Sex Health Matters

Picture is a courtesy of : http://www.smsna.org/

by Daveon D.

As Teens mature they prepare for adulthood. They face many academic and social challenges. They deal also with their developing bodies, sexual pressures from peers, and alluring sexual messages from the media. When your body reaches a certain age, your brain releases a special hormone that starts the changes of puberty, called gonadotropin-releasing hormone or GnRH for short. If teens become sexually active at puberty, they are at risk for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. In sexual active teens and young adults, sexually transmitted diseases/infections are problematic.

Chlamydia is the most common (STD) in the U.S. and chlamydia rates have increased among 15-19 old's. HPV (human papillomavirus), another STD has been linked to cervical cancer risk. The strongest predictor for an STD diagnosis was an disorderly family; a family that is fatherless and misguided. Adolescents in these families were four times more likely to report being diagnosed with an STD. Young people who received no sex education tended to be black from low-income non-intact families and rural areas. Despite a continuous effort by many agencies to spread information about sexually transmitted diseases, they continue to affect a large percentage of the population in the U.S. And a lot of those affected is of the young population.

HIV is the virus associated with AIDS . It can only be transmitted by an exchange of bodily fluids including semen, vaginal secretions, breast milk, and blood. It cannot be transmitted by casual contact. Most people with HIV are treated with a combination of drugs known as highly active anti-retroviral therapy or HAART. Even though this cannot cure the disease, it can reduce the chances that it will progress into AIDS. HIV is no longer a death sentence because many people with the virus are living long and productive lives.

Condoms are highly effective against the most dangerous of sexually transmitted infections—HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. They are also effective against unintended pregnancy as well as against gonorrhea, chlamydia, and trichomoniasis. Condoms also help with a lower rate of cervical cancer, an HPV-associated disease. It's important that sexually active youth have access to condoms to protect their health and their lives. America we must wake up . Use protection!!  Condoms HELP ! All you got to do is use it.  Simple.