Sexual Risks
In addition to the risk of becoming pregnant, sexual intercourse presents a mixed bag of serious physical and emotional risks to the person exercising sexual freedom without the safety of monogamous marriage.

According to researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, an estimated 9 million young people (ages 15-24) contract such sexually transmitted diseases as chlamydia, human papillomavirus, genital herpes, syphilis, gonorrhea, and HIV/AIDS every year. This age group accounts for nearly half the cases diagnosed in the United States annually.

Many of these infections can be present in the body without signs or symptoms. Testing for sexually transmitted diseases is wise for all people engaging in non-marital sexual relationships. Every sexual encounter is a potential exposure to a sexually transmitted disease.

STD Risks

Chlamydia
A True Story:
A young man, who had many sexual partners in high school and college, eventually made some life changing decisions and decided to save any further sexual contact for a lifelong marriage relationship. During his years of being sexually active, he showed no signs of infection and saw no real need to get tested. He met someone special, a woman who happened to be a virgin, and they looked forward to years of happiness and having many children. After years of trying to conceive, his wife went to a fertility specialist. She had contracted Chlamydia from her husband, although she had never experienced any symptoms. Her fallopian tubes were permanently scarred and as a result, this couple will never be able to conceive their own children. (From Heartbeat International Sexual Integrity Program)

What is it?
Chlamydia is the most frequently reported bacterial sexually transmitted disease in the U.S. In northeast Indiana 1,923 cases were reported, a 17% increase from 2003.

How you get it:
Chlamydia can be transmitted during vaginal, anal, or oral sex.
According to the 2003 Chlamydia fact sheets from the Center for Disease Control:

• 74.1% of cases occur in people under the age of 25.
• The rate of chlamydia among African-American females in the United States was more than 7 times higher than the rate among white females.
• Chlamydia is known as a "silent" disease because about 75% of infected women and about 50% of infected men have no symptoms. If symptoms do occur, they usually appear within 1 to 3 weeks after exposure.
• 40% of women with untreated chlamydia develop PID. PID can cause permanent damage to the fallopian tubes, uterus, and surrounding tissues. The damage can lead to chronic pelvic pain, infertility, and potentially fatal ectopic pregnancy (pregnancy outside the uterus). Women infected with chlamydia are up to five times more likely to become infected with HIV, if exposed.

What about treatment?
Chlamydia can be an infection of slow destruction. Because it is often silent, years can pass before discovery of the infection. Regularly, that discovery accompanies grief as couples are given the grim news that they have become infertile as a result of infection. If you’ve been sexually active—GET TESTED! Chlamydia can be cured with antibiotics. All sexual partners must also be treated.

For more information about Chlamydia visit:
CDC
Mayo Clinic

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HPV
Genital HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) & Genital Warts

A True Story:
Recently, a young woman came to our center for a pregnancy test. After talking with her, it soon became clear that the top concern on her mind was a recent diagnosis of HPV. She said she was careful—that she only had one sex partner at a time, but still, the warts came and continue to come. She uses a mirror to look carefully and often for the tiny sores that give her irregular pap smears. She admits she feels like a pest at her doctor’s office since she calls to have treatments almost weekly when new warts are discovered. She complains about the pain as the warts heal. She wonders, “Is it safe to have sex? Will I be able to have children? Will I get cervical cancer like my Aunt?”

What is it?
The Human Papiloma Virus is a sexually transmitted viral infection that infects the skin and mucous membranes. It includes over 100 strains. A few HPV strains cause highly contagious Genital Warts.

According to the current CDC fact sheet on Human Papiloma Virus, approximately 20 million people are currently infected with HPV. At least 50 percent of sexually active men and women acquire genital HPV infection at some point in their lives.

