Risky Stuff

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are sometimes called STIs, sexually transmitted infections. Anyone who has sexual contact with an infected person – even one time – is at risk for contracting an STD. Some STDs do not have obvious symptoms. If a person suspects that he or she may have had contact with an infected person, they should seek medical advice immediately. Some STDs, like HIV, have no obvious symptoms and the only way that infection can be confirmed is to get tested. Many STDs (but not HIV!) can be treated effectively with antibiotics. If untreated, STDs can cause severe sickness and even death. Having sex with multiple partners increases a person’s risk of infection. Finally, the surest way to reduce the risk of contracting an STD, including HIV, is to not have sex. STD is a disease that is transmitted through sexual contact with an infected individual. Gonorrhea, hepatitis, herpes, syphilis, genital warts, yeast infections and HIV/AIDS are some STDs mentioned in the video. STDs are transmitted through unprotected sexual contact with an infected individual; this may involved vaginal, anal or oral sex. STDs can also be spread through exposure to blood from an infected individual, during sexual contact or through the sharing of needles used for tattoos, body piercing, or intravenous drug use. You can contract HIV even if you are NOT having sex – through intravenous drug use and even needles used in creating tattoos and body piercing such as piercings for earrings, nose rings, chin and tongue studs, etc. STDs can be prevented through sexual abstinence; through correct use of latex condoms; by not sharing needles.

            Note that it is very important to get accurate information about HIV and other STDs from authoritative sources like your family doctor or school nurse. They have the information and want to help. Do not automatically accept what you hear from friends or see in the media – your life can depend on it. HIV is contracted in two ways: through unprotected sexual contact, whether vaginal, oral or anal; through the use of shared needles for tattooing, body piercing or intravenous drug use. There are valid biological reasons why people develop sexual interests and feelings in the teenage years. Emotions also run high at this time of life and many young people are exploring their

sexuality. Studies indicate that males and females may approach the decision to have sex from very different viewpoints. There are risky behaviors and situations that may lead to sex, even if it is unwanted. Despite what is represented in movies, music videos and on television, many young people are not “doing it.” There are good reasons to postpone the decision to become sexually active too soon, including the risk of infection and unwanted pregnancy.

            For individuals who have become sexually active, it is critical that they take personal responsibility to protect themselves from risks of infection and unwanted pregnancy. This is the time of life when you should be exploring your interests and talents, and setting goals for the future. Taking unnecessary risks with your sexual health can interfere with and even sidetrack your long-term goals. There are valid biological reasons why people develop sexual interests and feelings in the teenage years. Emotions also run high at this time of life and many young people are exploring their sexuality. Studies indicate that males and females may approach the decision to have sex from very different viewpoints. There are risky behaviors and situations that may lead to sex, even if it is unwanted. Despite what is represented in movies, music videos and on television, many young people are not “doing it.” There are good reasons to postpone the decision to become sexually active too soon, including the risk of infection and unwanted pregnancy. For individuals who have become sexually active, it is critical that they take personal responsibility to protect themselves from risks of infection and unwanted pregnancy. This is the time of life when you should be exploring your interests and talents, and setting goals for the future. Taking unnecessary risks with your sexual health can interfere with and even sidetrack your long-term goals.

            That it is each person’s right to set his or her own sexual limits regardless of pressure. The decision to become sexually active is one of the most important decisions a person will ever make. No one has the right to make this decision for another person. Some risk associated with having sex are exposure to STDs, risk of becoming pregnant, being taken advantage of by someone who does not really have your best interests at heart, loss of choices and chances for your future. That talking with potential partners about things like contraception, HIV and other STDs can be embarrassing and difficult. Talking about these things with parents and other adults can also be embarrassing and difficult. But not talking before you have sex can have life-threatening consequences. The effects of alcohol and other drug use on sexual behavior are their use may impair judgment and induce individuals to enter into behaviors to which they would not otherwise agree. While under the influence, an individual may be more readily persuaded to do something he or she would not do if sober; it’s even possible that the inebriated individual may be taken advantage of without his/her conscious knowledge.

            Impaired judgment may lead to involvement in unprotected sex or the sharing of needles. people between the ages of 13 and 24 are among those most at risk for contracting HIV – which can develop into AIDS. Heterosexual persons are as much at risk for contracting HIV as gay, lesbian and bisexual individuals. There are no symptoms for HIV and there is no way for a person to tell if he or she has been infected with HIV without being tested.  It takes only one contact with an infected person to contract HIV or any other STD. You can get pregnant and/or contract an STD like HIV the first time you have sex. Teens and young adults represent one third of the global total of people living with HIV and AIDS. While there are some people who have HIV and never develop full-blown AIDS, everyone who has HIV is at risk for developing AIDS.  While there are new medicines that can prolong the life of persons living with AIDS, currently there is no cure. People living with HIV and AIDS do not pose an automatic threat to non-infected persons. HIV is a communicable disease. People living with HIV and AIDS are not any more at fault than persons living with pneumonia or chickenpox, and must be treated with respect. Don’t become involved in risky behavior regarding sex; think seriously about your choices in personal behavior and gather information so that you can make only informed decisions; don’t share needles for any purpose.

            What if you had to make one of the most consequential decisions of your life with no reliable information to guide you? That’s the situation for many puerile people when endeavoring to cull between remaining abstinent, or becoming sexually active. Prospective partners and peers may not have precise information, and may not have the individual’s best intrigues at heart. Although exposure to STDs – and pregnancy – can occur with just one sexual encounter, many teens believe them invulnerable, or are too mortified to pursue valid information. Some end up having unprotected sex virtually by default. They withal may not associate the sharing of needles for tattooing or body piercing with the spread of STDs – but, they should. Tackling uninformed decision-making head on, an engaging, multiethnic group of teens distributes straightforward information about peer pressure, dating, deferring sexual involution, STDs, and desideratum for bulwark if an individual does boff (have sex). They discuss the link between alcohol, drugs, and perilous comportment, and how sharing needles can lead to STD infection. Their effervescent presentation forcefully drives home the relationship between demeanor and physical wellbeing. Various STDs are covered, with an accentuation on HIV/AIDS. Precarious Stuff enables students to surmount mortification and consult adults for information about sexual involution and consequences. With a moiety of incipient HIV/AIDS infections in the U.S. occurring in people between ages 13 and 24, now is a crucial time for students to commence verbalizing, asking – and heedfully aurally perceiving – about STDs, sex, pregnancy, needles, and jeopardous demeanor.