most likely to inform you that you might have pubic lice.

But again, it's something that sometimes can go undetected.

It's something to be aware of.

And HIV, which is a virus.

So viruses cannot be treated with antibiotics.

And HIV damages the immune system.

And if left untreated, it can lead to stage three, which is known as AIDS.

But with today's treatment, thankfully, many people living with HIV, don't go on to develop AIDS, and that's fantastic.

And that's a real technological advancement in the last 15, 20 years, how far medical science has come in that people living with HIV no longer have a death sentence hanging over their head, which is what it very much felt like, going back to the 1990s and early 2000s.

So again, it's something to be really aware of.

HIV is a serious virus that shouldn't be taken lightly and risk shouldn't be taken.

If someone knows they have HIV, it's their duty to obviously speak to a potential sexual partner about that beforehand and ensure that sex is safe.

However, nowadays, HIV is something that people live long and happy lives with through brilliant medication that helps them to do so.

So we're going to reflect on all of that information.

A, B, C, and D here list different aspects of STIs.

You are going to match A, B, C, and D up to one, two, three, and four, which lists the specific STI that the aspect of STI is relevant to.

So for example, you will look at A and see it says, mental wellbeing affected.

So I would like you to then look at one, two, three, and four and decide which one of those it matches most appropriately to.

And you're going to write your answers down on your piece of paper or exercise book.

So I'd like to now pause the video, complete this task, and when you're ready to resume when you think you've got the answers right, press Play again.

Let's do that now.

Fantastic.

Let's see if you got the correct answers.

So, mental wellbeing effected.

That is a general symptom of STIs.

All STIs may affect your mental wellbeing if you're worried about your health, if you are embarrassed, et cetera.

You feel there's a stigma attached to it.

The parasitic infection is pubic lice.

The virus is HIV.

And often symptomless, treated you with antibiotics, is chlamydia.

I shall leave that on the screen for a moment there for you to double check your answers.

Well done if you got those right.

We have quite a little bit of science here today, so don't worry if you're a little bit confused, but hopefully, you're starting to piece together the information and it's starting to make sense to you.

In general, symptoms of STIs can include the following: unusual discharge from the vagina, penis or anus.

So that's the private parts and the back passage.

If there's an unusual discharge, it may be a sign of an STI.

Is this pain when urinating or having sex? That may be a sign of an STI.

Pain in the abdomen, pelvis or testicles.

Rashes, lumps, itching in the genitals or anus.

All of those things may be a symptom of an STI.

It may be a symptom of something else, but you really just need to be aware and pay attention to what's happening with your body if you know that you've been sexually active and particularly if you know that you've not used a condom or another barrier or safe method.

People can also have symptoms in other parts of their body or no symptoms at all.

So again, this is not a one-size-fits-all, one-stop-shop approach.

This is just some guidance on things to be aware of if you're in a sexually and active relationship, and in terms of protecting yourself and being aware whether or not there's a problem.

So just reflecting on that information, which of these options is not a common symptom of an STI? Four options here.

Unusual discharge.

Sickness and diarrhoea.

Rashes, lumps, and itching.

And pain when urinating.

One of those is not a common symptom of an STI.

Please point to the right answer now.

Let's see if you're correct.

It's sickness and diarrhoea.

So sickness and diarrhoea can be a symptom of a multitude of health issues normally, common health issues that we don't eat worry too much about, but they're not normally associated with STIs.

But the other options on the screen there: unusual discharge, rushes, lumps, itching, and pain when urinating, they are all potential symptoms of STIs.

So if you did have a symptom of an STI or if you were contacted by a partner, former partner or current partner who was concerned or had been tested and knew that they had an STI, what do you do? How would you go about resolving that situation? You should always seek help and testing if you are concerned that there's any chance you may have an STI.

How many people have regular testing anyway, even if they don't exhibit any symptoms or aren't concerned, just to be on the safe side? So if you have any of the symptoms we've discussed today, if a current or previous sexual partner has a symptom, if you're worried because you've had sex without a condom, if you want to reduce the risk of getting an STI, then you should seek help and testing.

And everyone has the right to free, confidential, sexual health advice from your GP, from local sexual health clinics, NHS drop-in centres, or even A&E if you are extremely worried about a symptom.

So please don't be afraid to seek help.

Don't be embarrassed because it's so important that your health is protected.

And if there's any worry at all, the earlier that you are tested, the earlier you seek treatment, the more likely you are to not suffer any longterm health problems. So a final reflection on this lesson.

What advice would you offer a friend who might be concerned that they have a sexually transmitted infection? I want you to take away that advice with you today.

Jot it down now at the end of the video before completing today's exit quiz, which we mustn't forget to do.

And I would really like you to bear this advice in mind and keep it in your mind, and apply it to yourself if ever you're in a situation where there's a slight concern over STIs.

We want to protect your longterm health; and hopefully, this lesson has given you some tools and information to help you do that.

Thank you so much; and hopefully, I'll see you again for our final lesson in this unit, intimate relationships, positivity and health, next time.

Goodbye.