How you get it:
The HPV virus is spread by direct physical contact. The penis, scrotum, vulva, labia, anus, or tissues of the vagina or cervix and throat are all possible locations of infection.
• Most people who have a genital HPV infection do not know they are infected. If the HPV strain causes warts, they may be undetectable because of size or location, or infection may be present without warts.
• Warts may be tiny, gray, pink or red swellings in your genital area that grow quickly and may take on a cauliflower shape. They may cause itching or burning in your genital area as well as discomfort, pain or bleeding with intercourse.

What about treatment?
Most women are diagnosed with HPV based on the results of an abnormal Pap smear. If you are sexually active—HAVE A PAP TEST performed annually. Cervical cancer has been closely linked with HPV infection. Certain types of HPV also are associated with cancer of the vulva, cancer of the anus and cancer of the penis. There is no known "cure" for HPV, but an outbreak of warts can be controlled with medications or surgical treatments. The underlying virus is never completely eliminated, however, and genital warts may reappear even after treatment.

For more information about Human Papilloma Virus visit:
CDC
Mayo Clinic

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Herpes
Genital Herpes (HSV)
A True Story:
A young teen recently appeared at the reception window. In her lowest voice, strained with embarrassment, she leaned in to the window and said, “I need some information about STDs.” She was greeted warmly and once in the counseling room, emotions fell out of her control. She said she had experienced very limited sexual contact, but still had broken out with painful blisters in and around her vagina. The staff member listened, cared, gave education, and referred to a doctor as the client expressed her understandable grief and anger. The teen talked about how this would affect her future… about having a baby and getting married… and then she asked, “How could this have happened to me?”

What is it?
Herpes is a sexually transmitted disease that can be caused by the HSV-1 or 2 (herpes simplex type 1 or 2) viruses. HSV-1 causes infections of the mouth and lips, sometimes called "fever blisters" or “cold sores.” HSV-2 causes outbreaks of blisters and ulcerated blisters in the genital areas. Genital herpes is common. As many as one in five teens and adults in the United States have the virus. In the past 25 years, the incidence of genital herpes has risen 30 percent.

How you get it:
Genital Herpes, HSV-II, is spread though simple skin to skin contact as well as sexual contact with infected areas. HSV-1 (cold sores) can be spread by mouth through contact with the saliva and lips of an infected person. HSV-1 can also be spread from mouth to genitals through oral sex.
• Symptoms range from being unnoticeable to causing great discomfort. You may experience pain or itching around genitals, followed by blisters and ulcers.
• About half of those infected with the virus have only one outbreak in their lifetimes, but carry the HSV-2 virus. Others experience a range frequency of outbreaks.
• It is possible for the infection to be active and contagious even when sores are not present, making it difficult to fully protect an uninfected partner.

What about treatment?
The HSV infections stay in the body indefinitely. There is no treatment that can cure herpes, however, oral prescription antiviral medications can help heal the sores and reduce the frequency of outbreaks. If you are experiencing symptoms or suspect previous exposure SEE YOUR DOCTOR for diagnostic tests.

For more information on Genital Herpes:
CDC
Mayo Clinic

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Syphilis

What is it?
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease that is caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum. It is passed through direct contact with a syphilis sore. These sores occur mostly on external genitals, vagina, anus, or on the rectum. They can also be found on the lips or in the mouth. The signs and symptoms of syphilis occur in three stages — primary, secondary and tertiary.

How you get it:
Syphilis can be transmitted during vaginal, anal, or oral sex.
• Primary symptoms include the presence of a small, painless sore (chancre) and enlarged groin lymph nodes. Symptoms disappear within 6 weeks without treatment but the disease remains and progresses to the next stage.
• Secondary symptoms include a rash, fever, fatigue, aching bones/joints, or symptoms may disappear for up to two years before progression to the third stage.
• Tertiary symptoms include possible stroke, meningitis, poor coordination, paralysis, deafness, blindness, dementia, and aneurysm.

What about treatment?
Without treatment, syphilis bacteria may spread and cause serious internal organ damage and death. Early diagnosis and treatment with penicillin can kill the organism that causes syphilis and stop the progression of the disease. The treatment, however, can not repair any damage already accomplished by the infection. If you suspect you may have had a chancre sore, GET TESTED for syphillis before serious damage occurs.

