The Answers To The Health Questions Every Gen-Y Girl Has But Is Too Afraid To Ask

How exactly do you ask your doctor, “Will all the alcohol, marijuana and maybe the teensiest line of cocaine react badly with the Tylenol I just took?”

What about ‘fessing up to your gynecologist about your real birth control routine – forgetting to take it for a week straight, then taking two pills for three days and then wondering if you can have unprotected sex...

If you’re like us, you simply skip over this question and instead Google the answer only to find, after an hour of researching yourself into a dark Internet hole, that you are probably going to become pregnant and then die. (*Courtesy of Coach Carr, "Mean Girls").

We’re here to stop that whole chain of misinformation before it happens. Sometimes, we just need the candid, non-clinical response to our inquiries. Consider us your best friend who happens to know a thing or two about science and will gladly break it all down for you.

Now, spill!

Important Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. I am not responsible if you take this advice and things do not work out as you were hoping. Remember, if you have a serious medical question, are currently in danger or lack a sense of humor, then you shouldn’t be reading Elite Daily.

Can I get pregnant on my period?

So, you want to take a walk on the wild side, bareback it for a night and see what happens? Think again, sister. You absolutely can get pregnant while menstruating.

A little blood may stop your partner from putting his penis inside you, but it won’t stop a sperm from fertilizing an egg.

Getting pregnant on your period can occur for several reasons. According to Julia Brown Lancaster, MSN, WHNP-BC and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania, a woman’s menstruation cycle can differ from cycle to cycle, making it hard to know when we are exactly most fertile.

Sometimes ovulation can happen before the bleeding has stopped or within a few days after our periods are over. Since sperm can fertilize an egg for 72 hours after ejaculation, having unprotected sex on your period can lead to pregnancy.

Bottom line: If you’re not looking to be on “Teen Mom” in the next nine months, don’t have unprotected sex on your period.

Will my brain turn to mush after taking molly?

Tumblr

First off, let’s call a spade a spade: you’re talking about the long-term side effects of consuming MDMA, a psychoactive drug that gets more rap song shout-outs than Kim Kardashian and makes your serotonin levels sky rocket.

Common sense will tell us that taking any kind of foreign or recreational drug, especially one that makes lights look pretty and music more pleasurable can’t exactly be good for you.

While there are some studies that suggest there is little evidence of decreased cognitive performance in MDMA users, scientists are still proceeding with caution in interpreting these findings.

Other studies posture that, depending on a variety of factors (including frequency of use, amount taken, lifestyle), ecstasy users do have a lowered cognitive performance than non-ecstasy users.

Interestingly, MDMA users were found to have poorer strategic self-regulation, which is a fancy way of saying that users are more impulsive. While the data is not entirely conclusive and is still being researched, ecstasy users are also susceptible to long-term serotonergic changes that result in mood disorders like depression.

Bottom line: The jury is still out. If you want to choose to believe that ingesting a toxic and harmful substance won’t damage your brain, then that is probably your molly side talking to you.

Will you have more difficulty deciphering how much to tip down the line? Well, it’s not like you were a math person to begin with...

Should I take Advil or Tylenol for my hangover?

Tumblr

Let us guess: you went on a serious bender last night and now you’re feeling like crap just in time to meet your boyfriend’s parents?

Stick to the Advil, or another ibuprofen medication, says Robert Swift, M.D., a professor at Brown University’s Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies. And be sure to eat some leftover late night with it -- nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories can irritate an empty stomach.

After a night of drinking, you should stay away from Tylenol and other types of acetaminophen medicines. While ibuprofen is removed by the kidneys, acetaminophen is processed by the liver, and guess what else is too?

That gin and tonic you downed hours ago. Alcohol disrupts your liver from fully metabolizing the toxins in acetaminophen, which puts you at risk for liver damage even at lower doses.

Bottom line: Think of your liver as Harry Styles and alcohol as Taylor Swift. After he’s done f*cking with her for a while, he’s going to need a huge Advil.

Photo courtesy of We Heart It