sexuallY transmitted diseases (stds)

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are on the rise among young people. STDs are caused by
many different virus sand back-triathlete spread through sexual contact. Some examples of STD s
are chlamydia, crabs (pubic lice), genital herpes, gonorrhea, hepatic-tis B, HIV/AIDS, and syphilis. Even
if you’re not sexually active now, it’s vital to know how to protect yourself later.Four key things you need to
know about STD s
1. STDs can affect anyone—women and men of all ages and racial and ethnic backgrounds. Teens
and young adults get STDs more often than any other age group. About three million teens get STDs every year. That means about one in four sexu-ally active teens gets an STD.
2. You can get an STD by hav-ing any kind of sex, including vaginal (penis is put into vagina), oral (sucking and/or licking of sex organs), and anal (penis is put into butt). You can also get an STD by having other close
sexual contact with someone who already has an STD.
3. Often, STDs cause no symp-toms at first. Even if you have no symptoms, you can still pass
an infection on to another per-son. If you get symptoms, they can seem like other problems that aren’t STDs, such as yeast infections.

4. While some STDs can be treated and will go away, others can’t be cured. You can only try
to make the symptoms better. If untreated, some STDs can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility, cancer of the cervix, or even death. If you think you have a problem, see your doctor right away.
Your doctor will check your skin, throat and genital area. Your doctor may also test your blood, urine, or a sample of tissue or fluid from your body. If you have an STD, your doctor can start taking care of you right away. Even if your STD is cured with treatment, you can still get it again if you are sexu-ally active and do not protect yourself. Protect yourself from STDs

* You can’t get an STD if you do not have sex of any kind or close sexual contact with some-one. The best way to protect your health is to wait until you are married to have sex.
* Condoms can’t protect you from all STDs. But, if used correctly and used all the time, condoms will lower your chances of getting some STDs. Condoms will also lower your chances of getting pregnant.
* Talk to your parents or guard-ians, an older brother or sister, or another trusted adult about sex to helpyou make wise choices.Abstinence—not having sex—is the only 100 percent sure way to not get an STD.How do I know if I have an STD? You should see a doctor right away if you have lower stomach pain or have vaginal discharge(fluid) that is yellow, gray, or green with a strong smell. In between periods, it is normal to have a clear or whitish fluid (discharge) coming from your vagina.See your doctor if you have any of the other symptoms of com-mon STDs that follow.

Posted in: