Student ___________________________
STDs – FACT OR FICTION
STD facts
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Birth
control pills do not prevent sexually transmitted diseases from being
contracted.
- Over
95% of all STDs are contracted through sexual intercourse.
- Most
STDs can be treated.
- There
is no cure for herpes or AIDS.
- STDs
cannot be transmitted by touching door knobs, drinking fountains, or
swimming in a public pool.
- Once
you are cured of an STD, you can get it again.
- The
AIDS virus must pass from one person’s body fluids into another’s
bloodstream for the second person to get the disease.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Most
AIDS patients in the United States are homosexual or bisexual men.
- AIDS
can be spread by heterosexual contact between men and women.
- AIDS
can be spread through contaminated needles.
- An
unborn fetus can be infected with syphilis while in the uterus.
- An
unborn fetus cannot contract gonorrhea while in the uterus, but may
contract the disease when an infected mother’s “bag of water” breaks
before delivery.
- An
estimated 40% of males and 80% of females infected with gonorrhea have no
visible symptoms, but they may pass the disease to a sexual partner.
- If a
woman receives not treatment or insufficient treatment for gonorrhea,
sterility may occur.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- A
person can still be infected with syphilis even though the syphilic
chancre goes away.
- Syphilis
can remain dormant for years and then cause heart or brain damage, or even
cause death.
- Mental
illness, blindness, paralysis, and heart disease are all symptoms of
syphilis.
- If a
woman has an active case of genital herpes she may infect her baby during
delivery.
- The
doctor of a woman with genital herpes may suggest a cesarean delivery so
the baby does not have to pass through the infected birth canal.
- Women
who are infected with genital warts or herpes may develop cancer of the
cervix
- Condoms
help protect against many STDs, but are not 100% effective.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- If two
people are free from STDs and have no other sexual partners, they will
likely never have any STDs.
- Chlamydia
can cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) which can lead to infertility.
- Genital
warts are caused by a virus and spread by sexual contact.
- An
individual who has been exposed to genital warts may not notice any
symptoms for 6-8 months.
- Some
STD strains are becoming resistant to present medications which are
available.
- Many
STDs lave latent stages where no visible symptoms are present.