For more information about Syphilis visit:
CDC
Mayo Clinic

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Gonorrhea
What is it?
Gonorrhea is the second most common bacterial STD. It is caused by bacteria that grows and multiplies in the mucous membranes of the cervix (opening of the uterus), uterus, and fallopian tubes in women and in the urethra of both women and men. The bacteria can also grow in the mouth, eyes, throat and anus. Gonorrhea is a very common infection. The CDC (Center for Disease Control) estimates that 700,000 people in the U.S. are infected each year.

How you get it:
Gonorrhea is spread through vaginal, anal, or oral sex. Gonorrhea infection can also be spread to other unlikely parts of the body. For example, a person can get an eye infection after touching infected genitals and then the eyes.
• Many women have very mild symptoms and do not know they have the STD until an infected partner informs them.
• Symptoms may include pain or burning during urination, frequent urination, and pain during intercourse.
• If the bacterium spreads to the uterus, women may develop pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) which can cause in scarring of the fallopian tubes, greater risk of ectopic pregnancy, and infertility. In men, the bacterium may cause epididymitus (inflammation of the testicles) which can lead to infertility.

What about treatment?
Doctors prescribe antibiotic medications to treat gonorrhea, but more and more strains of gonorrhea are becoming drug resistant. If you are sexually active—SEE YOUR DOCTOR to rule out this infection.

For more information about Gonorrhea visit:
CDC
Mayo Clinic

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HIV/AIDS
A True Story:
At first glance, there was nothing particularly remarkable about this woman who came to the center for a pregnancy test—just that she looked resigned in some way. During consultation, she was asked about medical history. Her resignation turned to obvious sadness as she reported in a hushed tone, “I have AIDS. I get sick… a lot.” I offered heartfelt concern for her as she went on to explain the difficulties of living with an incurable disease. She told how her children didn’t live with her because she couldn’t support or care for them. She cried as she imagined how she might deal with another pregnancy. Everything we discussed—her hopes, her dreams, even the perception of her personhood, was defined, shaped, and distorted by the perils of this deadly disease, a disease that she would battle for the rest of her life.

What is it?
HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus, a virus that kills off your body's CD4 cells (or T-helper cells) that help your body fight off infection and disease. In the more than two decades since the first reports of the disease, AIDS has become a global epidemic. Worldwide, an estimated 38 million people are living with HIV, nearly half of them women and girls between the ages of 15 and 24. An estimated 950,000 Americans are currently living with HIV/AIDS, up from 900,000 in 2001. The disease is fatal.

How you get it:
Body fluids that are known to carry the HIV virus are blood, semen, vaginal fluid, breast milk, and other body fluids containing blood. Sexual contact and/or sharing needles with someone who is HIV positive are the most common ways that the virus is transmitted. Other body fluids that could transmit the virus to others would include the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord, fluid surrounding the bone joints, and the amniotic fluid surrounding an unborn baby.
• When first infected with HIV, you may have no symptoms at all, although it's more common to develop a brief flu-like illness two to six weeks after becoming infected. With or without symptoms, the virus may be transmitted to sexual partners.
• Once the virus enters your body, your immune system comes under attack. The virus multiplies in your lymph nodes and slowly begins to destroy your helper T cells (CD4 lymphocytes) — the white blood cells that coordinate your entire immune system.
• You may remain symptom-free for 8 or 9 years or more. But the virus continues to multiply and destroy immune cells. Tests are likely to show a sharp decline in the number of these cells in your blood.
• Chronic symptoms usually include swollen lymph nodes, diarrhea, weight loss, fever, cough, and shortness of breath.
• During the last phase of HIV (approximately 10 or more years after the initial infection) more serious symptoms may begin to appear, and the infection may then meet the official definition of AIDS. By the time AIDS develops, your immune system has been severely damaged, making you susceptible to many devastating opportunistic infections as well as some cancers.

