Understanding STDs and Safe Sex Practices

Let’s face it.  If you want to stay safe from disease, you have got to use safe sex practices.  But, in order to better understand the importance of following safe sex practices and using a condom, it is helpful to better understand sexually transmitted diseases. 

So, to that end, we here at CondomMan thought it would be helpful to explore some facts about STDs.  For example, did you know that approximately one out of every four women knows nothing about her partner’s sexual past and one out of five men are in the same boat?  It is precisely this level of ignorance that highlights the importance of following safe sex practices each and every time you have sex – particularly if you are not in a monogamous relationship with the person you are having sex with.

Another frightening fact is that a survey in 1995 showed that approximately two-thirds of women between the ages of 18 and 60 didn’t know anything about STDs other than AIDS.  If these people are unaware of these diseases, how are they getting properly educated about safe sex practices?  Obviously, the less they know about these diseases, the less likely they are to properly protect themselves.

In addition to HIV/AIDS, some of the diseases you can catch from sex include:

• Chlamydia
• Genital Herpes
• Genital Warts
• Gonorrhea
• Hepatitis B
• Pubic Lice (Scabies)
• Syphilis
• Trichomoniasis

Now, do you understand why we are always preaching safe sex practices here at CondomMan?  There are an awful lot of scary diseases out there and, while we want you to have fun and to feel good, we also want you to stay safe.

You might think that sexually transmitted diseases aren’t of concern in the United States, but you would be wrong.  When compared to other developed countries, the United States is actually in the lead when it comes to people infected with curable sexually transmitted diseases.  Consider this:  in Sweden, approximately 3 out of 100,000 people is infected with an STD.  In the United States, on the other hand, 150 out of 100,000 people are infected.  In fact, right now, approximately 70,000 people in the United States are infected with a viral sexually transmitted disease.

The fact that you can suffer from many of these diseases without showing any symptoms for a long period of time is precisely why it is important for you to follow safe sex practices.  The person you are sleeping with may honestly think that he or she is disease-free, but will still pass it on to you if you have unprotected sex.  And, let’s not forget that many of these diseases are lifelong afflictions once you catch them.  This includes hepatitis B, HPV, and herpes.

Of course, we haven’t even talked about AIDS.  Did you know that there are approximately 20,000 new cases of the disease diagnosed each year in the United States?  That is a truly frightening number and should certainly be enough to convince you to follow safe sex practices.  In addition, 62% of those that were diagnosed with the disease in the United States before 1996 are now dead – that amounts to 319,000 people.  And, contrary to popular believe, 75% of those that are infected got that way through heterosexual sex.  Had they engaged in safe sex practices, the results may have been different. 

So, stay safe and engage in safe sex practices each and every time you have sex.  We here at CondomMan want to see you stay around for a very long time!