Archive for the ‘STD awareness’ Category

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Binge Drinking Rates Are Up, Could This Lead to More STDs?

Tuesday, September 11th, 2012

Last month, a study published in the journal Addiction found that alcohol use can increase a person’s likelihood of engaging in unsafe sexual practices. Specifically, researchers discovered that the more an individual drinks, the greater their intention to have unsafe sex becomes. Not using contraceptives is how sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are spread, suggesting that there may be a connection between drinking and sexual infection rates.

Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report saying that 17 percent of U.S. adults admit to binge drinking. MSNBC reports that this comes out to about 38 million people who participate in this potentially dangerous activity, may put them at risk of engaging in unsafe behavior. Furthermore, the survey found that the majority of binge drinkers are young adults between the ages of 18 and 24. According to the CDC, people in this age range are also at the highest risk of contracting an STD.

“Binge drinking causes a wide range of health, social and economic problems, and this report confirms the problem is really widespread,” said Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., director of the CDC, quoted by the news source. “We need to work together to implement proven measures to reduce binge drinking at national, state and community levels.”

Researchers stated that the 17 percent statistic could actually be low, considering that many people claim to drink less than they actually do.
These findings highlight that more needs to be done to eliminate the problem of binge drinking. According to the authors of the study published in Addiction, alcohol influences the decision-making process, which may lead to higher incidences of unsafe sex or other risky behavior.

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High Testosterone Levels May Lead to Safer Sex

Tuesday, August 28th, 2012

Practicing safer sex is one of the best ways to avoid contracting a sexually transmitted disease (STD), yet recent statistics suggest that many people believe that using the pill qualifies as a safer sex practice. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that teen pregnancy rates continue to fall, while STD rates among young people are rising. This seems to suggest that while teens are concerned about birth control, they are not using condoms to protect against STDs.

There is some good news, however, as Live Science reports on a new study from the University of Michigan which found that young men with high testosterone levels are more likely to use protection than their counterparts that have less of the sex hormone. “One of the things that is interesting about these results is that they’re one of the first to demonstrate a link between higher testosterone and less risk-taking in any domain,” researcher Sari van Anders told Live Science. Hopefully, these findings will encourage more men to use condoms. This study could be a tool used by sexual health educators as a way to show individuals that being safe is the manly thing to do.

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CDC Admits to Progress on HIV Treatment, But More Needs to be Done

Thursday, August 9th, 2012

Although there have been major advancements in the past 20 years, HIV/AIDS still remains a problem in the United States. That was the conclusion presented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in a recent report on the state of the disease in the country.

CBS News published an article on the report, which found that of the estimated 1.2 million Americans who have HIV, 20 percent do not know that they are infected. Furthermore, only 40 percent of people who have HIV are getting medication regularly. According to the CDC, the key to fighting this sexually transmitted disease (STD) is awareness and prevention.

“Prevention counseling teaches patients how to stay as healthy as possible and prevent passing HIV on to others. Prevention services include STD testing and treatment services, drug rehab, assistance in notifying partners, housing assistance, financial assistance and other services,” stated the organization.

The CDC also announced that it plans to launch a multi-million dollar campaign to encourage black men who have sex with men to get screened for the disease regularly, as one third of all new infections occur in this population.

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New Book Aims to Help Parents Take the Veil off of STDs

Tuesday, August 7th, 2012

Parents and teachers have been working adamantly to determine the best way to curb teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease (STD) rates. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in 2009 that an estimated 8,300 young people between the ages of 13 and 24 were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. This is an extremely dangerous infection, and this statistic shows that students are in need of more information regarding the importance of safer sex.

Recently, the Washington Post spoke to Amy Schalet, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Massachusetts who has written a book in which she claims that American parents need to be more realistic when it comes to their children’s sexual habits. Schalet says that in the Netherlands, teen pregnancy rates are extremely low compared to the U.S. and she believes that this is due to the progressive way that the Dutch view teenage sexual development.

“One of the statistics that I point out is that in the Netherlands, 6 out of 10 teenage girls are on the pill at first intercourse (versus only about 1 in 5 in the U.S.),” said Schalet, quoted by the Post.

Her book is likely to draw controversy, but perhaps it will inspire the U.S. to examine countries with low STD rates to see how America can emulate what these areas are doing right.

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Keeping People Aware of Their STD Status

Thursday, July 26th, 2012

One of the largest problems surrounding sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) is that some people are unaware that they are even infected with one, which leads them to unintentionally spread their condition to a partner. Recently, Florida news source, The Tampa Tribune, followed a group of healthcare workers whose job it was to inform people that they have an STD, in an effort to reduce infection rates.

According to the news provider, this team of individuals, along with helping people receive treatment before an STD has gotten out of hand, save their community about $1 million a year in future healthcare costs.

“It’s the best feeling in the world that someone out there cares about my situation,” said a woman who was informed of her STD status, quoted by the Tribune. “My health is important. If my health is on the line, I want to know.”

