Last time, on it's your (sex) life

Can you tell an STD from a zit or bad cramps? How do you know if you or your partner is infected?

HIV testing? Done that once. Been there. Can we stop using condoms now?

Take the Big Five: True or False Sex Quiz.

People today are using condoms more than ever before, which is great. But we're not exactly the condom generation yet.

One of the most common things couples can give each other during sex is a sexually transmitted disease called HPV. What's up with that?

Most young people aren't getting tested for HIV. Are you one of them?

Think you might be pregnant?! Emergency Contraception

Talking about sex with your partner

Going to the clinic: STDs and check-ups

Wanna know more?

Click here for more info on sex, STDs, and birth control

August 2000

What STD is as common as the flu among young people, but completely curable with medicine?
Read on to learn more about Chlamydia.

Fact or fiction?
Picture this: Every year in the U.S., there are an estimated three million new cases of a disease most people have never heard of. Hey, most people who have it don't know it since in most cases there are no symptoms. While it can cause some serious pain and problems down the road, it can be easily cured if treated early with plain-and-simple antibiotics.

Does this sound more like Roswell than reality? Unfortunately, it's all true. Chlamydia is the Jekyll and Hyde of sexually transmitted diseases or STDs. You can go along feeling fine, not even knowing anything is wrong… and then WHAM, out of the blue, if you're female, you've got abdominal pain, pain in your lower belly, or a heavy feeling in the pelvic area. Got chlamydia? If you get tested for chlamydia early on-that's before you feel any discomfort-a prescription for antibiotics from your doctor will leave you feeling good as new. But since most people who get chlamydia don't get any symptoms, and since they've never heard peep about this disease, they don't realize they should get tested. If you're female, that means risking chronic pain or possibly infertility, if an untreated chlamydia infection progresses into Pelvic Inflammatory Disease or PID. If you're male, that means risking infertility too (from an infection in the epididymis) and risking passing it on to your girlfriend without meaning to.

The Young and At Risk
Two thirds of all new cases of chlamydia in women-that's two in three for you non-Math majors-occur among people under 25! Including half (one in two, got it?) among those under 20!.2

But here's the killer stat: in some high school and college campuses as many as one in six people tested positive for chlamydia when just about the entire student body was been tested. And, guess what? Most of them were clueless they had it. Very few of them had any symptoms to warn them something was up. Ladies are especially likely to lack the symptom alert: three in four women and one in two men who have chlamydia don't have symptoms.2

Mirror, mirror on the wall…
Think you might beat risk for chlamydia? Well, what are you waiting for? Talk to a health care provider! Take the test. (For more info on getting tested, read on below.)

If you've done anything sexual with anyone without protection (read: condom), like, ever, you could have a STD. A study that looked at which young women get chlamydia found that girls who had only one sexual partner in their life were almost as likely to have chlamydia as girls who had five partners. But oral sex is safe, right? Wrong. You can get chlamydia from giving or receiving unprotected oral sex (re: without a dental dam, condom, or other latex protection), and you can have a chlamydia infection in your throat. (See below for testing deets.) Bottom line: Because so many young people have chlamydia and don't know it, doing anything unprotected sexually (dental dams, anyone?) puts you at risk.

How can I reduce my risk for STDs?
Choose to be abstinent, or make an agreement with your partner to be faithful sexually to one another, and stick to it.

Use a condom or dental dam every time you have oral, vaginal, or anal sex.

Talk to your provider about getting vaccinated for hepatitis A and hepatitis B.

Know your risk, know your status, and know your partner's status: get tested!

Symptoms for 500, please
Let's say you are one of the few who is showing some symptoms, tipping you off that something's up "down there." What might those symptoms be?

