Sexual Illness

I’m afraid you’re not going to like my answer very much. Really? You don’t want to be having intercourse – or even outercourse, if it isn’t comfortable and protected – when you’re not fully over a yeast infection (as your treatment will mention in the instructions). For starters, yeast infections…

I have genital herpes. Those people you see in the Valtrex commercials, running down a beach with five beautiful women chasing after them? Totally me.

Trichomoniasis is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases, mainly affecting 16-to-35-year old females.

Syphilis has been called “the great imitator” because many of its signs look like other diseases. It is also difficult to know if someone has syphilis because a person might not have any symptoms at all.

This disease has bothered humans for thousands of years, but it seems to come and go in unexplainable cycles. Scabies used to be very rare in America, but now it is coming back again.

Pubic lice is also called “crabs.” It’s caused by very tiny insects that live in pubic hair and feed on human blood. Pubic lice are often spread through sexual contact, though genital contact or sexual intercourse is not necessary for transmission. I

“Pelvic inflammatory disease” is shorthand for any serious bacterial infection of the reproductive organs that are housed in the pelvis: the uterus, uterine lining, fallopian tubes, and/or ovaries. These infections usually start in the vagina and, when left untreated, can progressively infect other reproductive organs. 20% of PID cases are found in teens, who often are afraid or unable to get reproductive health care. PID can result in permanent infertility and chronic pain.

As many as one in four Americans have HPV.

In the United States, approximately 75% of all reported gonorrhea is found in people age 15 to 29.

One member of a group of herpes-type viruses, CMV is transmitted through body fluids, sexually and nonsexually, and from mother to infant during birth. CMV is also incredibly dangerous for people who are immunocompromised or people with HIV.