Exposed king

It has happened to me a few times that someone sacrificed a piece for the middle of the three pawns in front of the king. I am never sure, is it safer to leave the file on the edge open, eg. white castling kingside - the h file, or to take with the f pawn, exposing the king on that side? Is there a general rule? Obviously it depends on the situation, for example which pieces the opposition has on those files etc, but early in a game, does it matter? is there a safer option?

Thanks

i would take with the h pawn because your oponent then cant attack you from the centre. They have to form an attack down the flank and that takes time and you should be able to get pieces across to the other side of the board to defend it. If you expose the king in the centre then pieces like a bishop or queen are able to use the long diagonals to mount an attack on your king so i would always take with the h pawn to start off with. obviously you said it does depend on the situation but also remember that at the end of it you will be a piece up. Be careful there is not a queen on the look out for an attack until you can get your pieces across to defend