Chapter Outline

SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASE (STDs)

• As a group, STDs are the #1 communicable disease problem in the U.S.A. They are most common during the late teens to twenties.

• One in four Americans will acquire at least one STD in their lifetime.

• They may be spread during sexual intercourse, oral or anal sex.

• Risk of infection is low to zero in a mutually monogamous relationship or if you abstain from sex.

• Women are particularly vulnerable to STDs, including AIDS, because they have more mucous membranes in their genital tissue than men do.

• There are over 25 known STDs, some of which are incurable.

• Bacterial STDs are treatable. Viral STDs are incurable.

• The most common bacterial STDs are: chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis.

• The most common viral STDs are: genital herpes, genital warts, hepatitis B, and AIDS.

CHLAMYDIA

• #1 bacterial STD

• Symptoms include: In women - an abnormal genital discharge, urethritis (which causes a burning sensation during urination), and lower abdominal pain. In men - it infects the epididymis causing painful scrotal swelling.

• Eighty percent of women and 10 percent of men have no noticeable symptoms and may not know they are infected.

• Untreated chlamydia in women can produce pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). PID is extremely damaging and can infect the lining of the uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries. It may leave women unable to bear children.

GONORRHEA

• #2 bacterial STD

• Cervix is most common site of infection, can spread and cause PID.

• Symptoms are often unnoticed in 80 percent of women and 20 percent of men. Discharge and burning during urination may be present. If not treated sterility is possible.

SYPHILIS

• Syphilis occurs in four stages:

• In primary syphilis the first sign is a chancre, or small painless sore, which appears within 1 to 12 weeks of sexual contact.
• In secondary syphilis a skin rash, fever, flu-like symptom headache, sore throat, swollen lymph glands, and patchy hair loss may occur. Symptoms may clear up in 2 to 6 weeks without treatment but may recur for up to 2 years.
• In latent syphilis a person is no longer infectious to others unless there is a relapse of moist lesions or unless the disease is passed to a baby during pregnancy.
• In tertiary syphilis a person may suffer permanent damage to the cardiovascular or nervous systems. Tertiary syphilis can occur anywhere from 3 to 40 years after initial infection. Complications include heart disease, blindness, brain damage, paralysis, insanity, and death.

GENITAL WARTS AND OTHER HUMAN PAPILLOMA VIRUS INFECTIONS (HPV)

• Genital warts are cause by HPV infections and are epidemic among young people of college age.

• There are over 60 types of HPV infections.

• Genital herpes produces blisters or sores.

• Genital warts produce flat or rounded bumps.

• HPV infections increase the risk of cervical cancer.

HEPATITIS B

• This is an inflammatory disease that destroys liver tissue.

• Incubation period is 1 to 9 months. Many people have no or mild symptoms.

• Other symptoms include: lingering flu-like feelings, weakness, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, and fever.

• May result in cirrhosis or liver cancer.

ACQUIRED IMMUNE DEFICIENCY SYNDROME (AIDS)

• The cause of AIDS is the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) which attaches lymphocytes (or T-cells) in the blood.

• The result of HIV infection is an increased susceptibility to opportunistic diseases which do not usually infect people with healthy immune systems.

• The symptoms of HIV infection are:

• Incubation - no symptoms
• Early symptoms - chronic fatigue, swollen glands, fevers, diarrhea, poor appetite.
• AIDS - pneumonia, TB, persistent vaginal infections, cancers.

• HIV is transmitted in body fluids such as blood, semen, vaginal fluids, and possibly saliva. Transmission is possible from an HIV carrier during sexual intercourse, sharing hypodermic needles, and from pregnant women to their infants. Some cases of AIDS, from tainted blood and blood products, occurred before 1985. Today, blood donors are screened, and blood is tested for HIV antibodies to ensure safety of our blood supply.

• An AIDS vaccine does not exist currently but is being developed.

• AIDS and the college student: 2 to 3 students per 1000 tested HIV positive, it is a young person's disease, the average age of diagnosis is 32, the incubation period to diagnosis averages 10 to 12 years, so the high risk time is ages 16 to 28, the problem doesn't seem real on most campuses because people are silently infected with HIV (look fine and have no symptoms), may not know they are infected but may spread the disease during intercourse, and 60 percent of college students have had unprotected sex.

HOW CAN I PROTECT MYSELF FROM STDs?

• Abstinence

• Mutual monogamy

• Limit partners and avoid high risk partners (prostitutes, homosexuals, bisexuals, people with several sexual partners)

• Use condoms and spermicide

• Choose lower risk sexual activities

• Avoid risky sexual activities (wet kissing with your mouth open, anal sex with or without a condom, vaginal oral sex without a condom)

• Separate alcohol and drugs from sexual activity

• Avoid IV drugs

• Plan ahead for safer sex. Discuss attitudes about protection before beginning a sexual relationship.

• How to cope with unwanted sexual pressure and avoiding sexual assault: attend parties with friends you can trust, communicate early your thoughts about sexual activity, listen carefully to what a person is saying, trust your instincts, speak up if someone is at risk, and avoid risky situations (i.e., heavy drinking).

ABSTINENCE

• Sexual abstinence is a choice to refrain from sexual activity. People do this for different reasons: religious, social, moral, health, or other.

• It is an excellent way to avoid exposure to sexually transmitted diseases.