STDs

STDs: an epidemic sweeping the nation. These diseases, which are most often spread through sexual contact are varied in severity and symptoms. Infamous ones include Gonorrhea, Syphilis, and HIV/AIDS. STDs in the US are at a high as of recently. Many STDs cause infertility, but some have lasting repercussions, and even death. The most high risk activity is unprotected sexual activity, which is the main way STDs are spread. Unprotected Anal sex is much more infectious than Unprotected Vaginal sex Many STDs are spread by fluids, which can include blood transfusion or remnants on needles, another common way for the diseases to be spread. Most STDs are curable, but some are not, such as Herpes, Hepatitis, HIV(which has a treatment) and HPV. HPV in particular is a major threat to health since it causes various cancers. A vaccine exists for HPV to be used on prepubescent children. Other vaccinations should be taken based off of risk. Preventing the contraction of STDs is important for personal health. Drug usage involving needles is a common vector, due to unclean needles, since illegal operations such as those are concerned only with making money and not facing repercussions for their actions. Another major vector, as mentioned previously, is unprotected sexual contact. For other STDs except HPV, testing is generally simple, so in that case, have any prospective sexual partners checked for STDs. However, due to the practicality of that, the simplest way of protection from STDs is abstention from premarital sex. This is due to the fact that since the courting process is so long, STDs besides HPV will usually make themselves evident. HPV is a special case due to its difficulty to detect and its prevalence (about 40% of the population of the US). For this, vaccination is the only way to make sure, though having a sexual partner who has not engaged in relations with other persons is a way to make the risk minimal. Protection during sexual activity through the use of devices such as condoms does not only minimize the risk of pregnancy, it also reduces greatly the risk of contracting an STD. Generally speaking, although the risk of STDs is heavily reducible, the risk still exist as the number of sexual partners increases.