Are you worried about STDs?

[Dags90]

as for the figure that 1 in 4 women have an std. well if you go to some west african countries the figure would be that or even higher, but in western countries the std rate is much much lower.

Actually, it's quite accurate for the U.S. Of course, there is an asterisk in that figure. The most prevalent STDs in the US (off the top of my head) are HPV and HSV.

Only 1% of people who have HPV will develop genital warts, so 99% are seemingly asymptomatic. Also, many people can fight off an HPV infection successfully. The problem is the minority of people who can't, who face higher cancer rates anywhere they have HPV infection, further increased for every strain of HPV they have. HPV prevalence rates alone near 25%.

Similarly a much larger number of people test positive for herpes antibodies than those who report having actual herpes outbreaks.

I'm not particularly worried about STDs. Most of them are mostly harmless, condoms and basic hygiene are effective against the ones that can kill you.

 

[Lil devils x_v1legacy]

i used to do outreach with the local sexual health unit.

i do want to tell you the standard things we told clients. you cant always tell someone has an STD by looking at them as for how easy they are to catch. most involve bodiely fluid transfers, while some like crabs can be caught from sharing a towel.

my advice is that if you are seeing someone new is for both of you to go for std testing prior to a sexual relationship and to make sure you use condoms and WATER based lubricant. do not under any circumstance used oil based products as they cause condoms to break.

yes you can possibly catch an std from oral sex, so its worth using condoms and dental damns(for oral sex on a female) which are a thin square of latex, you can also make them by cutting a condom from the outside to the middle while its rolled up.

other than that. dont share towels, clothes, also dont drink from someone elses glass or bottle,, don NOT share toothbrushes as thats a great way to pass on hepatitis.

as for the figure that 1 in 4 women have an std. well if you go to some west african countries the figure would be that or even higher, but in western countries the std rate is much much lower.

here is an interesting statistic that tends to trip people out. sex workers in western countries have a lower rate of std's than the general population.

I concur.

However, I would also like to point out that specific STD's are more prevalent in some regions and age groups than others, offsetting "Statistics". We can't really blanket stats over the whole, when in some areas the rates are really high, while in others, they are almost nonexistant. It isn't equally spread out, so the risk for infection varies, even within the same city. We can have an extremely high rate among young adults and teenagers and a nonexistant infection among older adults and all of that skews the risk.

It is always better to take precaution, because we really do not know what the next surprise infection will be around the corner until after it is already present.

 

[Instinct Blues]

Are STDs as prevalent/easy to contract as I've been led to believe? Is the risk high enough that you personally avoid sexual encounters? Do you employ methods to prevent getting STDs?

Chlamydia and gonnoreaha are the most common STDs that I know of and they are generally harmless if you get them treated, but like everything else if you leave them untreated you can get some complications from them. Also I'd just like to say the HIV/AIDS isn't an automatic death sentence like it was back in the 80s. You will eventually die from it, but you won't waste away and you can live as long as some people without HIV/AIDS because of the treatments that they have for it now. The risk for STDs is always there, but you can significantly cut down the risk by knowing your partner and always using a condom. If you just go out partying, getting blackout drunk, and having sex with random strangers without a condom you'll have a pretty tough time not catching an STDs.

Personally I have nothing against sex and STDs don't scare me in the slightest I choose not to have sex because I feel that I'm not in a good place right now if something were to go wrong and I had a kid or something. Also I feel that sex can sometimes be life support in a way for a failing relationship because sometimes people can stay just because the sex is good and they are somewhat comfortable where they are, or too afraid to break up and find someone else. I feel like if you truly want to know someone you can't just be having sex and have that be your relationship. Sex certainly does make you closer, but only if you truly love the other person because then you enjoy knowing every part of the other. If you are just doing it because you think its fun then I believe its more of a hinderance than a help.

 

[Insideout Ink Demon]

no i'm not, i'm in a monogomos(sp?) relationship.
i've had one in the past, not nice.
use a condom if you're worried, then go out n have some fun

 

[DuctTapeJedi]

Nope. For the same reasons the Amish don't worry about bills from the mechanic.

 

[Avistew]

Are STDs as prevalent/easy to contract as I've been led to believe?

ALL STDs taken together? Maybe. But STDs are just diseases that are transmitted through sex. It has a range. Some are similar to a cold in that they're neither dangerous nor do they last ages, they're merely annoying. Other are way more serious of course.
I suggest you look up the rates of transmission. Some have high one, some have a very low one. It's good to be safe, but there is no point in being completely terrified.

For instance, with HIV, here are the rates of transmission for unprotected sex acts with someone who is HIV positive, from highest risk to lowest risk.

Being sodomized: 50 in 10,000
Vaginal intercourse, for a woman: 10 in 10,000
Sodomizing: 6.5 in 10,000
Vaginal intercourse, for a man: 5 in 10,000
Giving a blowjob: 1 in 10,000
Getting a blowjob: 0.5 in 10,000

If you get it, you have it, yes. You need to be careful, yes. But look at the numbers. Be careful, protect yourself, test with your partners carefully, and then relax. The risks are not that high. Don't panic.

Is the risk high enough that you personally avoid sexual encounters?

Not at all. I find pregnancy is the higher risk. For one thing, there are more fertile people than people with STDs. For another, most STDs have lower transmission rates than the chance of getting pregnant (both with unprotected sex, that is).
And you can get tested. Sex with someone who doesn't have the STD will NEVER give you that STD. Use protection at first, then get tested, then it's a matter of trust for your partner not to have sex with anyone else, or to have protected sex with these other people.
Then if you're really scared, get tested regularly.

Do you employ methods to prevent getting STDs?

I really like being fluid bonded so I mostly rely on testing and don't have casual sex.

 

[Dr Druza]

Nothing,
I repeat,
NOTHING
Can protect you %100 from getting an STD if you have sex. There is ALWAYS a chance, even if they've been tested (lying, error in testing etc). Now here's some trippy "logic" that I use for these situations:

If there is even a 0.(X number of zeros)1% chance, then there's a %50 chance it will happen.

"That doesn't make any sense!"
Hold on cowboy. I say this because it either happens, or it doesn't.
You roll a dice 50 times, you get "1" five times in a row. It can happen.
You roll a dice 3,000 times. You get "1" every time. It can happen.
You could have sex with two chicks over the course of your lifetime, each claiming to have been "clean". One lied. You have a permanent STD. It can happen.

The above situations may be "unlikely" but it is "possible", so you will always be faced with that: It will happen, or it will not.

I'm a Christian, and as such still a virgin (being a gamer/internet junkie is an effective shield), so I can't really say if its "worth it", but I'm guessing not. I know tons of people that have waited for marriage (yes, even non-Christians), and they all tell me it worked great for them.