A challenge - Help dispel STD myths . . .?

Question

Please add your knowledge to the facts below. It seems like the younger generations don't learn all the facts until it is too late. Let's try to do something about it! (Yahoo, I challenge you to help spread the word!)

I have HPV and HSV2 so I will add a few facts to start:

-Approximately 22% of the population have Herpes Simplex Type 2 (genital Herpes)
-Approximately 50% of the population have HPV (80% of women by the age of 50)
-HSV and HPV are transmitted through skin-to-skin contact, not through bodily fluids
-Condoms do not fully protect you against getting HSV or HPV
-Someone who gets HSV Type 1 (cold sores) can give their partner genital Herpes through oral sex even without symptoms
-HSV and HPV are incurable
-There is no FDA approved HPV test for men unless they have visible symptoms (warts)
-Full STD screenings usually only test for chlamydia gonorrhea, syphilis, and HIV - not HSV or HPV
-You don't have to be promiscuous to get an STD

Better to try to do something than nothing at all. :-)

Answer 1

I think you just about said it all. All I'd add is that neither warts nor herpes always cause symptoms.

People always make out herpes to be such an ogre.
A recent UK news article described it as 'incurable and unpleasant', and someone interviewed in the article said

"It is treatable but patients can suffer from severe recurrences of infection. It's also associated with stigma so it's not a pleasant infection to get."

I agree about the stigma, but it is descriptions of herpes like that that don't help, and make the lives of people with herpes difficult. Warts were mentioned in the same article, but without any comment. The stigma and prejudice around herpes even comes out in the press. How come nobody describes oral herpes in the same tones when its symptoms and effects are exactly the same? Young people should be told how common these things are, but that things like herpes are not the worst thing that can happen to you and are often so mild they go undiagnosed. It really isn't helpful to make it out to be such an appalling condition when the reality can be so different. I hardly notice my outbreaks when they do happen.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

2

Answer 4

Instead of bogging down users all at once with a lot of text, it helps to direct people to reputable sources so they can learn at their own pace and get the information they need.

In my professional opinion, these are the best sites for providing accurate information about STDs:
http://www.cdc.gov/std
http://www.ashastd.org
http://www.avert.org
http://www.guttmacher.org
http://www.teenwire.com
http://www.scarleteen.com
http://goaskalice.columbia.edu

As for myths I've seen and dealt with on a regular basis:
Myth 1. "Only scummy and nasty people get STDs"
Reality 1. You can't tell if someone is "clean" by how they look. Most STDs don't show symptoms. Viral STDs like HPV and HSV have been shown to affect most socioeconomic groups equally, even biasing towards the affluent in some studies.

Myth 2. "Teens don't get STDs. I never hear my friends talk about having them. They're totally clean."
Reality 2. Teens make up about 25% of the sexually active population, but they are about half of all STD cases. This means they are disproportionately getting infections.

Answer 5

yeah I agree with the answer above, I knew all the facts and still caught herpes. Truth is nobody thinks anything bad will happen to them until it's to late.

Answer 6

This is not the way to teach kids.

Kids are preached to in school, but in the end, Unless you scare them to death over it, Like all things they will do it anyways.

Its the way life goes...