Sexual Health

Shine provides safe, friendly, free and confidential sexual health services in Newham for young people aged 22 and under.

The service provides:

• Further information about sex and relationships

• Advice and information about pregnancy

• Advice if you’ve had unprotected sex

• Information about contraception such as the pill

C-Card is a quick & easy way to get free condoms if you're 22 or under. You can get up to 24 free condoms a month from any Shine clinic or you can sign up for a C-Card.

You can register for a C-Card at any C-Card providing venue in Newham. Look out for the C-Card logo or ask your Youth Worker, Pharmacist, School Nurse or come to a Shine clinic. The information you give is kept confidential. No information is passed on to anyone else. The service may have to talk to someone else if we think a young person is at risk, and they will always try and talk to the young person before they do this. If you are worried about this, ask the C-Card worker before you start giving your details.

Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) are spread through sexual contact. Some STIs have no symptoms, so people do not realise they have them.

If you think you may have symptoms or have had unprotected sex the first thing to do is arrange to get tested. Shine clinics can only test people who do not have symptoms of STIs.

Shine provides screening for the following STIs:

• Chlamydia - Self swab or urine sample
• Gonorrhoea - Self swab or urine sample
• Syphilis - Blood sample
• IV - Blood sample (rapid testing available)

All test results are sent by SMS text message within two weeks.

If you have symptoms of a Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) you should visit the All East Sexual Health Service.

When a young person starts to think about contraception there's a lot of information to take in. It can be a bit baffling at first, but knowing the facts can help them make smart choices. Contraception is really important as it can prevent unplanned pregnancy.

If used properly condoms can prevent pregnancy and unlike all the other methods of contraception, they can protect against STIs too.

Types of Contraception:

• Combined Pill
• Progesterone only Pill
• Female Condoms
• Male Condoms
• Implant
• Contraception Injection
• Contraceptive Patch
• IUD Coil
• IUS Coil
• Contraceptive Cap
• Vaginal Ring
• Emergency Hormonal Contraception

Think you might be pregnant?

If you have had unprotected sex and your period is late you should do a pregnancy test as soon as possible. Not everybody experiences symptoms but some possible signs of pregnancy could be:

• No periods (missing a period)
• Lighter shorter periods
• Feeling sick
• Sore breasts
• Tiredness
• Peeing more often

Pregnancy Testing

Pregnancy tests take about 3 minutes and involve a urine (pee) sample.

Free pregnancy tests are available from:

• Shine clinics

Pregnancy tests that are bought from chemists and supermarkets are very accurate If used according to the instructions. They work by detecting hormone levels in the women's urine.

The service can also provide advice on how to access an abortion.