Sexually Transmitted Diseases - STDs

Pregnancy is not the only risk when you have sex. You are also putting yourself at risk for contracting a sexually transmitted disease (STD). We don’t want to scare you, but it is important you know the risks. Your future is at stake.

Did you know?

·         STDs are the most common diseases in America next to the common cold and flu.

·         More than 1 in 5 Americans have an STD.

·         Over 41,000 people become infected with an STD everyday.

·         Teenagers are infected with STDs at a rate of 10,000 per day.

·         There are 30 – 50 different kinds of STDs.

·         80% of those infected with an STD don’t develop initial symptoms.

·         Some STDs are incurable, life-long infections. Some can lead to life-threatening diseases or even death.

(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2003)

“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, Former U.S. Surgeon General