What Every Women Needs to Know About
Sexual Transmitted Diseases & STD's

Would it surprise you to know that sexual transmitted diseases are the most under-recognized health problem in the country?

It’s worth reporting and repeating!

• 65 million peopleare currently living with incurably sexual transmitted diseases

• 15 million people become infected by a STD each year

• 7 million people of the 15 million infected contract a life-long infection

No doubt, the statistics are frightening!

These stats may make you want to forget about sex forever!

But for the sake of your sexual health and a lifetime of sexual pleasure - understand the issues and free yourself to experience total sexual wellness.

In other words, make these numbers work for you - not against you!

It does not require an extreme change in your sexual behaviors; often it only requires a small change in attitude and a little education about the dynamics of safe sex and sexual transmitted diseases.

To emphasize the importance of this issue I really what to make sure you understand the reality of sexual transmitted diseases and not merely dismiss them as something that happens to other people.

Now brace, yourself...

...Because if the estimates are correct, the situation is worse than it appears.

The 65-15-7 numbers appear in dozens of websites on STD's and in published books and articles.

But there is a problem!

The numbers show above, are estimates from a research study completed in 1999 by Cates W et al. (reported in Sex Trans Dis. 199;26 (suppl):s2-s7).

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Do you see the problem?

That’s right the numbers are outdated. Fortunately, the authors provided a rate of how many new cases are expected a year.

If these estimates are correct the incurably STD's numbers need to be adjusted by at least 28 million for the year 2005.

This means, if the estimates are accurate, 96 million people are infected with an incurable sexual transmitted disease in the USA.

Another way of saying it is that almost 1 in 3 people have an incurably STD.

Here’s the calculation:

96,000,000 incurably STD cases
-------------------------------------------------------- = 32.51%
295,287,067 (01/19/05 total US population)

The purpose of emphasizing these numbers is not to scare you into celibacy or monogamy - it is an attempt to give you a "reality check" in attitudes towards sex and your sexuality!

The ultimate goal is to break the silence - to get you comfortable talking about sex with your partner, child, doctor, and friends. And not just about STD’s, but about everything about sexuality!

There is critical information on over 10 different types of STD's!

If you are looking for information and guidance on what to do , like

• How to talk about STD to teenagers

• How to get tested for STD’s without embarrassment

• How to tell a partner after you discover your infected

• How to fit the new reality of a sexual transmitted disease into the rest of your life

Read on and discover and uncover the hidden reality of what the CDC (Center of Disease & Control) calls the Hidden Epidemics - sexual transmitted diseases are a part of life that should and must be understood by everyone.

As Martin Luther King said "We fear the things that we do not understand" .

So let’s start understanding what you can do to eliminate fear of sexual transmitted diseases.

Of course abstinence is one pathway to manage risk , but it is not the only way.

For most of you, sex is not a necessity, but it is something that may add an expression of intimacy and connection that is uniquely divine and defines a sacred part of being a woman.

Regardless of your orientation, there is a need to understand how sexual transmitted diseases impact your life and how to use the knowledge to improve the quality of your sexual health .

And that means to everyone, no matter were you are in your life - young, old, married, single, monogamous, celibate, infected or STD-free.

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Sexually transmitted diseases, once called venereal diseases, are among the most common infectious diseases in the United States today.

STD’s refer to more than 20+ different types of organisms that are most commonly spread through sexual contact such as:

• Oral

• Anal

• Vaginal

• Direct skin-to-skin contact

• Exchanging body fluids such as semen, pre-cum, vaginal fluids or blood

STDs can also be spread by:

• Sharing needles

• Mother to child during pregnancy

The result of infection from a STD can be anywhere from mild embarrassment and inconvenience to sever disability and death.

There are 3 main classifications of the 20 plus organisms that cause STD's :

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What Every Women Should know About STD's

Sexual transmitted diseases affect everyone

• Sexual transmitted diseases affect women and men of all ages

• Racial/ethnic backgrounds

• Income levels

• Teenagers and young adults get sexual transmitted diseases more often
  
  

1. The number of people getting STDs is rising
   
   Over the last 20 years there is an increase number of people getting sexual transmitted diseases, and the numbers continue to rise.

   
   
2. BEWARE! You can have an STD, and have no symptoms
   
   Most of the time sexual transmitted diseases cause no symptoms, especially in women. This means it is easy to pass on a STD without even knowing it.
   
   This is why it is so important to get tested.
   
   Don't be embarrassed, there easy and confidential options to get tested on all STD's through one simple blood test.
   
   If symptoms develop, they may be confused with symptoms of other diseases that aren't sexual transmitted diseases.
   
   
   
3. Get Tested
   
   Talk with your health care provider about getting tested or take the first step and get your own STD Test without a doctors visit, particularly if you have more than one sex partner.
   
   Remember, you don't have to have symptoms to get tested.
   
