Since the "sexual revolution" of the 60's, the number of know sexually transmitted diseases has gone from 2 to 25.  Many are a-symptomatic - there are no visible signs.  Some diseases cause temporary symptoms (such as sores and warts) but are still transmittable when they are not present.

Many teens still believe that you can tell when somebody has "got" something.  This line of thinking is wrong and dangerous.  The only 100% effective way of preventing the transmission of sexually transmitted disease is by remaining abstinent until marriage an uninfected partner and then being mutually faithful within your marital commitment.  Anything less is like playing Russian Roulette.

HPV:  The Human Papilloma Virus

• THERE IS NO CURE:  Once you've got it, you'll always have it.
• MAY CAUSE WARTS ON THE ANUS, GENITALS, MOUTH, THROAT
• WARTS MUST BE SCRAPED, BURNED, OR CUT OFF
• SPREAD BY SKIN CONTACT:  Condoms are virtually useless.
• CAUSES CERVICAL, VULVAR, AND PENILE CANCER:  Kills more women each year than AIDS
• AS MANY AS 80% OF SEXUALLY ACTIVE ADULTS ARE INFECTED.

Chlamydia

• CARRIERS OFTEN HAVE NO SYMPTOMS
• MOST COMMON NON
• VIRAL STD IN THE U.S.
• FOUR MILLION NEW INFECTIONS A YEAR
• CAUSES PELVIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASE (PID), ECTOPIC PREGNANCY, AND INFERTILITY AMONG WOMEN
• TEENAGE FEMALES ARE MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO INFECTION THAN ADULTS

AIDS:  Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

• CAUSED BY HIV INFECTION
• THERE IS NO CURE:  Medications simply postpone death.
• SPREAD THROUGH THE EXCHANGE OF BODY FLUIDS:  Condoms decrease but do NOT eliminate risk.
• NO INITIAL SYMPTOMS:  Millions are infected and don't know it.
• TEENS ARE MORE SUSCEPTIBLE THAN ADULTS
• DEVELOPS INTO HEALTH COMPLICATIONS SUCH AS CANCER, HEART PROBLEMS, AND NERVOUS DISORDERS

Genital Herpes

• NO KNOWN CURE:  Once you've got it, you'll always have it.
• CAUSES OPEN SORES ON THE ANUS, GENITALS, MOUTH
• CONTAGIOUS EVEN WHEN NO SORES ARE PRESENT
• SPREAD BY SKIN CONTACT:  Condoms are virtually useless
• INCREASES CHANCES OF GETTING OTHER STD'S, INCLUDING HIV/AIDS
• 1/3 OF SEXUALLY ACTIVE PEOPLE ARE INFECTED

Syphillis

• BACTERIAL INFECTION:  Can be treated with early diagnosis
• CHANCRE SORES APPEAR ABOUT 3 WEEKS AFTER EXPOSURE:  Could be internal and therefore unnoticed.
• IF LEFT UNTREATED WILL BECOME LIFE THREATENING
• CAN CAUSE BLINDNESS, HEART DISEASE, NERVOUS DISORDERS, INSANITY, TUMORS, AND DEATH
• ABOUT 100,000 NEW INFECTIONS ANNUALLY

Gonorrhea: New Strains Resist Treatment

As drug-resistant strains of gonorrhea continue to emerge, successful treatment of this sexually transmitted disease (STD) is becoming more difficult. In the 1980s, gonorrhea became resistant to penicillin and tetracycline, rendering these drugs ineffective treatment for gonorrhea.

If not treated successfully, gonorrhea can cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), infertility, ectopic pregnancy, and chronic pelvic pain. Previous studies also have shown that gonorrhea can facilitate HIV transmission. The estimated direct medical cost of treating gonorrhea in the United States is $56 million each year. Gonorrhea is the second most common disease reported to CDC, with more than 360,000 cases reported in 1999.

Source: Centers for Disease Control, National Center for HIV, STD, & TB Prevention, September 22, 2000