Do you know the difference between the STIs you can cure and those you have to live with forever?
One of the common misconceptions among sexually active college students is that you can take antibiotics for any STI and it will go away. In reality there are two different categories of STIs, bacterial and viral, the former being treatable with proper care and medicine, where as the latter is currently incurable and recurrent.
Bacterial STIs include Chlamydia, Crabs, Gonorrhea, Hepatitis A and E, and Syphilis. These infections are very common, and can be cured with antibiotics and timely treatment. If unattended to, however, those STIs can become a serious issue.
Often times bacterial STIs do not show symptoms right away, or the symptoms are not obvious. When untreated, those infections will lie dormant in the body and can cause damage later on. Muscle and organ damage, as well as paralysis and blindness have been reported in cases of Syphilis that went untreated for 20 years or more.
Those instances are severe and rare, but they can happen. If you are putting yourself at risk or having unprotected sex, you should be getting yourself regularly tested to know for sure whether or not you are infected.
Viral STIs are popularly considered lifelong infections, and in part this is true. HIV Aids, Herpes, Hepatitis B, C, and D, and HPV or Genital Warts fall under the viral category and never fully leave your body.
Those diseases are contracted the same way bacterial STIs are, and you are just as likely to contract them during unprotected sex as you are the bacterial infections.
Viral infections do not currently have any known cures, though scientists and doctors are constantly searching for new medications and advances in treating viruses. Even if diagnosed with a viral STI, there is still hope for a fulfilling sex life and future relationships.
For example, people living with herpes don’t walk around on a daily basis emitting an aura of infectious gas from their crotch. They live through series of outbreaks that come and go at varying frequencies. They may go weeks, months, or even years without experiencing an outbreak and, as long as the proper precautions are taken, can have enjoyable protected sex without infecting their partner at all.
It is important to understand that both categories of STIs are extremely common. According to the American Sexual Healthy Association, it is estimated that by the year 2025 nearly 40 percent of all men and less then 50 percent of women will be infected with herpes. The association also reports that there are close to 3 million new cases of chlamydia in adolescents and young adults each year. The most horrifying of the reports though, may be that one in two sexually active people will contract some form of STI by age 25.
Those numbers are real and the risk is high. The only way to protect yourself is to get tested, be smart and get educated on all types of STIs.
Haley Dake is a senior studying journalism at Ohio University. What misconceptions did you used to have about sex? Let Haley know by emailing her at @hd883312@ohio.edu
