Scene: A drug store where a mom and her daughter happily shop for back-to-school items.

Daughter/Son: "Mom, did you remember to put condoms in the cart?"

Mom: "Of course, honey, how could I forget?"

Let's be real—this isn't a likely scenario for a high school or college student going back to school. But if it was, rates of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and unintended pregnancies among young people in the United States might be lower. Right now, young people are at risk—every year, nearly one million females aged 15 to 19 get pregnant and there are approximately 10 million new cases of STDs among young people aged 15 to 24.

Given such staggering facts, it's clear that you must prepare to stay sexually healthy this school year.

Evaluate the Risks

You should get a sexual health checkup at a doctor's office or health clinic—even if you think you were pretty safe. There, you can get tested for STDs, learn more about your contraceptive options, get contraception, and find answers to any sexual health question under the sun.

Finding a doctor or health care provider is an important first step in preventing future sexual health problems or dealing with existing ones, states Ralph I. López, M.D., author of The Teen Health Book, who's practiced adolescent medicine for more than 30 years. Getting tested for STDs can also be a great way to check up on other potential health problems.

"Females who are 18 years or older or who've had sexual relations should go to the gynecologist and males to a doctor even if there is no concern of a sexual problem, because cancer and other health problems, which are non-sexual, can be detected at the same time as a possible STD," explains Dr. López.

Also, many people simply don't even know that they have an STD. Even if you don't see a lesion or wart on the penis or vagina, human papillomavirus (HPV) or another STD may still be present—which means it may be unintentionally passed to a partner, according to Dr. López. And both males and females can have an STD, like chlamydia, and have no symptoms at all.

Finding a doctor or health care provider who is right for you is important, states Dr. López.

"You need to ask yourself, 'Who is my doctor? Is he or she able to assess my health needs? Are issues like my confidentiality addressed, and can he or she respect me and listen to my health problems without judging my actions?'" he explains.

To find a doctor, ask friends or family for a recommendation. To find a clinic, look in the yellow pages under "clinics" or "family planning" or call Planned Parenthood at (800) 230-PLAN (7526) or click here. When you make the first call, it's important to ask about the confidentiality policy, so you know that your privacy will be protected.

Stay Protected

Now that you've been checked out at the doctor or clinic, it's time to think about protecting yourself this fall. If you plan on having sex, the best way to protect yourself and your partner is the consistent and correct use of condoms. The most important thing to remember about condoms is that in order to protect yourself from an STD infection, you need to use one each and every time you have intercourse. To be extra safe, use a condom even when you're using another form of birth control. No matter the contraceptive option you choose, you should know how to use it the correct way each and every time you have oral, vaginal, or anal sex.

"If you want to be protected against both pregnancy and STDs, then you should use both a condom and a form of birth control," says Dr. López.

You should also always know your partner's sexual history—not from a guess, but from talking with your partner and/or getting tested for STDs at a doctor's office or clinic. If you just assume that you know someone's sexual health history, because you know the person from school or he or she seems "nice and clean-cut," you could be putting yourself at risk of a lifelong disease.

Back Up Your Birth Control

Let's face it—accidents with contraception happen and sometimes you or your partner may find yourself in an emergency situation. The condom may break, a few Pills may be skipped, or, even worse, you or your partner may be the victim of rape or sexual assault.

In any of these cases, a female can reduce the risk of unintended pregnancy by up to 88 percent if she takes emergency contraception within 72 hours of unprotected intercourse. She needs a prescription for emergency contraception, and she can get one at any time from her doctor or health care provider, or directly from a pharmacist in California or Washington State.

Women may also back up their birth control and get a prescription for emergency contraception before an emergency occurs. To find out how, go to www.backupyourbirthcontrol.org, www.not-2-late.com, or call the Emergency Contraception hotline at (888) NOT-2-LATE (668-2528).

Talk It Out

Whether you already have a partner at school or not, you should be ready for partner negotiation. This means being ready to communicate with a current or future partner about whether or not you're ready to have sex, and what contraception method you plan to use if you do have sex.

Young people need to also "give some forethought to the implications of sex before getting into anything physical," according to Dr. López.

"It's hard to leave sexual activities once you've started getting physical. Also, there are unknown medical costs to be paid if a serious infection or disease is found, which many people don't even realize," he explains.

If you're choosing abstinence this fall, Dr. Lopez advises you to "avoid certain risky situations completely and always remember why you made your decision to be abstinent in the first place—be it a personal, ethical, religious, or non-religious reasons."

Get Ready

So, as school begins, think about what kind of year you want to have. Do you want to have an STD or pregnancy scare by prom or midterms, or stick to your safer sex or abstinence goals? Do you want to be that person at a huge frat party who wakes up and realizes that he or she isn't a virgin anymore and doesn't even know who the partner was?

Be prepared for sexual encounters, even if you don't intend on having them. You prep for your exams, right? Make sure to be prepared to protect your sexual health, too.

-Christina Corea, 18, of Chatham, NJ, is an editor for SEX, ETC., the national newsletter and Web site written by teens, for teens, on sexual health issues, published by the Network for Family Life Education at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.

 Visit SEX, ETC. at www.sxetc.org