It’s important for anyone to get their facts straight about sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), but this is especially important if you’re a teenager or the parent of one. If you have ever never taken your clothes off and had skin to skin contact with another person, your wellness is at risk of an STD, so what do you need to know?
Scare tactics should never be used to make you avoid risky sexual health behaviour, but as people aged 15 through 24 account for half of all new, reported infections, it’s important to be in the know about STDs, and how you can guard your wellbeing against them. Let’s start with a common STD; gonorrhoea. This STD often doesn’t present with any symptoms, which makes it very easy to spread, unnoticed, unless you use a condom. Among the reported cases of gonorrhoea, the highest rate of infection is in 15 to 19-year-old girls and men in their early 20s, and 75% of all reported cases of gonorrhoea are in young people aged 15 to 29.
If you’re a parent of a teenager, you might not like to think about them having sex. However, not only is it likely that they are, but you need to acknowledge this fact to help protect them against STDs. Communication is key in helping teenagers stop taking risks with their health. 50% of teenagers are sexually active, but only 30% report using condoms – and even then that doesn’t mean they use them every time. You may not be able to stop your son or daughter having sex, but you can educate them about protection.
Another thing which is important for teenagers to know is that STD testing is crucial if you are sexually active. Many people think this only applies to HIV, which is why only half of adults under the age of 45 have been tested for any other STD. However, as many infections, such as gonorrhoea, chlamydia and genital herpes, may be symptom less, you should be tested for STDs at least annually if you are sexually active. Any teen that has had sexual intercourse, whether once or 100 times, is potentially carrying an STI.
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