Sanford Clinic Women's Health
Sexual Health Information
Downtown Women's Healthcare
Laurie Kruse, RN
2006
Topics Covered Include:
- Consequences of Sexual Activity
- Chlamydia & Gonorrhea-BacterialSTIs
- Herpes
- Human PalillomaVirus (HPV)
- Genital Warts
- HIV
- Teen Pregnancy
- Abstinence
- Websites with more information
What are some of the consequences of sexual activity?
Statistics
- •1 in 4 teens will get a sexually transmitted disease by the time they are 21 (more info)
- •50% of reported STD's happen in individuals age 14-1
- American teenagers are contracting HIV at the rate of 2 per hour
- AIDS is one of the top ten leading causes of death for people 15-24 years old (more info)
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
- Over 70 varieties of disease
- Why is it important to learn about them?
- Some have no symptoms
- Some can lead to infertility
- Some can be life threatening
- How are STD's transmitted
- Any type of sexual activity where contact occurs between mucous membranes
I. Sexually Transmitted Infections (Bacterial)
A.Chlamydia & Gonorrhea
- These STD's are caused by bacteria
- Transmitted through mucous membrane contact
- Symptoms
- 75% of females & 50% of males have no symptoms
- OR in males: discharge from their penis, a burning sensation with urination, or swelling of the scrotum
- OR in females: abnormal vaginal discharge, lower abdominal pain, nausea, fever, pain with urination, bleeding between periods
- Complications
- Females
- Pelvic Inflammatory Disease
- can lead to chronic pelvic pain, infertility, and ectopic pregnancy
- Males
- Epididymitis
- can lead to sterility
- Newborn baby
- Blindness
- Treatment (with a positive test result)
- Antibiotics
- Partners must be treated
- Prevention
- abstinence
- condom use
- monogamous relationship
Back to Topics.
II. Sexually Transmitted Infections (Viral)
Herpes, Human Papilloma Virus & HIV
A. Herpes
- Caused by Herpes Simplex Virus
- Type 1 (HSV-1) or Type 2 (HSV-2)
- Transmitted through mucous membrane contact
- The virus can be released from the sores that the virus causes, or (between outbreaks) from skin that does not appear to be broken or to have a sore
- Symptoms
- First outbreak is usually within two weeks after the virus is transmitted (often the worst)
- Sores-recurrent, painful small blisters or pimples will develop
- Male: blisters on penis, scrotum, buttocks, or mouth
- Females: blisters on vulva, vagina, cervix, buttocks, or mouth
- Infants: life threatening infection at birth
- Treatment
- No cure (antiviral medications can shorten outbreaks)
- Prevention
- Condoms only partially effective
- It is important to remember that even if you do not have any symptoms, you can still infect your sex partner
B. Human PapillomaVirus (HPV; Genital Warts)
- Transmitted through mucous membrane contact with an infected area
- Can spread the infection with no symptoms
- Symptoms can take up to 8 months to appear
- Pink, white, or flesh colored warts
- Individual or multiple growths or bumps
- Sometimes cauliflower shaped
Genital Warts
- Complications
- High risk types can lead to cancer of the cervix, vagina, anus, penis, mouth or throat
- Treatment
- No cure
- Visible genital warts are treated with medication
- Annual Pap smear for sexually active females
- Prevention
- Condoms only partially effective
Back to Topics.
C. HIV
Adolescents & HIV Infection
- Can you tell by looking at someone whether or not they have HIV?
- Transmission
- Through contact with contaminated body fluids
- Passed in semen, blood, and vaginal secretions
- Through any mucous membranes or broken skin
- Sharing needles for piercing, tattoos, etc.
- Sharing razors or toothbrushes (Hepatitis B)
How HIV Infection Progresses
- Acute HIV Syndrome
- Occurs 1-3 weeks after exposure
- Very contagious
- HIV with No Symptoms
- HIV may take up to 6 months to show on a blood test
- HIV with Symptoms
- Swollen lymph glands, fever, night sweats, diarrhea, skin rashes and sores
- AIDS
- Cancers, pneumonia, and other infections
Adolescents & HIV Infection
- Get tested for HIV if you- or any past or present sex partners:
- Had unprotected sex- even once
- Shared needles or syringes
- Had a STD
- Had more than one sex partner
- Had any signs of HIV infection
- It can take up to six months for HIV antibodies to show up on a test
Downtown Women's Health Clinic
- Our services include:
- Gynecological Exams (i.e. Pap smear)
- Birth Control Services
- STD testing, treatment, and education (for both males and females)
- All services are CONFIDENTIAL!
TEEN PREGNANCY
True or False?
- A girl can get pregnant/ boy can father a child even if it's the first time she/he has sex
- A girl can get pregnant if she has sex standing up (or in any other position)
- It only takes one drop of semen to get pregnant
- If you are having sex and you don't use birth control, you have a 90% chance of getting pregnant within one year
- Not getting pregnant has nothing to do with luck- and everything to do with making good choices
Facts….
- 4 out of 10 American girls get pregnant/ American boys father a child at least once before they turn 20
- Teen parents are less likely to graduate from high school and tend to earn less money throughout their lives
- A guy who gets a girl pregnant is financially responsible for that child for the next 18 years
Getting pregnant and catching diseases aren't the only ways that sex can hurt you….
- Premarital sex can leave emotional scars that you'll feel for the rest of your life.
Back to Topics.
ABSTINENCE
- Choosing not to have sex is your best protection against STD's, HIV and unplanned pregnancy…
Abstinence
- Fifty-four percent of all sexually active teens wish they had waited longer
- More than half of all teens have not had sex when they turn seventeen
- Relationships change when you start having sex
- Sex doesn't equal love
- Sex will not make someone stay with you
- Sex will not fix your problems or make you feel better about yourself
Am I ready to have sex or not
- Before you decide, consider your values
- Identify your future goals
- Think through all of the possible consequences of sex:
- How will becoming infected with Herpes change my future relationships?
- How realistic are my idea's about raising a child?
- Is a baby really what I need to have someone to love?
- Do I want to pay child support for the rest of my life?
- Teens often have sex for the wrong reasons… understand your motives:
- Do you think it will make you more popular?
- Do you feel it will help you keep a boyfriend or girlfriend?
- Are you trying to hurt someone you're mad at or trying to escape loneliness?
How confident am I in my ability to avoid risky sexual behavior?
- Negotiation and communication
- Learn to show love in other ways, without the physical and emotional entanglements of sex
- Control passion- allow your mind to help make your decisions (i.e. considers the past and future, in order to make the best decision)
Tips for teens on how to say NO!
- Make a commitment to yourself or to a friend with like values
- Avoid being alone with a boyfriend or girlfriend
- Avoid intimate environments
- Avoid stimulation
- Plan ahead
- Date someone with the same values
- Break off the relationship if you are not respected
- Tips for teens on how to say NO!
- Wait to start dating
- Date someone your own age
- Be friends first
- Individuals who are not in love never get the same kind of enjoyment out of sex as people who are
Choosing not to have sex is your right
- Be totally free
- No pressure to make commitments to someone, until you want to
- No fears about disease or pregnancy
- No risking your whole future for a few minutes of fun now
Websites
•www.state.sd.us/doh/disease/stdstats.htm
Back to Topics.
