Facts about Sexually Transmitted Sideases

Just a few facts that may make you think twice about taking a chance on unsafe sex.

25% of all Americans between 15 and 55 will have at least one sexually transmitted disease.
There are more than 20 STDs.
The cost of treatment, lost productive time, lost wages and lost lives now cost over $10 billion per year in the United States alone.
STDs affect men and women of all backgrounds and economic levels.
Almost two-thirds of all STDs occur in people younger than age 25.
The incidence of STDs is rising, mostly because sexually active people today are more likely to have multiple sex partners during their lives. The more partners you have, the more likely your chances of getting an STD.
Most of the time, STDs cause no symptoms most of the time. This is especially true for women. However, even without symptoms a person with an STD can infect someone else through sexual contact. This is why periodic testing is recommended.
Women get ill from STDs more frequently than men. When women get sick from STDs they are generally more ill than men. Some STD's can spread throughout the reproductive system of a woman and cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) which can cause both infertility and ectopic pregnancy. An undetected ectopic pregnancy can kill a woman. HPV has been linked to cervical cancer. STDs may be passed from mom to baby. The baby can die or be permanently disabled (i.e.. blind) or even die if untreated.
When diagnosed and treated early, many STDs can be cured.
Having an STD, other than HIV, increases the risk of becoming infected with HIV (AIDS virus).
Properly treating an STD includes treating the partner. This avoids passing the infection back and forth between the same partners (ping-pong effect).
Successfully treating a treatable STD involves three steps: involves 3 steps: treatment, counseling (no sexual contact until follow-up), and follow-up. Follow-up is extremely important because a person may have a resistant strain of the infection and could still have it even though they have no symptoms. A person may remain infected even if they have no symptoms.
Not all STDs can be treated.

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