Dr. Jill Grimes is the author of The Ultimate College Student Health Handbook: Everything from Hangovers to Homesickness. With over 30 years of personal practice and academic medicine, she shares medical wisdom as a university documentary.
I know that casual sex and hookup culture is often considered the norm for university, and that many students do not consider negative outcomes other than pregnancy.
Unfortunately, almost half (48.2%) of the 2.4 million reported cases of chlamydia, go disease, and syphilis surveyed in the US were among adolescents and young adults aged 15 to 24 years. Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance, 2023 From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US.
What I saw in clinical experience is that teens and young people often overlook the need for protection against infection, especially when they use contraceptives and IUDs to prevent pregnancy. actual, Spring 2024 National College Health Assessment Data show that only half (50.2%) of students who used contraceptive methods reported using male condoms during their last vaginal intercourse.
As a university doctor, I know that many college students have sex. That’s obviously their choice. However, I have seen firsthand how emotionally and physically devastating these diagnoses can be. Tear chambers are shedding tears from students who have been diagnosed with herpes, chlamydia, go disease, genital warts, or HIV.
Whether the illness is curable or chronic, emotional victims are often greater than physical symptoms. Especially since many of these sexually transmitted diseases may have been prevented.
That’s why I want you to know what’s going on in college and what you can do to keep yourself safe and healthy. This is a real-worldly story that everyone deserves to hear before swiping right in college or anywhere.
First, don’t believe everything you’ve heard at a dorm, dining room, or barrel fuel party. Students will hear “everyone” are connected, but that’s not true.
Almost 52% of university students reported having vaginal sex during the last year. 2024 American College Health Association National College Health Evaluation. This means that 48% did not.
And it’s not all consensual sex. True consent is clear, enthusiastic, continuous, verbalized, given at will, and can be withdrawn at any time. Students often feel pressured to fit physically tightly.
13% of undergraduate students reported “nonconsensual sexual contact due to physical force or disagreement.” American University Association. Drunk people and high individuals cannot give consent, but many hookups occur under the influence.
Many students tearfully share that they either “want to get through it” or have chosen oral or anal sex to stay “technical virgins.” Some feel guilt or regret, while others are completely satisfied with their physical intimacy, but they are shocked by STIs and pregnancy diagnosis.
When students worry about genital rashes, blisters, or pain from discharge or urination, STI tests are part of a detailed examination. Students are often selective about which STI tests are required. They often are OK to check for chlamydia and go disease, but their partner refuses to test for HIV because they are “not such a person.”
The myth persists that these diseases are passed on in other communities (not you), but sexually transmitted diseases do not discriminate. The risk of STIs comes from choice of action rather than choice of action, who looks, skin color, culture, religion, values, wealth, sexual orientation, or political persuasion.
Yes, some STIs are more common in certain populations. Anyway, check your bias, especially with HIV. Heterosexual contacts accounted for 22% of new HIV infections in the United States in 2022, with people aged 13 to 24 making up 20% of new HIV diagnoses. HIV.GOVa federal website with information and resources related to HIV/AIDS from the US government. Furthermore, younger adults are becoming more and more fluid in sexuality, including having more bisexual experiences, whether gay or bisexual.
Testing positive for one STI requires more testing. Most sexually transmitted infections spread through body fluids, and some are simply shared through direct contact. If you contract one infection, you should test it as there may be another infection. Unfortunately, we often make multiple diagnoses at once.
Did you know that your partner’s calm pain can lead to herpes in your genitals? Herpes is caused by Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1or HSV-1. This can be easily transmitted by direct contact from one person’s oral area to another person’s genitals. Herpes is probably the most common disease we have passed through in oral sex, but that’s not the only one.
Chlamydia, go disease, syphilis, human papillomavirus (HPV), herpes, and less common HIV can all spread in two directions from oral century intimacy. This means that STIs can cause throat, genital and anal infections. Barriers such as condoms and dental dams can significantly reduce risk. (This is why flavored condoms exist.)
Most STIs are quiet and cause no, fleeting or minimal symptoms, but can cause serious illnesses to you or your partner. Screening tests are important for early detection of asymptomatic bacterial infections, but they are still easy to treat.
Chlamydia is the most common bacterial STI in the world. Pan American Health Organization. Chlamydia is the most common bacterial STI in the United States, with over 1.5 million cases reported per year, but chlamydia does not cause obvious symptoms Most women (75% of women and 50% of men, according to Scripps Health). Leave it untreated, 10% to 15% Women develop pelvic inflammatory disease or PID, and approximately 10% of women with PID develop infertility. Cleveland Clinic.
go disease is the second most common bacterial STI, with over 600.000 cases in the US in 2023. A national overview of STI for 2023. go disease can also cause PID, but very often there is co-infection with chlamydia, some ranging from 10% to 40% National Institutes of Health. The biggest challenge with go disease is the increased resistance to antibiotics, making it increasingly difficult to treat.
PID is the most common preventable cause of infertility in women in the United States, affecting an estimated 100,000 women per year. Cleveland Clinic It’s attracting attention. Sexually active young women should be actively tested for chlamydia and go disease each year.
Human papillomavirus is the most common STI overall. While most HPV infections resolve spontaneously without any problems, persistent infections can quickly cause genital warts. HPV can also cause HPV as it can be sent to people who have oral sex 60% to 70% Of the approximately 60,000 oropharyngeal cancers diagnosed annually in the United States (double the usual for men and women), American Cancer Society.
The genital war luxuries of human papillomaviruses are not fatal, but they will make you miserable. Treatment is painful and has a higher risk of repeated procedures and recurrence. Patients are often scared, embarrassed, emotionally distraught, fearing that this incurable disease will be undesirable for potential future partners. It is not possible to emphasize enough how this emotional burden (also seen in herpes and HIV) affects the student’s self-image, confidence and mental health.
Since the deployment of HPV vaccines, HPV high-risk infections (including genital war luxuries) have decreased by up to 88% between teenage girls and young women, thanks to both direct vaccinations and herd immunity. CDC.
The genital war luxury patients used to fill our university clinics are appreciated not to be a challenge. Human papillomavirus vaccine impact monitoring project It shows that pre-cancer of the cervix has dropped Approximately 80% In women aged 20-24, researchers predict that HPV vaccinations can prevent more than 90% of all HPV-related cancers from developing. CDC.
If you’re going to have sex, prepare before you have sex. Although birth control pills are very effective when used correctly, college life is full of irregular schedules, late nights, road trip weekends, and for some people vomiting. If a pill is delayed, forgotten, missed or thrown, its effectiveness will sink.
Adding condoms not only reduces the risk of conception, but also adds protection against STIs. However, do not double the condoms. This myth is still perpetuated, but using two condoms at once can increase the risk of breakage and failure.
Numbers are also important. If you don’t get in or out of a car, you won’t be able to have a car accident. The more you drive, the higher the cumulative risk. It’s mathematics, not morality.
Teens and young adults deserve more than the talk of outdated, troublesome and judgemental sex. They need to learn how to protect their health, future fertility and emotional well-being while learning to live as adults. If more students knew this information, it would be far fewer in the university’s medical center exam rooms.
Hookups may be part of the university culture for many students, but normalize being open, ready and honest about risk. Check with your university’s health center for more information on prevention, screening and treatment.
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