Where Teenagers Can Get the Real Deal on Very Personal Topics

Sure, teenagers use the Internet to send e-mail and chat with their friends late into the night, but they also use it as a resource center. In fact, 68% of teenagers online are actually looking for information, according to a recent survey by the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

When it comes to those sensitive health topics that teenagers aren’t comfortable discussing with their parents or sometimes even their peers, the Internet can be invaluable.

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Here are three sites that might be especially useful.

* ZapHealth (https://www.zaphealth.com): This hip, friendly and responsible site is clearly targeted at older teens, billing itself as the place to get answers “when you can’t ask mom.” (Note the highly visible message warning those younger than 18 that the site contains sexually explicit information and encouraging them to discuss the issues, as well as the site, with a parent or guardian.) The home page even sends users to information on how to safely and responsibly surf the Internet for health information.

You’ll find candid and useful information here, primarily in the “topics” section, even on the most personal subjects: sexual orientation, losing your virginity, body odor (including vaginal and penis odor), jock itch and visiting a gynecologist. The advice is delivered in a friendly and helpful voice, refreshingly void of condescending undertones.

The creative brain behind the site is a woman with a master’s degree in public health and extensive experience counseling and working with teens on sensitive health issues. And she has surrounded herself with medical experts who are in touch with the adolescent health community.

ZapHealth’s chat room is still under construction, as is the advice board. But you can post messages on topics such as “guys’ health” and “body art,” or send questions directly to [email protected]. The site’s operators promise to respond within 48 hours. The “get help” button serves two purposes: to direct you to information on the site, and, even more important, to direct you to resources in your community (school health clinic, guidance office, local hospital). Linking kids directly to local resources can ensure that they get the help they need.

My only gripe about the site: If your computer connection is slow, the advertising contact information seems to appear everywhere and is often the first text to download on each page. Ugh!

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Tampax.com (https://www.tampax.com): This newly redesigned site does more than hawk the company’s products. Through its “body matters” and “beinggirl.com” sections, it provides education and “infotainment” for and about girls and young women. Of course, it’s awfully hard to miss the product promotions and free-sample offers.

If you’re looking for basic information about puberty (for girls and boys), menstruation and the human reproductive system, then “body matters” is the location for you. It’s neither hip nor flashy, but it’s full of reliable content on tampons (including how to insert them), sanitary pads, menstrual flow and premenstrual syndrome. (This section brought me back to that day in sixth grade when the boys and girls were separated for a presentation about body basics.)

Then there’s “beinggirl.com.” Chock-full of colors, spunky graphics, blinking buttons (a bit annoying) and flying tampons (no kidding), this site lets you choose the younger or older teen versions, and provides serious, reliable content on topics such as dating customs, drug use and attention deficit disorder.

As for the lighter features, I realize I’m not the audience, but I found the “fun and games” section somewhat shallow. The flash animations of airborne Super Fem products and a game called Ms. Period Face (something akin to Mr. Potato Head) indicate the site is underestimating the sophistication of today’s teenagers.

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Pimple Portal (https://www.pimpleportal.com): Sponsored by the makers of an acne treatment called Retin-A Micro, this site is pretty darn cheery for a skin condition that can cause such stress, anxiety and depression. The product connection is there, and quite evident, but the site does more than promote this treatment, although I couldn’t find much on nonprescription options.

You’ll find basic information on acne (including a close-up of how pimples form, if you’re so inclined), and an “ask the expert” section. There are also great cover-up tips for guys and girls from a celebrity makeup artist, but download the software to view the video. The site even offers Face Invaders, a takeoff on the Space Invaders video game; you can “zap the zits” with Retin-A, but it’s hardly challenging and obviously promotional.

Product promotions and minor glitches aside, these sites are helping meet the information needs of a growing, inquisitive teenage population. Will accessible, responsible content such as this replace the need for that time-honored “birds and bees” discussion? I think--and hope--not. Parents still need to talk and listen to their kids. But the Internet can, at the very least, supplement that interaction and may be a starting point for conversation. Most parents I know welcome all the help they can get.

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The Web address for the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine was incorrect in the June 3 column. The correct address is https://nccam.nih.gov.

Marla Bolotsky is director of online information for the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. She can be reached by e-mail at [email protected]. Your Health Online runs the first and third Mondays of every month. Sabina Hoque contributed to this article.