Sexually Transmitted Infections/Diseases

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STIs/STDs

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• STD’s/STI’s are sexually transmitted diseases.

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• Some are curable and some are not!

It Can’t Happen to Me!

Each year, there are approximately 19 million new STIs, and almost half of them are among youth aged 15 to 24.

What are STIs?

• Infectious diseases that spread from person to person through intimate contact.

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• By the age of 21, almost 1 in 5 Americans requires treatment for an STI.

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• STIs can affect all genders, of all ages and backgrounds who are having sex.

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• If not treated, some STIs can cause

permanent damage, such as infertility

and even death

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Types of STIs

Virus

Bacteria

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• HIV/AIDS
• Herpes
• Hepatitis
• HPV

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• Chlamydia
• Gonorrhea
• Syphilis
• Bacterial Vaginosis

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Parasite/Fungus

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• Pubic Lice
• Scabies
• Trichomoniasis

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Which types of STIs can be cured?

Which can be treated, but can NOT be cured?

Which can be prevented with a vaccine?

And the answer is…

Curable

NOT Curable

• Bacterial STIs, parasites and fungi can all be cured with oral or topical antibiotics or creams in just a few weeks.

• Viral STIs can be treated to control the symptoms or outbreaks, but once you get infected with the virus, it stays with you for life!

Vaccines

• Hepatitis
• HPV: Gardasil is the vaccine that can prevent HPV

How are STIs spread?

You can only be infected if you have sexual intercourse.

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A person can get some STIs, like herpes or genital warts, through skin-to-skin contact with an infected area or sore.

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WRONG!

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You can get STIs if you have oral, anal or vaginal sex. Viruses and bacteria can enter the body through tiny cuts or tears in the mouth, anus, and genitals.

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Risk Factors for Infection

Sex at Young Age

Multiple Partners

The younger a person starts having sex, the greater their chances of becoming infected with an STI.

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People who have sexual contact - not just intercourse, but any form of intimate activity - with many different partners are more at risk than people who stay with the same partner.

How can you prevent STI infection?

Unprotected Sex

Latex condoms are the only form of birth control that lessen your risk of contracting an STI.

Preventing Infection

• Practice abstinence. The only way to completely prevent STIs is to avoid any type of sexual contact or intimacy.
• Use latex condoms. If you are sexually active then latex condoms can help prevent transmission.
• Limit sex partners. The more people

you have sex with, the greater the risk of

getting an STI.

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• Get regular gynecological or male genital examinations. Doctors can teach about STIs and check for STIs while they're still in their earliest, most treatable, stage.

• Sometimes you can tell if you have an STI and sometimes you cannot.

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• In many people, the STI does not cause any symptoms, especially in women.

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• The symptoms may be inside the vagina or anus, where they cannot be seen.

• Sores or rashes on or around genitals, mouth or anus
• Irregular growths, bumps, or blisters
• Discharge that looks or smells different than usual
• Itching around genitals or anus
• Pain or swelling in groin area
• Pain during intercourse (women)
• Unusual vaginal bleeding or spotting (women)
• Pain during urination or bowel movements

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NOTE: Having any of these symptoms does not mean that you definitely have an STI, but you should be checked by a doctor just in case!

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HIV which can pass easily through the sores and breaks in the skin

Left untreated, serious health problems can occur including:

• You can transmit the infection to your partner

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• Pregnant mothers can pass it on to their babies
• You have a greater risk of getting HIV

• Causes other infections that damage the reproductive organs
• Liver damage, heart disease, skin disease, arthritis, blindness, brain damage, cancer
• Infertility (not able to have children)
• Death

What is the best way to know whether you or your partner has been infected with an STI?

Get Tested!

What Do You Know?

HIV/AIDS

Human Immunodeficiency Virus

Acquired ImmunoDeficiency Syndrome

• The virus that causes AIDS
• Attacks the immune system
• HIV finds and destroys a type of white blood cell

(T cells or CD4 cells) that the immune system must have to fight disease.�

• Final stage of HIV infection.
• Body has a difficult time fighting infection
• When someone has one or more specific infections, certain cancers, or a very low number of T cells, he or she is considered to have AIDS

About HIV

HIV is only carried in:

• blood
• semen
• vaginal secretions
• breast milk

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Risk Behaviors:

• unprotected sex
• sharing IV drug needles
• direct contact with infected blood or blood products

HIV is NOT carried in:

• saliva
• urine
• tears

Avoiding HIV:

• Abstain from sex or use latex condoms
• Do not share drug needles
• Use latex gloves when touching blood or blood products

Questions?

• Any questions on any of the STI/STD topics?

Quick Facts Review

Take out a piece of paper and write down 10 facts that you just learned about STIs.

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We will be going around the room to share our findings, you cannot repeat a fact another classmate has already shared!