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April is STD Awareness Month

STD - SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASE

What Is The Cause?

What caused this dramatic change in a period of just 30 years? The answer is simple: increased sexual mixing of the population. As more and more people have multiple sexual partners, the inevitable result is an acceleration in the spread of STD. The problem is compounded by the fact that 80% of the persons infected have no noticeable symptoms and, therefore, cannot know they are contagious. The microbes that cause sexually transmitted diseases are equal opportunity bugs. They don't care if you are white or black, rich or poor, educated or illiterate, happy or sad. If you're a warm body, you'll do. STD germs settle in an estimated 12 million Americans each year. Worldwide, they find 250 million new hosts a year.

The Effect On Young People

Unfortunately, STDs are not equal opportunity diseases. Adolescents have a higher degree of susceptibility than do older people. The ectropion of the cervix of a female teenager is more likely to become infected than that of a woman in her 20's. Indeed, researchers have estimated that a sexually active 15 year old has a 1 in 8 chance of developing pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), but that by age 24 the probability has decreased to 1 in 80. PID is the most rapidly increasing cause of infertility in the United States and is a primary reason for the 600% increase in ectopic pregnancies since 1970.

• STDs are easily spread through any person-to-person transfer of bodily fluids such as semen, vaginal secretions, or blood.
• When someone has a sexually transmitted disease, anyone who has sex with that person stands a good chance of becoming infected. Thus, having sex with multiple partners carries a greater risk of disease than staying faithful to a spouse or long-term partner. Even a monogamous relationship isn't necessarily risk-free, however, since one partner could be carrying an infection picked up during a prior sexual encounter.
• Many sexually transmitted diseases are highly contagious. For example, if a man has gonorrhea, a woman who has sex with him just once stands an 80 to 90 percent chance of getting infected. If the man has gonorrhea plus chlamydia, as frequently happens, the woman could be infected with both diseases at the same time.
• Vaginal intercourse is the classic route of STD infection. However, other important routes include anal sex (among men or man-to-woman), oral sex, sexual abuse of children, and mother-to-baby infection during childbirth.
• Sexually transmitted diseases weaken the immune system, so a person infected with one STD has a greater risk of acquiring other infections. Unfortunately, recovering from an STD does not make a person immune. Anyone who has had a particular STD is still at risk of getting it again.
• Men are more likely to show clear symptoms of STDs. Symptoms in women may not be as obvious, and the problem could be misdiagnosed.
• Many women infected with certain types of STDs have no early symptoms at all and may unknowingly infect sexual partner(s).
• In the past, gay men have tended to have an above-average rate of infection with STDs. This is largely attributed to promiscuity and may have declined in response to the AIDS epidemic. Additionally, some men are secretly bisexual. If a man picks up an STD from a homosexual encounter, he may then pass the infection on to unsuspecting heterosexual partners.
• Lesbians have a lower-than-average risk for STDs, since most sexually acquired diseases are not easily spread from woman to woman

For information about prevention, click here.

Some Common Sexually Transmitted Diseases

According to the Centers for Disease Control (1993) there are 12 million cases of sexually transmitted disease (STD) cases reported annually.

• Chlamydia - Chlamydia is a very dangerous STD as it usually has no symptoms; 75% of infected women and 25% of infected men have no symptoms at all.
• Gonorrhea - Gonorrhea is one of the most frequently reported STD. 40% of it's victims contract PID if not treated, and it can cause sterility.
• Hepatitis B - a vaccine exists, but there's no cure; can cause cancer of the liver.
• Herpes - painful and episodic; can be treated but there's no cure.
• HIV/AIDS - AIDS is the sixth leading cause of death among young men and women. The virus is fatal involving a long, painful death.
• Human Papalloma Virus (HPV) & Genital Warts - 33% of all women have this virus, which can cause cervical or penile cancer and genital pain.
• Syphllis - untreated, can lead to serious damage of the brain or heart.

Some Less Common Sexually Transmitted Diseases

• Bacterial Vaginosis - causes pain during urination, and untreated can result in kidney failure.
• Candidiasis - Candidiasis, or yeast infection, is not a true STD but can be contracted sexually, causing burning, itching and discomfort. It is treatable with over-the-counter medication, although it is commonly recurrent.
• Chancroid - a large, painful blister or ulcer which appears in genital area; may rupture.
• Granuloma Inguinale - causes painless ulcers which enlarge and easily bleed.
• Lymphogranloma Venereum - rare in this country; causes lesions, aching and absesses in the groin.
• Mucopurulent Cervicitis (MPC) - causes discharge from the cervix, can result in PID or miscarriage in pregnant women.
• Molluscum Contagiosum - this virus causes smooth, shiny lesions, which must be individually removed by a doctor.
• Nongonococcal Urethritis (NGU) - afflicts men and causes urinary problems, can be caused by chlamydia.
• Trichomoniasis - can cause foamy vaginal discharge or no symptoms at all. Can cause premature birth in pregnant women.

This website is for educational purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for a consultation or visit with your family physician or other health care provider. Please read this important legal information.

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