STD/STI

Sexually transmitted diseases are spreading rapidly. Note: USA uses 'STD' (Sexually Transmitted Disease), whereas the rest of the world uses 'STI' (Sexually Transmitted Infection) - both mean the same thing.

If you have already had sex, this section is not about whether you are a good person or a bad person. The purpose of this section on STI’s is to get you thinking for yourself.

A Sexually Transmitted Disease/Infection (STD/STI) is a disease you can get by having sex with someone else who is infected with any of several germs that cause these infections. Infections may occur inside your body or outside on your body - usually in or on your penis, anus, skin, or mouth (and the vagina in girls). The scary part is that the most common symptom of an STD is NO symptom, especially in girls. This means you can't tell whether someone has an STD just by looking at her or him.

Take responsibility for yourself. Your sex partner will not do it for you!

Every year, in the U.S. alone, there are about 3 million cases of sexually transmitted diseases (STD’s) in teenagers and about 1 million teenage girls get pregnant. As recently as 8 years ago, HIV infection was the 6th leading cause of death in young people 15-24 years old. (58)

To see the worldwide incidence of STD’s, check out this site: W.H.O. Worldwide STD statistics

If you don’t want to get detailed information on these diseases or see what they do to your body, then don’t go to these links above.

There are more STD’s but these are the most common.

It is important to understand that having sex may carry severe consequences and that condoms (rubbers) don’t always work the way they are advertised to work.

Knowing what the risks are may help prevent you from making a terrible mistake.

Absolutely not! You can get any STD through oral sex, whether you are giving or receiving oral sex (sucking or licking).

The term "safe sex" primarily refers to the use of a condom every time you have any sex with another person. Remember, condoms are not totally reliable, so there is no such thing as totally 'safe sex' (see the page Safe? Sex).

Make a decision! The only way you can be totally sure about staying free of an STD is to choose not to have sex until you are married.

Do not use this site or your friends' help for medical advice to try and diagnose your problem. See your own doctor if you think there is a problem.

If you have further questions or concerns about STDs, ask Dr. Mike, an internationally known Clinical Microbiologist specializing in STDs. He has worked extensively with teenage boys and contributed all the information and STD images on the disease pages here.

Copy and paste*  jmm8ATcomcast.net  into your email client and tell Dr Mike how old you are, what country you are from and then ask your question. You will be emailing a medical specialist offering his time to help young guys. Your email will be treated confidentially and erased after he answers you.

* change  AT to @  to make a normal email address format - done this way to prevent automated spam email address harvesting.