College Times

Issue date: 2/21/08 Section: News

Media Credit: iStockPhoto(dot)com

Enough with the lies. Stop lying to yourself that you're an almighty sex superhero sent to save the souls of virgins. Stop lying that condoms are your kryptonite. Stop lying to yourself that pulling out is the new birth control.

Newsflash Super Man-whore and Wonder-if-you're-pregnant Woman, unsafe sex isn't saving the world.

Sexual diseases have plagued past generations, and continue to do so due to our own ignorance and bliss. It seems many twentysomethings think they're invincible, but the truth of the matter is 333 million new transmissions of STDs occur every year worldwide - and 12 million of those new infections occur in the United States, according to Life-Zone.org.

This means, whether you like it or not, if you're getting it on, you're at risk. Sex-ed classes may not be mandatory like they were freshmen year of high school, but that doesn't mean you can't take a break from Myspace/Facebook stalking to check out the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention online (www.cdc.gov/std), or make a stop at your campus clinic or local Plan Parenthood.

It might save your life.

New Dangers

Herpes, chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphillis, HIV/AIDS - these are all sexually-transmitted diseases that have taken main stage in past years, but some of the most dangerous STDs are the ones that have few or no symptoms.

That's the case with human papillomavirus or HPV.

According to the American Cancer Society, half of the six million new cases of HPV in the US each year occur in people between 15 and 25 years old. Within four years of first having sex, 50 percent of college-aged women will contract HPV, and up to three-fourths of people who ever have sex will contract HPV in their lifetime.

If HPV is affecting so many people, why aren't more people worried about it and doing something to prevent it?

"HPV is not detected on (standard) STD tests. There is currently no way to test for viruses such as HPV without the patient displaying outward symptoms, such as an outbreak or abnormal pap smear," according to Arizona State University nursing major Kelly Rini. "A lot of people won't go and get checked out unless something unusual presents itself and people that do get tested with their partner can both come back with clean results, but still have HPV. This often leads them to feel that condoms are unnecessary if they are using another form of birth control, and they end up spreading the virus unknowingly."

Continued...

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