Learn about sexually transmitted diseases

Sex is a regular and natural part of life, but that doesn’t mean it’s safe. Millions of people around the world are infected with STDs, also known as sexually transmitted diseases. Some STDs can be cured, while others require lifelong treatment. Some STDs, such as the AIDS virus, are even fatal. Different sexually transmitted diseases affect the body in various ways; some cause uncomfortable rashes and sores, while others may do irreversible damage to the body’s reproductive system. Other STDs can contribute to a wide variety of health problems.

Sexually transmitted diseases are transferred between people through the exchange of blood and bodily fluids. During intercourse or oral sex, bacteria and viruses can be transferred between partners through small cuts, saliva or trace amounts of blood – even your pubic hair can hold STD-causing bacteria. However, most people who carry STDs go for years without ever knowing anything is wrong, because symptoms manifest differently from one person to the next. The only way to know whether you are clear of STDs is to be tested by a medical professional. The same thing goes for your sexual partners.

Researchers have named more than 20 different types of sexually transmitted diseases, ranging from herpes to gonorrhea to syphilis to Chlamydia. Each STD carries its own set of symptoms and requires various methods of treatment. Many drugs and medications have been created to help people find relief from various STD symptoms. Support groups for people with STDs exist online and in several different communities.

How common are STDs?

Statistics show that STDs are widespread across the United States. Surveys from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that roughly 3 percent of men and women ages 15-44 were diagnosed and treated for sexually transmitted diseases in 2002, and those figures aren’t believed to have changed much in the meantime. The problem with STD reporting is two-fold: for starters, most people who have STDs are unaware of their conditions, and second, even people who believe they have STDs are often to embarrassed or ashamed to attempt to receive treatment. For these reasons, health experts believe the number of people with STDs is actually larger than what’s indicated by statistics.

The Center for Disease Control has several other statistics that illustrates the state of STDs in America. Among them is that 36,935 new cases were diagnosed here in 2006, and that occurrences of syphilis increased by 12.5 new cases per 100,000 people in 2006. Chlamydia cases also grew by more than 1 million in 2006, and 358,366 new cases of gonorrhea were logged during the same year.

The AIDS virus, which stems from the HIV virus, remains one of the most deadly diseases in the world today, although medical researchers are inching closer to finding more reliable and permanent treatment methods. Still, an estimated 14.6 Americans were exposed to the HIV virus earlier this decade, and a large part of that exposure occurred through sexual activity. Everyone who is sexually active is encouraged to wear a male or female condom, which remains the best way to protect yourself from the HIV or AIDS viruses during sexual intercourse.

History of STDs

STDs have been around for a long time. Before modern medicine advanced, STDs were incurable. When antibiotics were invented, STDs became generally treatable. Effective health campaigns also helped out as the public became aware of the dangers of STDs. In the 1980s, both genital herpes and AIDS emerged into the public sector as being STDs that could not be cured with modern medicine. AIDS is, of course, a particularly ferocious STD and can keep replicating, therefore making it easily transmittable. AIDS is now a global pandemic, and something doctors and scientists continue to study and puzzle over.