Sexual Wellness Tips for Young Adults: Guide to Healthy and Informed Choices - Dr Chirag Bhandari

Sexual wellness is a significant part of an individual’s overall health. This affects the physical, mental, emotional, and social aspects of sexuality. As a professional health expert, I always stress the importance of educating the youths about sexual wellness, as this knowledge helps them maintain their overall health.

Today, I will be sharing a few sexual health tips and practices that will be helpful for you to maintain your sexual wellness.

1. Intimate Hygiene

This is the first and foremost thing that you need to think about. Maintaining cleanliness in your genital area is very important. Specially for females, regular cleaning, especially during menstruation, is a preventive measure that helps you stay in control and prevent infections. Parents and guardians should educate young adults about intimate hygiene early, giving them a sense of security and control over their health.

2. Balanced Diet

A balanced diet with all the important nutrients is another important recommendation for young adults. A healthy diet rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and lean protein support is recommended for improved sexual and overall body health.

3. Maintain A Healthy Lifestyle

Regular exercise and a healthy lifestyle can help in improving your self-esteem, libido, and mood. I would suggest you aim for at least 150 minutes of aerobic activity each week along with strength improvement exercises. You can do Kegel exercises to improve your sexual fitness.

Stress management is another important thing that affects your sexual wellness. Take 15 -20 minutes every day for meditation, this improves your stress management power.

Completely avoid consuming any illegal or harmful drugs, alcohol, etc. These affect your decision-making power and will lead to risky sexual behaviour.

4. Regular Sexual Health Checkups

As a professional sexual health advisor, I would highly recommend a routine sexual health checkup whenever you have vaginal, oral, or anal sex with a new partner. These regular checkups are very important for detecting and treating all kinds of potential problems at an early stage.

Young adults should be encouraged to visit healthcare providers for routine screenings for STIs and other sexual health concerns. This proactive approach can help maintain sexual wellness and overall health.

5. Maintain Open Communication With Your Partner.

It is important to maintain open communication with your partner about your desires, boundaries, and consent.

Young adults should be educated about the importance of consent and the right to say no at any point during sexual activity. This knowledge can help prevent situations of coercion and promote healthier relationships.

6. Follow Safe Sex Practices

As I always mention, practising safe sex is one of the most important things for an individual’s sexual wellness. Using safety products like condoms during sex prevents the exchange of body fluids. Using protection during sexual intercourse minimizes the risk of Sexually Transmitted infections and unintentional pregnancies.

Pulling out before finishing isn't a great way to avoid pregnancy. Even before a guy fully releases, there can be some sperm in the fluid that comes out. This means you could still get pregnant.

Some people try to figure out when a woman is most likely to get pregnant by keeping track of her periods. This can work, but you have to be careful and know your body well.

7. Contraceptives To Avoid Pregnancy

Contraceptives provide birth control which further prevents unwanted pregnancy.

There are various types of contraceptives and I will discuss them in a little detail to provide you with a better understanding!

• Hormonal Methods:- Hormonal contraceptive methods include, birth control pills, Vaginal Ring, Patch, Injection, Implant, and Intrauterine Device (IUD).
• Barrier Methods:- Barrier contraceptive methods include condoms, diaphragm, and cervical cap.

If you're sure you don't want kids ever, some surgeries can stop you from having babies. For women, doctors can tie off the tubes that carry eggs. For men, they can block the tubes that carry sperm. These are permanent, so you need to be absolutely sure before doing them.

8. Encourage Body Positivity & Build Emotional Connection

Loving and praising your and your partner’s body is important for feeling close to your partner and can improve your sexual ability. Try to be kind to yourself and accept your body as it is. Your partner likes you for you, not for looking perfect. Take time to touch and explore each other without judging how you look.

When you're comfortable with your body and feel emotionally close to your partner, you'll both feel more wanted and have better sex.