Avert.org states that of the more than one million people in the U.S. living with HIV/AIDS, one fifth are unaware that they have the condition. These individuals may be unintentionally spreading their disease, which highlights the need to make people aware of the importance of getting regularly tested for STDs.

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HPV Shot may be Effective Against Anal Cancer

Tuesday, July 24th, 2012

Anal cancer is usually caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV), the most common sexaully transmitted disease (STD) in America. While it is not a very common condition, the number of reported cases have increased over the past few years, especially among men who have sex with men.

In response to this, doctors from the University of California conducted a trial to determine if a vaccine would be effective in preventing the development of anal cancer, and their results were positive.

“Almost 6,000 people every year in this country are diagnosed with anal cancer and more than 700 die from the disease,” said researcher Joel Palefsky, M.D.”What this trial showed is that those cancers and deaths could be prevented.”

The vaccine they used is the highly-discussed HPV shot that has been in the news so often lately. While many people remain torn over whether children should be vaccinated for this STD, these findings complement the recent federal advisory committee suggestion that immunization of boys against this disease should be considered as well.

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Panel Determines that Boys Should be Vaccinated for HPV

Thursday, July 19th, 2012

Lately, there has been so much discussion over whether states should mandate vaccinations for the human papillomavirus (HPV) for girls that many people have forgotten that boys are susceptible to developing this condition as well. Recently, The New York Times reported that a federal advisory committee had recommended that 11-year-old boys begin receiving the vaccine.

“This is cancer, for Pete’s sake,” said William Schaffner, M.D, chairman of the department of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, quoted by the news source. “A vaccine against cancer was the dream of our youth.”

What Schaffner is referring to is the fact that, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this sexually transmitted disease can potentially lead to cervical, penis and anal cancer, among other forms.

Opponents of the vaccine have said that they believe it is wrong to assume that children as young as 11 are engaging in sexual activity. The cancerous effects of HPV are more commonly seen in homosexual men than heterosexual ones. The panel agreed that it would be more cost-effective to just vaccinate gay men, but it is inappropriate to make that call at such an early age.

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Parents Underestimate the Impact of STDs on their Child’s Life

Tuesday, July 17th, 2012

A recent study conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins Medical Center has found that parents underestimate the impact that pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) has on teens who have been infected with the sexually transmitted disease (STD). This condition occurs when the sexual organs are inflamed due to the effects of STDs such as chlamydia or gonorrhea.

Researchers asked girls with this disorder to rank how much it affected their lives from 0 to 100, with 0 meaning they believed the disease was threatening their lives and 100 meaning they felt healthy. Then scientists asked the teens’ parents to do fill out the same survey with their opinion of how much this STD has affected their child.

Study authors came to the conclusion that parents did not understand how deeply affected their child was by having PID. The average score that the girls gave was 62, while parents put an average of 75 for the same category.

“Teen girls often seek confidential care, assume full responsibility for their treatment and behavior and are expected to manage their own disease so it is their perceptions that should matter the most,” says study lead investigator Maria Trent, M.D., M.P.H.

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Despite Advancements, Women Still Experience Birth Control Problems

Thursday, July 12th, 2012

Practicing safer sex is an important part of reducing an individual’s risk of developing sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Over the years, many forms of hormonal birth control have been developed. While these pills, shots and patches may help prevent pregnancy, it’s important to remember that they do not protect against STDs.

A recent study conducted by Indiana University’s Center for Sexual Health Promotion studied the newest forms of hormonal contraceptives and examined how they affect the women who take them. Researchers discovered that although many advancements have been made, these birth control methods are still hampering women’s sexual satisfaction.

“A great effort has been made to make condoms more pleasurable for men,” said researcher Nicole Smith. “But you don’t hear about this same effort going toward reducing the negative impact of contraception on women’s sexual functioning.”

These findings suggest that more efforts need to be made to develop a greater variety of birth control options for women, including ones that will protect against STDs.

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Who Decides What Kids Learn In Sex Education?

Tuesday, July 10th, 2012

Lately there has been a great deal of debate regarding sex education in schools. The New York Daily news reports that NYC parents and educators have been having a very difficult time determining what is appropriate to teach children of both middle and high school age. Many people are under the impression that sex ed will open the door to promiscuity, while others believe education is a key tool in the battle against sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

Recently, National Public Radio’s Talk of the Nation spoke to Nora Gelperin, director of training at Answer, an organization that trains people on how to teach all kinds of sexual education programs, about what kids across the country are actually learning about in their sex ed classes. Gelperin said that in the end, it’s up to each district to decide how to interpret their state’s laws on this subject.

“The policies really range. Only about 35 states mandate comprehensive sexuality education or HIV-STD prevention. Some of them don’t require it at all, so it’s left up to the discretion of the local district or actually sometimes to teachers,” said Gelperin.

Sexual education is a controversial subject, but the one thing most people can agree on is that teachers and parents have a responsibility to do all they can to make sure their kids understand the dangers of not practicing safer sex.

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