STDs



STD stands for **S**exually **T**ransmitted **D**isease (sometimes called Sexually Transmitted Infection). This is an infection which can be caught by having sexual contact with someone who is infected.Some STDs (such as Herpes and HPV) can be caught by touching the infected areas of someone's body.

In fact, some STDs like chlamydia and gonorrhea are actually more common among teens than among older men and women. And you don't have to have sex to get an STD, although it can increase your chances of having sex with someone with an STD.

(Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report)
 * 19 million new STD infections occur every year. And, even more alarming, is that nearly 50 percent of these new cases happen to young people between the ages of 15 and 24.**

If you think you have an STD you should have a test and get treatment. Untreated STDs can be dangerous - if you don't get help, it can lead to even further severe medical issues.

Is an STD something you would keep from your parents? Why?
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=Condom Use Is Highest for Young, Study Finds= A wide-ranging study of Americans’ sexual behavior, based on the largest nationally representative survey since 1992, finds that [|condom] use is becoming the norm for sexually active teenagers. Indeed, they are more responsible than adults about using condoms, the researchers report in a study coming out on Monday. A vast majority of sexually active 14- to 17-year-olds — 80% of boys and 69% of girls — said they had used a condom the last time they had intercourse, compared with well under half of adults involved in casual liaisons.

What is your take on this recent study?
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Get Tested
Many teens with a Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) don’t know they have one because they might not notice any different changes in their body. Even if someone doesn’t think they have an STD, they still can pass it on to another person from skin to skin contact, and even mouth to mouth contact.

Do you think teens are educated enough on STD and how they are transmitted? What do you think would improve their education?
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[[image:sex-ed-image.jpg width="310" height="264" align="right"]]Get Protected - The Debate on Condoms in Schools
There are three main controversial approaches to reducing rates of sexually transmitted diseases and unintended pregnancy among North American teenagers: abstinence-only programs, safer sex education, and making condoms available in schools. Which of these is effective? The American Medical Association (AMA) Council on Scientific Affairs recently concluded that “there are no published studies that measure behavioral effects of the `abstinence-only' curricula,” that “evaluations of safer-sex sexuality education show inconsistent but promising results,” and that programs that make condoms available in schools “usually demonstrate increased condom use.”

Do you agree with this assessment? Is abstinence-only curricula working? Does condoms handed out in schools promote teen sex? What is your opinion?
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