Sexually-transmitted Disease

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sexually-transmissible disease (STDs) are infections that have a significant probability of transmission between humans by means of sexual contact–vaginal intercourse, oral sex, and/or anal sex.

How at risk are you? 

To figure your risk of exposure to HIV or other Sexually Transmitted Diseases look at the chart:

"When you have sex with someone, you are having sex with everyone they have had sex with for the last ten years, and everyone they and their partners have had sex with for the last ten years." C. Everett Koop, M.D-, Former U.S. Surgeon General

Classification and terminology

They were commonly known as venereal diseases (VD); Veneris is in Latin the genitive (possessive) form of the name Venus, the Roman goddess of love) until some time around 1990, when public health officials introduced newer terms such as sexually-transmitted disease in efforts to improve the clarity of their warnings to the public.

Today there 26 diseases termed a sexually-transmitted diseases and many of these diseases have no cure.  Here is a list of methods to prevent the transmission of these diseases:

• Condom - The failure rate is about 30% due to improper use and also age of the condom.  The older it is the less effective it is.
• Spermacidal Creme and Sponge - Effective for prevention of pregnancy but fail miserably for disease prevention.
• Abstinance - The only method that is 100% effective for both disease and prevention of pregnancy.

In general, an STD is an infection that has a negligible probabililty of transmission by means other than sexual contact, but has a realistic means of transmission by sexual contact (more sophisticated means–blood transfusion, sharing of hypodermic needles–are not taken into account). Thus, one may presume that, if a person is infected with an STD (e.g., chlamydia, gonorrhea, genital herpes, HIV), it was transmitted to him/her by means of sexual contact.