What about treatment?
There is no cure for AIDS. Drugs have been developed to help, but none of them can cure HIV/AIDS. Many of the new drugs have side effects that can be quite severe, and most are expensive. Antiretroviral therapy, the standard of care for most people living with AIDS, can cost more than $12,000 a year. The cost of treating side effects and complications can raise that amount considerably.

For more information about HIV/AIDS visit:
CDC
Mayo Clinic

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Emotional Risks
of premarital sex
You know the stories. You’ve seen your friends endure them. Maybe you’ve endured them yourself. Maybe you’ve just accepted that pain and hurt were part of the experience of dating. Maybe you believe the Hollywood storyline that premarital sex often leads to “happily ever after.” Maybe you’ve convinced yourself that lasting, monogamous love just isn’t realistic—that sex is just for fun. Maybe you’re just in the game for what you can get. Whatever your point of view, hold final judgment until you get the facts. Sex without marriage? Here’s some problems:

The story …
She’s young, beautiful, and full of passion. It feels right with him. He is everything she wants. She, too, is the woman of his dreams. Both of them are thinking about marriage. Sex will be the glue for the relationship. They’ll be moving in together soon anyway. The physical relationship will bring them closer—make their love complete; right? They plan the night to the last detail, or perhaps they wait for the moment of passion to come naturally. The night arrives and they’re both nervous and awkward. As it turns out, having sex with their “true love” isn’t what they thought it would be—though neither of them admits it. The relationship continues, but something isn’t the same. Is the mystery gone, the excitement tamed? Is there regret? Time passes and sex becomes routine, just like any of the other stuff they do together. At the same time, they feel insecure without it. He doesn’t seem rapt with her giggle and crooked smile anymore. She no longer hangs on his every word. It’s just a matter of time …

The facts:
• Forty percent of couples who live together break up before they marry -- and of the 60 percent that do marry, 40 percent of them end up divorced. (www.family.org)
• Leading social scientist, James Q. Wilson, explains in his work, The Marriage Problem: How Our Culture Has Weakened Families:
“Married people are happier than unmarried ones of the same age, not only in the United States, but in at least seventeen other countries where similar inquiries have been made. And there seems to be good reasons for that happiness. People who are married not only have higher incomes and enjoy greater emotional support, they tend to be healthier. Married people live longer than unmarried ones, not only in the United States but abroad.”

The story…
She’s almost 20, but started an active sex life at 15. Tension with her parents led to moving out a couple of years ago. Her most recent relationship felt deeper than the others and the break-up hit her hard. She decides to have a party in her apartment, a shallow attempt to distract herself from the desperation and loneliness she feels. An older man arrives along with her ex-coworker hoping to hook up with someone. He knows her type, can smell it even, and turns on the charm as the party heats up. Flattered by his attention, she flirts wildly and has a bit too much to drink. They talk deep into the night, sharing every intimate dream and ambition. With amazing speed, she seems to trip right into a desperate love. She finds herself dreaming of a future with him. She can’t believe she can actually feel good about herself again. The wee hours of the morning arrive and making love to him seems right. There’s hope for the first time in weeks since her break-up with the ex. The mixture of danger and exhilaration is intoxicating, but the contentment she feels in being connected to a man soothes her to sleep. She wakes to a note on the pillow. It says, “I’ll call you.” Her heart pounds and her stomach grips as she realizes, “He never even asked for my number.” Three weeks later, there’s been no phone call and she stares at the calendar and thinks, “I’m late for my period…”

