|
|
|
|
Ask Dr. Hennessy What is a "sexually transmitted disease"? I will be discussing sexually transmitted diseases over the next few months. Each month I will tackle a specific disease for you. However, before I do that I want to give some overall information on this topic. First of all, what is a sexually transmitted disease? It is a disease that you can catch by having sex. What do I mean "having sex"? Sexual contact is touching genitalia (penis, vagina, or outside of vagina) or anus (opening of buttocks) with another person's genitalia, hands, mouth. Diseases can be passed from one person to another even if there is no penetration. That means even if someone's penis does not enter the vagina or the anus you can still pass an infection. This is important to keep in mind especially if you consider "oral sex" to be the same as safe sex. See my article on this particular topic if you have more information about oral sex. When people talk about sexually transmitted diseases they may call them STDs or venereal diseases. These names all mean the same thing. What are some names of STDs? One of the most common that I see is Chlamydia. I see this often in teens and it can present with no symptoms at all. I will talk more about this disease next month. Other STDs include Human Papillomavirus (HPV--which can cause cervical cancer and genital warts), Herpes (also called HSV or Herpes Simplex Virus), HIV, Syphilis, Gonorrhea, and Trichimonas. Some others are called Chancroid (caused by Hemophilus ducreyi- a bacteria), Granuloma Inguinale (caused by bacteria called Klebsiella granulomatis), Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and Pubic lice (also known as Pediculosis Pubis). Still there are other diseases that we don't normally consider STDs but can be spread by sexual contact such as Hepatitis A and Scabies. Sounds scary doesn't it?! The good news is that many of these diseases can be cured or controlled. Some, however, may last for the rest of your life. The bottom line is that I want you to have the facts about these diseases. Some important points about STDs... 1.) You need to see a doctor every year if you having sex. Many of these diseases can be infecting your body and you may not know it because you have no symptoms. If you don't see a physician then we can't fix it. 2.) As an adolescent, you can see a physician for testing and treatment of STDs without your parents' permission. You may want to ask your doctor about this at your next visit with him or her. Don't be afraid to ask the doctor if you can talk with him or her without a parent in the room. 3.) You are not the only one dealing with concerns about STDs. They are common. Your doctor has information for you. Please ask!!!! Over the next few months I will be discussing some of these diseases in more detail. Stay tuned...... For other Ask Dr. Hennessy articles, click here Email: Margaret.Hennessy@wfhc.org |