Increasing your understanding of STD prevention

Despite the wealth of available knowledge regarding sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), the rates of STD infection in the U.S. may indicate that some individuals are not as informed as they should be. According to the Daily Californian, quite a few aspects of STD prevention are not as well-known as others but equally capable of reducing the chances of infection.

The news source reports that STD testing typically detects infections that were contracted a certain amount of time before the test was taken. Gonorrhea is the most quickly detected, with signs surfacing in two to seven days, while syphilis takes three months to show up on a standard test, and HIV or hepatitis C can take as long as six months.

As a result, individuals regularly practicing shorter monogamous relationships, encompassing a month or two for example, may still be at risk despite the presumed safety of monogamous sexuality, according to the news source.

Another lesser-known fact reported by the Daily Californian indicates that oral sex, practiced by both men and women, can be as dangerous as intercourse for spreading gonorrhea.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about 700,000 new gonorrheal infections are reported each year in the U.S. The disease is the second most common STD spread by bacteria.