The facts:
• According to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (2004) more than onethird of all girls get pregnant at least once by age 20.
• Stebleton & Rothenberger (1993) revealed that 60% of women and 47% of men felt like they had been lied to for the purposes of sex.
• Dr. Reginald Finger studied more than 7,000 men and women to examine teen virginity. He found that those abstaining from sex as teens ranked higher on scales of life satisfaction, per capita income, positive net worth and lower divorce rates. (According to a study published in the journal Adolescent and Family Health.)The results of the study were clear.
"We found men and women who were virgins at age 18, when evaluated approximately 20 years later, had just over half the risk of divorce, had completed about a year more education and had about 20 percent higher annual income compared to those who were not virgins at 18,"
• The National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health, which includes data on 90,118 American adolescents, found that when adolescents feel connected to their parents with feelings of love and caring, they have their first sexual experience later than adolescents who are not well-connected to their parents.
• Orr, Beiter, and Ingersoll (1991) discovered that non-virgin adolescent boys were 6.3 times more likely to use alcohol, 6.7 times more likely to consider dropping out of school, seven times more likely to be suspended from school, and four times more likely to use drugs than virgin boys. Non-virgin adolescent girls were 6.3 times more likely to attempt suicide, 6.1 times more likely to use alcohol, 17.9 times as likely to run away from home, and 2.1 times as likely to feel lonely compared to virgin girls. This, accompanied by other similar studies, may indicate that premature sex is related with, a result of, or creates psycho-social risks

The story…
The club is hot tonight and he spots the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen. Her long, blonde, flowing hair makes him long to touch it. He walks by her on the way to the men’s room and gets close enough to smell the fragrance of her shampoo. Her legs go on forever—they’re tan, shapely, and move her body across the floor in a gliding, graceful gait. She catches him in a gaping stare and throws her head back in an uproarious laugh as she leans over to apprise her friend of the action. He is embarrassed, but steals a sideways glance as she brings her drink to her lips with a sensuousness that takes his breath away. She looks right at him with glistening eyes that say “Yes.” They have a couple of drinks together, leave the club, and with near anonymity, they have an encounter. The whole thing feels like a dream. He thinks, “Am I really doing this?” Emerging to reality, the act ends and he feels instantly ashamed. He can’t believe he betrayed his girlfriend and isn’t particularly kind to the woman who just shared her body with him. Hurt and intoxicated she heads back to the bar. A few weeks later he finds out that “the most beautiful woman he ever saw” shared more than just her body as his Doctor identifies the sores that have appeared on his penis. Stunned, hurt, and angry he blankly asks, “How am I going to tell my fiance’?”

The facts:
• The Centers for Disease Control (1990) reported that over half of STD-infected students still had unprotected intercourse and 22% did not inform their partners.
• Cochran and Mays (1990) report that 20% of men would lie if their HIV antibody test was positive. In addition, they said 47% of men and 42% of women purposely would underestimate the number of previous sexual partners when asked. Finally, 43% of males and 34% of females having only one episode of sexual infidelity would never disclose it to their partner.
• According to the 2005 Child Trends Fact Sheet, Adolescents and young adults are more likely than older adults to acquire STDs, and they have higher rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea than any other age group.

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Sex is Awesome
In the context of commitment, it serves as an incubator of love and intimacy, but it is a powerful act with the capacity to destroy as well as heal. Imagine sex as a roaring fire. It is exciting, warm, and useful when contained by a fireplace, but place that same fire in the middle of the room, and it becomes hurtful, frightening, and destructive. Like the bricks of a fireplace, committed marital love provides a proper boundary for sex and tames the fire’s capability for grief and destruction.

Contracting an STD causes obvious emotional pain. Victims experience issues of trust and betrayal, grief and loss, guilt and shame, along with many others. Passing a disease on to a loved can be devastating to a relationship. The loss of life as it was without infection may cause overwhelming depression. Facing an early death from AIDS can decimate the emotional health of entire families.

Dealing with an unplanned pregnancy, too, can cause obvious emotional pain. Grieving the loss of one’s adolescence, future plans and dreams, coping with the difficult choices, and dealing with intense feelings surrounding relationships involved may wreak havoc.

Finally, hearts can be broken and hearts can be hardened by the loss of relationships that included physical bonding. Remember the costs. Respect yourself. Protect your emotional health.

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