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STD GENERAL INFORMATION |
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Sexually Transmitted Diseases are also called STDs for short. Or, you may
have heard them called "VD," short for "Venereal Disease."
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Most of us will have an infection in our sex organs some time during our lives.
Not all of these infections come from a sex partner. BUT they all can be passed
on to a sex partner. There are many of these infections. The ones described in this
pamphlet are common in the United States.
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Some important facts about STDs:
- Each disease needs it own test
and treatment.
- You can have more than one STD at the same time. Each one needs its own treatment.
- You can’t get immune to STDs. You can catch the same infection over and over again.
- Many men and women don’t see or feel any early symptoms when they first get infected
with an STD. But they can still give their infection to a sex partner. And their
disease will get worse as time goes on.
- People of any age can be tested and treated for STDs. Minors don’t have to have
their parent’s permission.
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How can I keep from getting STDs?
- Avoid exposure. Don’t have sex. Or you can express affection in a way that does
not involve contact between your sex organs and your partner’s.
- Sex partners: Only have sex with one person, who only has sex with you. Know your
partner well enough to trust him or her to tell you about any STD they may have.
- Use a condom: Non-noxenynol-9 is not recommended. Carry the condoms with you, so
there will be no reason to have sex without them. Learn how to use them correctly
...Even if a woman is using the birth control pill, she and her partner must still
use a condom to protect themselves from infection.
- Look for signs on your partner and on yourself. If you see a sore, rash or discharge
on the sex organs, talk about it with your partner.
- Get regular checkups. Ask your doctor or clinic to do tests for gonorrhea and chlamydia,
even if you don’t have symptoms.
- Treat both people. You and your sex partner may both need to be treated for any
STD one of you has. This will keep you from catching the infection from each other
all over again.
- Don’t mix sex with alcohol or drugs. When you are drunk or stoned it is hard to
avoid unsafe sexual partners, or to use a condom.
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Definitions:
- "Sexual Intercourse" means having a man’s penis inside a woman’s vagina.
- "Anal Sex" means having a man’s penis inside another person’s anus (bowel opening,
or rectum).
- "Oral Sex" means a person using his or her mouth on another person’s sex organs.
- "Discharge" means a liquid coming out of a man’s penis or a woman’s vagina.
- "Fertile" means being able to get pregnant, if you are a woman, or able to put live
sperm into a woman’s vagina, if you are a man.
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