Headaches
Most headaches are tension-type or migraine, and neither is dangerous — but a few patterns are serious. The pattern matters more than the severity: a…
13-15 6 min read
Ages 20-22
Young adult health
Body changes continue into your twenties, and a number of things are now worth doing preventively rather than reactively. This pathway covers ongoing development, managing recurring symptoms, and making sense of results.
Assumes adult-level independence and covers preventive screening, long-term symptom management and reading results.
You are still allowed to ask basic questions
A twenty-two-year-old is regularly told to stop reading the beginner material, and then cannot explain to a clinician what is actually happening. There is no point at which health information becomes too simple.
What this stage is actually like
The habits that matter at twenty are mostly unglamorous: sleep, movement, vaccines, and getting things checked rather than waiting. Most of the conditions that cause real problems in later life are caught early by people who did something boring on purpose.
Start here
Three articles to read first
Chosen because each one tends to raise the next question, rather than because they are the most read.
What's covered
Everything in this pathway
Every item below is also reachable from its topic, because a pathway is a route in, not a wall.
- Ongoing body changes Skin, hair, weight distribution and metabolism in your twenties. Read
- Persistent hormonal concerns Symptoms that keep recurring and deserve a workup. Read
- Sexual health and STI testing Routine screening, vaccines and prevention. Read
- Nutrition, fitness and sleep Building something you can maintain. In writing
- Understanding test results Ranges, reference values and when a number matters. In writing
- Reliable health sources Who to trust, and how to tell. In writing
- Accessing healthcare Registration, costs, and what to do if you fall through the gaps. In writing
- Mental well-being Stress, anxiety and low mood in a pressured period of life. In writing
- Alcohol, nicotine and other substances What the evidence says and what it does not. In writing
- Sleep and energy Why exhaustion is so common and what actually helps. In writing
- When to seek a second opinion It is legitimate, and it is often the right call. In writing
- Skin and hair changes Adult-onset acne, hair loss and what to check. In writing
9 items are marked "in writing". We would rather label a gap than publish a placeholder and let you think a question has been answered.
Library
Every article written for ages 20-22
27 articles, listed alphabetically.
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Burning or pain when you pass urine
Burning when you pass urine is usually a urinary tract infection, but chlamydia, gonorrhoea and genital irritation can cause the same feeling. It is…
13-15 5 min read
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Chlamydia
Chlamydia is a common bacterial infection that often causes no symptoms at all. It is easily tested for with a swab or urine sample and cured with a…
16-19 7 min read
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Consent, coercion and healthy relationships
Consent is a free, informed, ongoing yes. Coercion is getting someone to say yes without those conditions — which is far more common than physical…
16-19 8 min read
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Emergency, same-day or routine care?
Emergency means contact your local emergency number now. Same-day means be seen today. Routine means book an appointment. The distinction that…
13-15 7 min read
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Endometriosis
Endometriosis is a long-term condition where tissue similar to the uterine lining grows elsewhere in the body, causing pain, particularly with…
16-19 7 min read
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Genital herpes and oral herpes
Herpes is caused by two viruses, HSV-1 and HSV-2, and it is extremely common — most adults carry one of them. It often causes no symptoms at all…
16-19 7 min read
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Getting tested for STIs
STI testing is routine, quick and usually painless. Most infections have a test, and many can be self-collected. You do not need to be in a…
16-19 7 min read
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Gonorrhoea
Gonorrhoea is a bacterial infection that frequently causes no symptoms, particularly in people with a vagina. It is tested with a swab and treated…
16-19 6 min read
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Headaches
Most headaches are tension-type or migraine, and neither is dangerous — but a few patterns are serious. The pattern matters more than the severity: a…
13-15 6 min read
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Hepatitis B
Hepatitis B is a virus that infects the liver. It spreads through blood and certain body fluids — including sexual contact, shared needles and from…
16-19 6 min read
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Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C is a liver infection that can sit silently for years without symptoms. It spreads mainly through blood — shared needles, unsterilised…
16-19 6 min read
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HIV and AIDS
HIV is a virus that affects the immune system. With regular treatment, people with HIV can live a normal lifespan and the virus can be suppressed to…
16-19 9 min read
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Hormones and mood
Hormones contribute to mood changes, but they are not the whole explanation. Puberty also brings sleep disruption, stress, social change and identity…
13-15 6 min read
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Human papillomavirus (HPV)
HPV is an extremely common virus that most sexually active people acquire at some point. Most infections clear on their own; persistent infection…
16-19 8 min read
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Irregular periods
A cycle between 21 and 35 days counts as regular, and cycles can change from month to month in the same person. Irregular outside that range is…
16-19 6 min read
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Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)
PID is an infection of the pelvic organs, usually spreading upward from the cervix. It often causes little or no pain, which is exactly what makes it…
16-19 6 min read
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Period products: pads, tampons, cups and liners
Pads go outside the body, tampons and cups go inside. Tampons are the only product linked to a rare but serious infection, and their risk is managed…
10-12 8 min read
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Personal boundaries and consent
Consent means choosing to do something freely, and being able to stop choosing at any time. A boundary is a line you get to set and change. Silence…
13-15 8 min read
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PMS and PMT
PMS is a cluster of symptoms in the week before a period that ease when bleeding starts. It is real and it is hormonal, not imagined. It affects a…
13-15 6 min read
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Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
PCOS is a common long-term condition affecting how the ovaries work, causing irregular or absent periods, and often acne, increased body hair and…
16-19 7 min read
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Sudden testicular pain
Sudden severe testicular pain needs emergency medical care immediately, not observation. It can be caused by testicular torsion, where the blood…
13-15 5 min read
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Syphilis
Syphilis is a bacterial infection that spreads through sexual contact and, less commonly, through shared needles or from a pregnant parent to a baby…
16-19 6 min read
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Testicular lump or swelling
Most testicular lumps and swellings are benign — cysts, varicoceles, hydroceles or infection. But a hard lump that feels different from the other…
13-15 5 min read
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The menstrual cycle
The menstrual cycle is the whole monthly process, not just the bleeding. It runs from the first day of one period to the day before the next, usually…
13-15 7 min read
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Trichomoniasis
Trichomoniasis is an infection caused by a single-celled parasite. It is common, often causes no symptoms, and — unlike chlamydia or gonorrhoea — is…
16-19 5 min read
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Urinary tract infections (UTIs)
A UTI is a bacterial infection of the urinary system. Burning when you pee and needing to go more often are the classic symptoms. It is common, it is…
13-15 6 min read
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Vaginal discharge
Clear or white discharge is normal and keeps the vagina healthy. It changes with hormones and the cycle, and often increases before ovulation and…
13-15 7 min read
Context
What is different at this age
- Your body is mostly done changing, so symptoms are easier to read than they were at fourteen.
- Preventive care now prevents more than it ever will later.
- You are likely managing your own healthcare, including the cost of it.
- Symptoms that have been happening for years may finally have an explanation worth looking for.
Question you would rather not ask anyone?
Ask it here. No account, no name, nothing sent anywhere, and no judgement about what you are finding out about.