Are you clean? STDs are everywhere in college

Posted on March 27, 2009

One in five college students is infected with an STD

Sexually transmitted diseases (STD) are everywhere. In fact, there are more than 20 types of STDs - some curable, some not. According to the Health Services at Columbia University, 20 to 25 percent of college students are carriers of or have been infected with an STD. Nearly 65 percent of all STDs occur in people younger than 25.

If you are sexually active and in anything but a TOTALLY monogamous relationship, you have a good chance of getting an STD.

Some STDs are asymptomatic (they don’t show symptoms right away), so even if your partner doesn’t show any signs, he or she could still be infected.

Seeing as April is National STD Awareness Month, here is a little info on a few common STDs to give you an idea of what to watch out for when you’re hooking up:

Chlamydia is one of the most prevalent STDs in the U.S.

The disease is most common with men and women in their late teens and early twenties, and can co-exist with other STDs such as gonorrhea. Chlamydia is usually transmitted through sex, and people with Chlamydia do not always know that they are infected. Studies show that 60 to 80 percent of women and 10 percent of men who have Chlamydia exhibit no symptoms.

Symptoms of Chlamydia in women include genital itching and burning, vaginal discharge, dull pelvic pain and bleeding between periods. In guys, the symptoms include discharge from the penis and painful urination. Generally, Chlamydia can be treated with an antibiotic.

Gonorrhea is another common STD. It is also an infection that can be treated with antibiotics. It can only be contracted through sexual activity - vaginal sex, anal sex and oral sex. (Yes, you can get Gonorrhea in your throat.) You cannot catch Gonorrhea by sitting on toilet seats, using towels, drinking cups etc. from someone with the STD.

Herpes, aka “the gift that keeps on giving,” cannot be cured. It is a virus - the Herpes Simplex virus - that enters the body through the mouth and/or genitals, and stays in your body for life. There are two types of Herpes Simplex: Type I and Type II.
Type I is oral herpes. When a person has oral herpes he or she may get cold sores or fever blisters on or around the lips and mouth. Type II causes genital sores. Many people with genital herpes exhibit no outward symptoms after the first outbreak. Both types of herpes can be treated with some drugs, but the treatment will only speed the healing of an outbreak.

Keep in mind that you can still spread herpes if you are not in an active breakout, so just because there are no open sores, you can still infect others or become infected through unprotected sex.

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common STD in the U.S. There are more than 100 different types of HPV. HPV can be transmitted even without sexual intercourse; some types can be spread by skin-to-skin contact, so you can get some strands of HPV during foreplay. HPV can cause genital warts or even abnormal cell growth that results in cervical cancer, penile or anal cancer.

Many HPV carriers are unaware that they are infected, as, like herpes, there is not always an outbreak to alert the carrier to a problem. And, like herpes, HPV can be spread even without a outbreak.

There is an HPV vaccine, Gardasil, available in the U.S. Although there have been some debates about the side effects of Gardasil, both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the FDA have stated that the vaccine is safe to use. Gardasil has been approved for use in females between the ages of 9 and 26.

If you have an STD or think you have an STD, don’t be embarrassed. (According to the stats, if you sit at a table with 10 people, 2 of them have some sort of STD.) Go to the doctor as soon as possible - some of the most common STDs can be cured with a course of antibiotics. If you have an STD, don’t have sex until you have been tested and are sure you are clean.

If you are cured, you can still get the same STD again, and you can catch other STDs. (One course of antibiotics for Chlamydia does not mean that you are “immune” from possible future Chlamydia infections.) Of course, the best way to deal with an STD is to avoid getting one in the first place: use a condom or other protection when having sex.

Sara Staggs, 03/25/09 http://www.collegenews.com/