   
   
4. Untreatede Sexual Transmitted Diseases Can Cause Life Long Health Problems
   
   Health problems tend to be more severe and more frequent for women than men. This may be because women most often have no symptoms and seek care only when serious problems develop.
   
   Warning STD's can affect women in different ways - always get a second opinion if your in doubt!
   
   
   
5. Cancer Link
   
   Some sexual transmitted diseases are linked to cancer of the cervix.
   
   One STD, human papillomavirus (HPV) causes genital warts and cervical and other genital cancers
   
   
   
6. Pregnancy Risk:
   
   A mother can pass an sexual transmitted diseases to her baby before, during, or right after birth.
   
   Some of these infections can be easily cured. But others can harm a newborn, causing life long damage or even death.
   
   
   
7. Treat Sexual Transmitted Diseases Early
   
   Sexual transmitted diseases are most successfully treated if caught early.
   
   There are tests that are affordable and cost less 40-70% less than a doctors visit.
   
   There many very effective treatments for sexual transmitted diseases if they are caught early.
   
   
   
8. Sexual Transmitted Diseases Reoccur
   
   It is important to know that even with treatment that cures an STD, you can still get the sexual transmitted disease again.

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General Sexual Transmitted Disease Symptoms

If you are at risk, you should have routine tests for sexual transmitted diseases , as well as regular check-ups, even if no symptoms are present. Some common symptoms are listed below:

• Itching around the vagina and/or discharge from the vagina for women

• Reoccurring or severe vaginal yeast infections

• Bleeding from the vagina, other than period

• Discharge from the penis for men

• Pain during sex, when urinating and/or in the pelvic area

• Sore throats in people who have oral sex

• Pain in the anus for people who have anal sex

• Chancre sores (painless red sores) on the genital area, anus, tongue and/or throat

• A scaly rash on the palms of your hands and the soles of your feet

• Dark urine, loose, light-colored stools, and yellow eyes and skin

• Small blisters that turn into scabs on the genital area

• Swollen glands, fever and body aches

• Unusual infections, unexplained fatigue, night sweats and weight loss

• Soft, flesh-colored warts around the genital area

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Tests for Sexual Transmitted Diseases

There are a number of tests for STDs. And, the only way to be sure you have an STD, is to see your health care provider or regional medical clinical for testing.

Your provider may start with one or all of the following exams:

A physical exam to look for symptoms of an STD, such as swollen lymph nodes and growths or irritations inside the throat or anus or in the genital area.

• A visual exam to inspect your skin for rashes, growths or sores, especially the area around the genitals.

• A pelvic exam to look at the inside of your vagina (birth canal) and cervix (opening to the uterus, or womb) and to feel your internal organs for any inflammation or growths on the uterus, ovaries, and fallopian tubes (tubes that carry eggs from the ovaries to the uterus).

• Tests may be ordered to confirm the presence of bacteria or viruses that cause sexual transmitted diseases. Your provider will take a sample of fluid or tissue from the vaginal, anal or genital area and send it to a lab for analysis.

An good alternative to a doctor's visit is a blood test.

Blood Tests are done for some sexual transmitted diseases, but NOT all STD's. The follow STD's can be test in one blood test and results returned in less than 48 hrs:

• Chlamydia
• Gonorrhea
• HIV
• Hepatitis B
• Syphillis
  
  

What many women do not know is that you can take the first step with a blood test without a doctors visit and save 40-70% off what a doctor would charge.

If blood tests make sense for you - look for the STD Panel I & II test that will test for all 5 STD's.

You also have the option of individual tests.

Of course you should visit your doctor to discuss results if they come back positive.

The only concern with blood test is that you may receive a false-positive test. This means that your test says you have an STD when you do NOT.

It is important to manage your expectations on any tests. All medical tests need to be confirmed so do not let others persuade you to not take a blood test on this point alone.

The convience, confidentiality and affordability of the blood test makes this the best way to scan for STD's regularly.

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Sometimes a person may be too scared or embarrassed to ask for information or help. But, keep in mind most sexual transmitted diseases are easy to treat.

Early treatment of sexual transmitted diseases is important. The quicker you seek treatment, the less likely the STD will cause you severe harm.

And the sooner you tell your sex partners about having an STD, the less likely they are to spread the disease to others (because they can get treated).

For pregnant women, early treatment also reduces the chances of passing the STD to a baby.

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Action-Steps Checklist:

• Get it treated right away. Studies suggest that having an STD increases your risk for getting infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

• Follow your health care provider's orders and finish all the medicine that you are given. Even if the symptoms go away, you still need to finish all of the medicine.

• Avoid having any sexual activity while you are being treated for an STD.

• Be sure to tell your sexual partners, so they can be treated too.

• Get a follow-up test to make sure that the infection has been cured (for those sexual transmitted diseases that can be cured; some are life long infections).

• If you are pregnant, be sure to tell your doctor. Some medicines aren't safe to take when pregnant, and you may need a different drug to treat the STD.

• If you are breastfeeding, talk with your doctor about the risk of passing the STD to your baby while breastfeeding.

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