STDs

STD's are sexually transmitted diseases (diseases passed mainly during sex).

STD's are passed:

How many people have STDs?
The United States has the highest rates of STDs in the industrialized world. In the United States alone, an estimated 15.3 million new cases of STDs are reported each year. Women suffer more frequent and more serious complications from STDs than men.

How do you get an STD?
You can get and pass STDs through vaginal, anal, or oral sex. Trichomoniasis can also picked up from contact with damp or moist objects such as towels, wet clothing, or a toilet seat, if the genital area gets in contact with these damp objects. Some STDs cause no symptoms. But STDs can still be passed from person to person even if there are no symptoms.

How do you get tested for STDs?
Talk with your doctor or nurse about getting tested for STDs. She or he can tell you how to test for each STD.

Can STDs cause health problems?
Yes. While each STD causes different health problems, overall, they can cause cervical cancer and other cancers, liver disease, pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility, pregnancy problems, and other complications. Some STDs increase your risk of getting HIV/AIDS. HIV/AIDS can cause a number of health problems and raise the risk of getting life-threatening diseases and certain forms of cancer.

How are STDs treated?
The treatment depends on the type of STD. For some STDs, treatment may involve taking medicine or getting a shot. For other STDs that can't be cured, like herpes, there is treatment to relieve the symptoms.

How do STDs affect pregnant women and their babies?
STDs can have many of the same consequences for pregnant women as women who are not pregnant. An STD may also cause early labor, cause the water to break early, and cause infection in the uterus after the birth.

Some STDs can be passed from a pregnant woman to the baby before and during the baby's birth. Some STDs, like syphilis, cross the placenta and infect the baby while it is in the uterus. Other STDs, like gonorrhea, chlamydia, hepatitis B, and genital herpes, can be passed from the mother to the baby during delivery as the baby passes through the birth canal. HIV can cross the placenta during pregnancy, and infect the baby during the birth process.

The harmful effects to babies may include low birth weight (less than five pounds), eye infection, pneumonia, infection in the baby's blood, brain damage, lack of coordination in body movements, blindness, deafness, acute hepatitis, meningitis, chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, or stillbirth. Some of these problems can be prevented if the mother receives routine prenatal care, which includes screening tests for STDs starting early in pregnancy and repeated close to delivery, if necessary. Other problems can be treated if the infection is found at birth.

What can I do to avoid getting an STD?
There are steps you can take to keep from getting an STD:

  1. Practice abstinence. The best way to prevent any STD is to not have vaginal, oral, or anal sex.
  2. Be faithful. Have a sexual relationship with one partner who has been tested for STDs and is not infected is another way to reduce your chances of getting infected. Be faithful to each other, meaning that you only have sex with each other and no one else.
  3. Use condoms. Protect yourself with a condom EVERY time you have vaginal, anal, or oral sex. Condoms should be used for any type of sex with every partner. For vaginal sex, use a latex male condom or a female polyurethane condom. For anal sex, use a latex male condom. For oral sex, use a dental dam. A dental dam is a rubbery material that can be placed over the anus or the vagina before sexual contact.
  4. Know that some methods of birth control, like birth control pills, shots, implants, or diaphragms, will not protect you from STDs. If you use one of these methods, be sure to also use a latex condom or dental dam (used for oral sex) correctly every time you have sex.
  5. Talk with your sex partner(s) about STDs and using condoms. It's up to you to make sure you are protected. Remember, it's YOUR body! For more information, call the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at (800) 232-4636.
  6. Talk frankly with your doctor or nurse and your sex partner(s) about any STDs you or your partner have or had.
  7. Have regular pelvic exams. Talk with your doctor about how often you need them. Many tests for STDs can be done during an exam. Ask your doctor to test you for STDs. The sooner an STD is found, the easier it is to treat.

* Source: 4woman.gov

 

For more information on STDs, click on the links below.

 

Planned ParenthoodPlanned Parenthood is America's leading sexual and reproductive health care advocate and provider.  Founded by Margaret Sanger in 1916 as America's first birth control clinic, Planned Parenthood believes that everyone has the right to choose when or whether to have a child, that every child should be wanted and loved, and that women should be in charge of their destinies. Planned Parenthood affiliates nationwide provide sexual and reproductive health care, education, and information to millions of women, men, and teens in the United States each year.  Three and a half million Planned Parenthood activists and supporters also serve as advocates for sexual and reproductive rights.

 

CDCThe Center for Disease Control'smission is "To promote health and quality of life by preventing and controlling disease, injury, and disability."

 

The CDC National Prevention Information Network(NPIN) is the U.S. CDCPINreference, referral, and distribution service for information on HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and tuberculosis (TB). NPIN produces, collects, catalogs, processes, stocks, and disseminates materials and information on HIV/AIDS, STDs, and TB to organizations and people working in those disease fields in international, national, state, and local settings. All NPIN services are designed to facilitate sharing of information and resources on education and prevention services, published materials, research findings, and trends among users.

 

4woman.govwomenshealth.gov works to improve the health and well-being of women and girls in the United States through its innovative programs, educating health professionals, and motivating behavior change in consumers through the dissemination of health information.