The Collegian

Issue date: 3/13/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Photo illustration by Linda Hua

Despite numerous breakthroughs in medicine and technology, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), still present a major problem in the 21st century. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 65 million people in the United States are living with an incurable STD. While some feel that these diseases are a distant threat, college students are not immune to viruses and infections spread through sex.

According to Stanford University's Sexual Health Peer Resource Center, "An estimated one in four college students has a sexually transmitted disease." Such high numbers are mainly due to a lack of awareness about STDs and not weighing the risks of unsafe sex.

Many traditional birth control methods don't prevent STDs. Pamphlets at Saint Mary's Student Health and Wellness Center, explain that of eight common forms of birth control including intraunterine devices, diaphragms, and the pill, only condoms offer any kind of protection against HIV and other STDs.

However, the National Institute of Health says that while condoms are useful in preventing many types of STDs, they are not foolproof, and are less effective in preventing skin to skin diseases like HPV, the virus that causes genital herpes.

Some people may feel that the best way to deal with STDs is to stay in long-term relationships. But this does not eliminate the threat of STDs completely. In an interview with NBC news, Dr. Michael Carey, head of Syracuse University's Center for Health and Behavior, said that people in lasting relationships often "underestimate their personal vulnerability by assuming that both they and their partners are invulnerable to STDs." This can lead to unfortunate consequences for both partners, said Carey, because "people see being in love with their partner as making sex less risky, but microorganisms don't respect love."

Although destructive viruses like HIV dominate the media's attention, "the most common STDs on college campuses are chlamydia, genital warts... and genital herpes," according to George Mason University's Student Health Services website. Some of these infections often don't manifest right away. The site explains that "seventy-five percent of women with chlamydia do not experience symptoms at all," and that some symptoms of the disease include "burning or painful urination, itching, abnormal discharge, or presence of a lesion or sore."

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