  • Abnormal discharge from the penis or vagina
  • A burning sensation when you pee
  • Ladies only: abdominal pain (pain in lower tummy area)
  • Ladies only II: bleeding between periods
If you're a woman, an untreated chlamydia (or gonorrhea) infection can put in the ER-and we don't mean the TV show. Chlamydia symptoms include pain during urination or intercourse, pelvic or cervical pain, breakthrough bleeding, heavier menstrual flow, and unusual discharge. If your chlamydia infection goes untreated, you could end up with symptoms like moderate to severe (and persistent or long-term) abdominal pain, fever, chills, and even bowel symptoms. These symptoms are a sign that your untreated chlamydia (or gonorrhea) infection has morphed into a bigger, much more bad-ass infection called Pelvic Inflammatory Disease or PID. If you have any of PID symptoms above, see a doctor as soon as possible. If you have all of these symptoms at once, go get medical care as soon as you finish this sentence. Once a woman has PID, she has a one in five chance of becoming up infertile and about the same chance of permanent on-again, off-again cramping pain.2
Show me the test
Chlamydia can be tested for in two ways:

  • Giving a urine sample.
  • Having your throat and genitals "swabbed" by a doctor:
Men: the throat, anus and opening of the penis are swabbed. Women: the throat, anus and cervix are swabbed (think like-a-Pap smear-but just having had a Pap is not the same as a test for chlamydia).

If you have never been tested for STDs, you may want to ask your health care provider what you should consider: chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, trichomoniasis ("trich"), and HIV? Also ask about vaccinations for two more STDs, hepatitis A and B. Women should schedule a pelvic exam and Pap smear (which detects early signs of cervical cancer that are associated with the STD, HPV) once a year too.

Uncle Sam wants YOU to get tested
The government health agency called the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (or CDC) recognizes that chlamydia is so common and can have such terrible long-term consequences for women that it recommends that ALL sexually active women under 20 get screened for chlamydia every year-even if they have no symptoms.2 The CDC also recommends that all women between the ages of 20 and 24 are screened for chlamydia annually if they have new or multiple sexual partners OR do not consistently use condoms (even if just once!). 2

Testing is available at your local public health clinics, Planned Parenthood clinics, and even your family provider. If you can't afford it: many places offer free or reduced rate testing. (Call the National STD hotline at 1 800 227-8922 to get info on where to find a free or low-cost clinic with STD testing in your area). Getting tested regularly is important if you want to catch an infection early. But really, the answer, my friend, is in making sure you don't get one in the first place. The safest route is to abstain from sex; if that's not in the cards for you, reduce your chance of getting an STD by using a condom every time you have sex and by using condoms or dental dams for oral sex.

Hotlines and websites
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National STD Hotline: 1-800-227-8922
This hotline will answer your questions about STDs and can provide referrals to clinics and other hotlines.

Planned Parenthood National Hotline: 1-800-230-PLAN
This hotline will automatically connect you to the Planned Parenthood Provider nearest you. Planned Parenthood offers STD testing including HIV, contraception, pre-natal and post-natal care, pregnancy options counseling, and adoption referrals.

www.itsyoursexlife.org
It's Your (Sex) Life, created by the Kaiser Family Foundation, was created for young people to learn about STDs, birth control, and other sexual health issues.

www.iwannaknow.org A teen STD site by American Social Health Association, a non-profit dedicated to education and information on STDs.

it's your (sex) life is brought to you in partnership with the Kaiser Family Foundation, an independent, non-profit health care philanthropy.The content of this site was prepared by staff of the Foundation. MTV and the Foundation have joined forces to provide information on important sexual health issues to MTV viewers and online users. The Kaiser Family Foundation is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente or any other Kaiser Industries.

1CDC-NCHSTP-DSTD. 1999. Take Action on HEDIS. http://www.cdc.gov/nchstp/dstd/HEDIS.htm.
2Bunnell, R. E., Dahlberg, L., Rolfs, R., Ransom, R., Gershman, K., Farshy, C., Newhall, W. J., Schmid, S., Stone, K., & St. Louis, M. 1999. High prevalence and incidence of sexually transmitted diseases in urban adolescent females despite moderate risk behaviors. Journal of Infectious Diseases, 180, 1624-31.