STIs and STDs
When people are considering becoming sexually active, there are a lot of responsibilities that come with it. Knowing the risks of sexual activities is the first responsibility. Some of these risks can result in getting STIs or STDs.
People take so many risks, that one out of two of us get an infection some time in our lives!What is the difference between an STI and a STD?
An STI is an infection before and after it causes symptoms and becomes a disease, while a
n STD is an infection that has symptoms.HIV/AIDS
AIDS is short for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. It is the most advanced stage of HIV disease, which is the Human Immunodeficiency Virus.
In the United States, nearly 930,000 cases of AIDS have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). About 40,000 women and men get HIV each year in the U.S. HIV/AIDS can be transmitted in a number of ways. Babies can get HIV/AIDS from their mother through breast milk if their mothers have HIV/AIDS. People who share needles (usually from drug usage) can transmit HIV/AIDS, or if someone is pricked by a needle that has been exposed to the virus. Unprotected sexual intercourse can transmit the disease from partner to partner, and so can getting HIV infected blood, semen, or vaginal secretions into open wounds or sores. You CANNOT get HIV/AIDS from kissing, holding hands, hugging or drinking after someone infected. Currently, there is no cure for HIV/AIDS.Chlamydia
Chlamydia is the most common and most invisible bacterial STI in the United States. It is a kind of bacteria that can infect the penis, vagina, cervix, anus, urethra, eyes, or throat. About three million American women and men become infected with chlamydia every year. It is most common among men and women under the age of 25. Chlamydia is spread by vaginal or anal intercourse. It can also spread from a woman to her fetus during birth. In very rare cases, it can spread from the hand to the eye. Unlike HIV/AIDS, it does have a treatment.
Gonorrhea
Gonorrhea is a bacterium that grows in the warm, moist areas of the reproductive tract, such as the cervix, uterus, and fallopian tubes in women, and in the urethra in both women and men. It can also grow in the mouth, throat, eyes, and anus. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Gonorrhea is such a common infection, that approximately 700,000 people in the United States develop get new infections every year. Only about half of those are actually reported. There are several antibiotics that can cure gonorrhea, but there has been an increase in the prevalence of the drug-resistant strain making treatment harder. In the United States, sexually active teenagers, young adults, and African Americans have the highest prevalence rate.
Human Papillomavirus
(HPV)According to the CDC, approximately 20 million people are currently infected with HPV, at least 50 percent of sexually active men and women acquire HPV at some point in their lives, and about 6.2 million Americans get a new HPV infection each year. By age 50, it is estimated that at least 80 percent of women will have acquired HPV. Currently, there are over 100 types of HPV, with over 30 of these being sexually transmitted. Approximately 10 of the 30 identified genital HPV types can lead to the development of cervical cancer.
For 2004, the American Cancer Society estimates that about 10,520 women will develop invasive cervical cancer and about 3,900 women will die from it. Most of the women who died as a result of the disease didn’t have regular screenings with their Gynecologist. Some of the "low risk" cases of HPV develop genital warts. Genital warts usually appear as soft, moist, pink, or flesh-colored swellings, usually in the genital area. They can be raised or flat, single or multiple, small or large, and sometimes cauliflower shaped. They can appear on the vulva, in or around the vagina or anus, on the cervix, and on the penis, scrotum, groin, or thigh. After sexual contact with an infected person, warts may appear within weeks or months, or not at all. While there currently is no cure for HPV, in most cases the infection goes away on its own.The second responsibility is knowing the best way to avoid contracting STIs/STDs:
Not sharing needles with someone
Abstaining from sexual intercourse
By practicing safe sex techniques (if you choose to be sexually active)
The third responsibility (but far from the last) is knowing safe sex techniques. This includes, but is not limited to: having few sexual partners, using condoms at all times, having good communication skills with your partner, knowing your partners past, having monogamous relationships, using barriers during oral sex, and getting regular physical exams!