A. Here is what you need to know about STDs.
- People of all ages, colors, religious
backgrounds, and income and education levels get STDs.
- Teenagers and young adults get STDs more
often than any other age group. This is because they tend to start
having sex at a younger age and have more sex partners. Almost
two-thirds of STDs occur in people less than 25 years old.
- The total number of STD cases is rapidly increasing.
- Many times women don't have any obvious signs or symptoms when infected with a sexually transmitted disease. Also, the signs of STDs are often confused with
other problems which often leads to women not being treated promptly for STDs.
- Even if a person has no signs of a STD,
he or she can still be infected and pass on the disease.
- Women have a higher chance of getting a STDs than men. Young women have more chance of getting a STDs than older women.
Women are more likely to have serious health problems from STDs such as:
- Pelvic
Inflammatory Disease (PID) - an
infection in the uterus, ovaries, and/or fallopian tubes that
can cause infertility (not being able to get pregnant) or an ectopic pregnancy (a
pregnancy in the fallopian tubes instead of in the uterus).
- Human
papillomavirus (HPV) - an
infection that can lead to cervical
cancer.
- Infant death or disability - mothers with STDs can infect their babies. Some babies die from the infection and other babies are born with serious health problems.
