Marriage relationships and human sexuality have the potential to be wonderful, joyful, and completely satisfying. There is a spiritual and emotional connection in sex that can fill both people with a joyful love. It can also produce a new life! My two boys are on the verge of becoming teenagers. At times I feel like they are becoming new creatures all over again! I love pouring myself into them, teaching them, and enjoying seeing the young men they are becoming. When it comes to talking to them about sexuality, giving them the knowledge they need to make wise decisions, there is much they need to know.
Common Types of STI’s
One issue we all need to know about when it comes to sexuality is STI’s or sexually transmitted infections. There are many STI’s out there. The most common ones are:
Syphillis
Herpes
Chlamydia
Gonorrhea
HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) and
HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus)
Only counting the first four, there are an estimated 357 million new infections. The majority of new infections are to people between the ages of 15-25. Wow! My boys are almost in that age range.
As a parent, I don’t want them to get an STI, ever. The surest way to make sure (but not a guarantee) they never contract one is abstinence (no sex). If they marry someone who also has held to waiting for marriage, that will give them a really good chance of never having an STI.
Even though this is truly the safest and healthiest option for sexual relationships outside of monogamous marriage, not everyone agrees on or practices abstinence before marriage. Many people have multiple sex partners and many of them practice unprotected (no barrier, no condom) sex. Surely many of you are sexually active or have been. If you choose to engage in sexual activity you need to protect yourself, and your partner. You can’t tell if someone has an STI just by looking at them! If you practice unprotected sex you are taking a risk. Let’s find out some more facts from Dr. Stacey Rizza. She is a Mayo Clinic infectious disease specialist.
Watch Video Now
Rise in Sexually Transmitted Infections-Dr. Stacey Rizza on Mayo Clinic Radio
Dr. Rizza tells us about some of the symptoms of STI’s, how to test for them, and what kind of treatments are given. She also mentions the best way to prevent getting one.
You want to get an award for being employee of the month at work.
You want your diploma for finishing school.
You do not want a sexually transmitted infection as the result of having sex.
Symptoms
For Chlamydia and Gonorrhea, the most common symptoms are a burning sensation during urination or a discharge from the penis or vagina. For Syphillis it presents differently. Usually an ulcer at the cite of infection. A more advanced secondary syphilis presents with a rash. For women the ulcers can be inside the vagina unseen.
Testing
Testing for Chlamydia or Gonorrhea is a urine test. Testing for Syphillis is a blood test. People can also be carriers of the disease and not show symptoms - what is called being asymptomatic. A person can be a carrier of the disease for weeks, months, or even years without symptoms. But they can give the infection to other people during that time. This is why it is so important to be tested regularly.
Treatment
Treatment for these infections are antibiotics. For Gonorrhea the treatment is a combination of two anti-biotics, Zithromicin (Z-pac), and Cephtriaxone. Gonorrhea has built up a resistance to other antibiotics, so these two are needed. The good news is that only one dose is usually needed to treat these. For Syphillis penicillin is very effective. HPV, herpes, and HIV are not curable, but can be treated to minimize their impact on your health over the long-term.
Prevention
The most effective protection against STI’s according to Dr. Rizza is barrier protection either a male or a female condom. She also says abstinence will prevent contraction of STI’s. Further prevention of the spread of STI’s is telling your sex partner(s) if you have been diagnosed with one or you suspect you may have one. This could literally save lives! It can be awkward to talk about this but vital that you do. There are some great applications and websites out there now that allow you to tell your partner anonymously if you are unable. One of these is STD Check
https://www.stdcheck.com/anonymous-notification.php
This allows you to notify your partner that you have an STD by text or by email. When the person receives the message, they are encouraged to get themselves tested right away.
Conclusion
It is the hope of many medical professionals and health advocates that the negative stigma associated with sexually transmitted infections will fall away. Their hope is that these infections will be thought of just as any other disease or infection. In this way the shame factor will be diminished, and people will not try to hide the fact that they have already contracted an STI. They can seek treatment immediately and communicate it to any sexual partners.
Question for Reflection: Have sexual relationships ever contributed to your drinking or using alcohol and drugs? How can you protect yourself from emotionally harming relationships?
Helpful Links
STD Check
https://www.stdcheck.com/anonymous-notification.php
Ted Talk- Jessica Lad-Creating an STD-free generation.