fuck yeah sex education

STD/STI Facts You Should Know (but might not)

1. An STI (sexually transmitted infection) is a germ (virus, bacteria, parasite) that can cause an illness inside a person even though the person doesn’t have any symptoms. An STD (sexually transmitted disease) refers to infections that are causing symptoms or problems
2. A person with a vagina is four times more likely to contract an STI/STD than they are to become pregnant.
3. Pre-ejaculate can still transmit infection. Withdrawing before ejaculation also does not prevent STDs.
4. Douching (from the Latin ducere, “to lead”) before and after sex does not protect against STDs/STIs and, in fact, may promote an infection after exposure to an STI/STD.
5. Genital pimples do not necessarily mean an STD and may simply indicate a case of genital acne
6. The estimated number of people living in the U.S. with a viral STD/STI is over 65 million. One in two sexually active people will contact an STD/STI before the age of 25
7. The human papillomavirus (HPV) is currently the fastest growing STI/STD
8. Mutual masturbation is not a guarantee against contracting an STD. Pubic lice, scabies, bacterial vaginosis cytomegalovirus, herpes simplex, and human papillomavirus virus (HPV) can all be contracted through mutual masturbation
9. Crabs (pubic lice) are small parasites that feed on human blood. They can be sexually transmitted even if there is no penetration or bodily fluid exchanged or even if a condom is worn. They can live 24 hours off a human host, making it possible to get crabs from infested bedding or clothes.
10. Donovanosis is a very rare sexually transmitted disease. Small, painless nodules appear after 10-40 days after exposure and, if left untreated, can destroy penile tissue.
11. Curable STIs/STDs are usually bacterial and include chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, and trichomoniasis. Viral STIs/STDs cannot be cured and include HPV (though the body can clear this disease), Herpes, Hepatitis B, and HIV
12. Person with vaginas who have sex with other people with vaginas can still become infected with STDs and need to have yearly Pap smears as a screening test for cervical cancer.
13. While most STDs can be accurately tested soon after exposure, HIV should be tested for most accurate results about six months after possible exposure
14. STIs/STDs cannot be acquired in a swimming or public bathroom (unless you have sex in the pool or on the toilet). Most STIs/STDs are spread only through direct genital contact and begin to die immediately after they leave the infected person.
15. Chancroid (“soft chancre”) is highly contagious but usually curable STI/STD. Unlike a syphilis chancre that is hard or rubbery, a chancroid is soft to the touch. Ulcers are painful in men, but women may not be aware of them. Rare in the Western world, the disease can be easily confused with syphilis or herpes.
16. Nearly half of U.S. youths and adolescents are unaware of their HIV infection, and less than a quarter are tested for the virus.
17. Digital-anal sex, in which one partner uses a finger to stimulate the other’s anus, can be a means of transmitting HIV.
18. Some STDs (syphilis) can cross the placenta and infect a baby while in the uterus. Other STDs (gonorrhea, genital herpes, chlamydia, hepatitis B) can be transmitted from mother to baby during delivery through the birth canal. HIV can cross the placenta during pregnancy, infect the baby during the birth and, unlike most STDs, can also infect the baby through breastfeeding.
19. Though one in five Americans has genital herpes, nearly 90% are unaware they have it. Some estimates suggest that by 2025 up to 40% of all men and half of all women could be infected.
20. A condom merely reduces—but does not eliminate—the risk of an STD.
21. Cold sores can cause vaginal herpes and vaginal herpes can cause oral herpes.
22. It is important to remember that some STDs cause no symptoms, and when symptoms do occur, they are often not recognized.
23. Most people with STDs have no symptoms—none! So you can be infected and infect someone else without knowing it.
24. Herpes can be passed along to practically any part of the body
25. Only 39 percent of American high school students are taught how to correctly use a condom in their health classes.  Programs that teach young people about abstinence as well as contraception, including condom use, help youth to delay first sex and use condoms and other forms of contraception when they do have sex.
26. The pictures they show you in Sex Ed and health classes of STDs and STIs are usually atypical. They were either a typically horrible case or were left untreated. Usually, and especially if treated, they don’t get that bad.
27. Getting an STD or STI will not ruin your life. 

If this makes you want to give up sex forever please visit my post about safe sex:

http://fuckyeahsexeducation.tumblr.com/post/16125145312/safe-sex