After the clothes come off...
Half will pay the price....STDsOne in every four teenagers contract an STD each year.
One in two sexually active persons will contract an STD by the age of 25.
More than half of all people will have an STD at some point in his or her lifetime.
These statistics provided by the American Social Health Association (ASHA) are only some of the facts related to the growing number of STD related cases in the United States.
With numerous types of sexually transmitted diseases and at the rate that teenagers and young adults are contracting them, it is beneficial to know about the different types of STDs and how each one affects the human body.
There are two types of STDs: bacterial and viral. However, the classification of STDs may soon change.
“Gonorrhea, as well as many other STDs are now being referred to as sexually-transmitted infections [STIs] because they resemble infections more than a disease,” Michelle Ramos, the center administrator at Planned Parenthood, said. Diseases have apparent symptoms, however there are many STDs that do not have symptoms or signs which indicate that they are instead infections. Other STDs that will soon be referred to as STIs include chlamydia, herpes, and Human Papillomavirus since symptoms may never show.
STDs that are usually talked about by teenagers include chlamydia, crabs, gonorrhea, and herpes.
“Chlamydia is on the rise again,” Wendy Dallamura, a nurse practitioner for Planned Parenthood said, “Many people don’t even know they are infected with it.” Currently, chlamydia is a national epidemic and is most commonly found in one in five sexually active teenagers and young adults.
However, many people do not show any kind of symptoms; therefore people are not aware that he or she may be carrying this bacterial infection.
According to ASHA, symptoms of chlamydia vary from male to female. While women can experience burning while urinating, lower abdominal pain, and pain during intercourse, men can incur the same burning while urinating, burning and itching around the opening of the penis, and pain as well as swelling. Chlamydia can be treated with antibiotic drugs and is therefore curable.
Syphilis for many years has been declining in the United States, however it is once again becoming a serious health risk. Most people obtain syphilis through sexual intercourse but it can also be obtained through small cracks in the surface of skin and it can also be passed through kissing, oral sex, and to a fetus by an infected pregnant woman. “Syphilis has different stages as far as the symptoms go, but after many years it can also affect the brain at which point it is probably fatal,” Ramos said.
First, syphilis will cause an ulcer-like sore which can occur anywhere between 10 and 90 days after exposure. Usually a rash will appear on the hands and feet with headaches and fatigue to follow.
Penicillin injections are used to treat the disease but the longer a person waits before treatment the more intense it will be. Late stages of syphilis have many complications including the destruction of organ and brain tissues. However, when this late stage occurs the patient is usually psychotic and the disease usually can not be cured, according to Planned Parenthood.
In 2000, about 850,000 to 950,000 people in the United States had HIV. HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is the virus that causes AIDS (Acquired ImmunoDeficiency Syndrome).
The first sign of HIV was seen in 1959 from a man in Kinshasha, Democratic Republic of Congo. Analysis of the blood discovered that HIV came from the 1940s or 50s according to ASHA.
Most people who have HIV, or have advanced to AIDS, are unaware that he or she has been affected. While HIV is spread most commonly through sexual intercourse there are many other ways of passing the disease such as sharing needles, according to ASHA.
The best way to protect against HIV or any other STD besides abstinence is to use latex condoms with water-based spermidides. However, condoms do not protect other areas such as the scrotum or anal areas.
One in five adults in the United States has genital herpes and about 90 percent do not know that they have the virus. There are two types of the herpes simplex virus (HSV), HSV-1 and HSV-2. The type of herpes that most people show on their mouths such as cold sores is usually caused by HSV-1, and genital herpes are caused by HSV-2. Many people who have herpes may not show any symptoms for days, months, or a year which makes it difficult to trace the virus back to the person who passed it on, according to ASHA.
“Herpes does not yet have a cure, so for now there is suppressive medication that people can take to calm the outbreaks,” Ramos said.
For more information about STDs and STIs, go to www.ashastd.org/Stdfaqs/index.html.
Many teenagers and young adults do not know that he or she have an STD or STI until tested for the specific type.
“When someone comes into Planned Parenthood and wants to be tested for a specific STD then they must request for that specific one,” Ramos said, “It is important to be checked for STDs every time there is a partner change as well as routinely,” Ramos added.
Volume 43, Issue 5. Today is
Photo by Amanda Smith
Did you know?
More than 65 million people living in the United States have a viral STD.
Every year, there are approximately 15 million new cases of STDs.
Approximately one in four Americans have genital herpes. By 2025, it is estimated that up to 40 percent of all men and half of all women could be infected.
Less than half of adults, ages 18 to 44, have ever been tested for an STD other than HIV/AIDS.
It has been discovered that less than one-third of U.S. physicians routinely screen patients for STDs.
Hepatitis A and B are the only two vaccine-preventable STDs.
Each year, there are appoximatly 3 million new cases of chlamydia, most of which are in young adults.
Using condoms gives substantial protection against STDs including statistically significant protection against HIV, chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes, and syphilis.
About half of all HBV infections are transmitted sexually. HBV is linked to chronic liver disease, including cirrhosis and liver cancer.
Cervical cancer in women is linked to high-risk types of HPV.
Information was obtained from the American Social Health Association.