Answered Questions

You do not need permission from your parents to access birth control in British Columbia. There are several different methods of birth control out there. Have a look at Options for Sexual Health as they have great fact pages on each different type.

One of the most accessible and most common types is the birth control pill. Typically it is easily accessible, safe, discreet, effective and affordable.

If you live in the Lower Mainland, you can access free or low-cost birth control options up to the age of 19. The nurses and doctors at the Youth Clinics will offer pre-counselling to go over all the options and help you decide which will be best for you. Here are the links to the Vancouver Youth Clinics, to the Fraser Youth Clinics and to the Vancouver Island Youth Clinics. 

If there is no Youth Clinic in your area, then Options for Sexual Health will be your best bet for accessing low-cost birth control.

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Health Nurse

I would add that simply because someone does sex work, this does not mean that they have HIV. In fact you have indicated that this person told you that they do not have HIV and that they are “well-reviewed” on their profile. Whether you engage in sexual contact with someone who does sex work, or with someone you met online or at any other venue, it is important to consider precautions you may want to take against infections. As already noted, oral sex is generally pretty low risk for HIV but other infections such as HSV, syphilis, chlamydia and gonorrhea can be more easily passed this way. Regardless of the partner, condoms are a good way to prevent or to decrease the chance of passing these infections.

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Health Nurse

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Health Nurse

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Health Nurse

For more information on a variety of sexually transmitted infections please visit STIs at a Glance or for info about transmission risk check out Know your Chances.

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Health Nurse

As stated on the Get Checked Online website in the “What can I test for?” section only Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, HIV, Syphilis, Hepatitis C tests are offered.  If you would like to get tested for other kinds of STIs, you will need to visit a clinic or see your doctor.  If you are having any symptoms that are concerning you I would recommend that you to get them checked by a care provider such as a doctor or nurse at a walk-in clinic

Have a look at our Clinic Finder to locate a sexual health clinic in your area.

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Health Nurse

BV is not a sexually transmitted infection (STI) but rather an imbalance of the healthy bacteria that normally lives in the vagina. When these bacteria get out of balance, symptoms can occur. These symptoms are commonly described as a fishy odor and an increased amount of watery, thin vaginal discharge (You didn’t specify in your question, but I am assuming that you are a person with a vagina. If I have gotten that wrong, please forgive the assumption).

BV can be very easily treated with a 1-week course of an antibiotic called metronidazole. You can visit any walk-in clinic or sexual health clinic for assessment, diagnosis and treatment. I would recommend a full STI screen for HIV, syphilis, chlamydia and gonorrhea as well as testing for BV as sometimes STIs can also cause these symptoms.

Have a look at our page on Bacterial Vaginosis for more information. To help locate a sexual health clinic in your area, you can use our Clinic Finder.

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Health Nurse

BC Women’s Hospital CARE Program

Everywoman’s Health Centre

Elizabeth Bagshaw Clinic

Willow Clinic

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Health Nurse

I don’t know what the discharge might have been, but it can be common to have some irritation to the urethra after having sex. During intercourse there are lots of microbes (non-harmful, normal healthy bacteria) that can be passed between partners. While these microbes don’t necessarily cause an infection they can get up into the urethra and cause some irritation. Staying well hydrated, urinating frequently (especially right after sex) and drinking cranberry juice or taking some cranberry supplements can help with this discomfort.

Finally, yes some STIs could be passed from your finger’s to a male partner’s genitals, if your fingers had been touching your own genitals first and there is an infection already present. The most common things would be infections passed through skin to skin contact such as HPV, herpes or even syphilis. So for example, if a person has an active herpes outbreak on their genitals and touches the sores, then immediately touches their partner’s genitals, it would be possible to pass that infection to the partner.

You might find our STIs at a Glance chart helpful as it gives a quick overview of how different infections are passed.

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Health Nurse