Of all teens having sex, at least one in four will contract a sexually transmitted infection. Here’s how to make sure you’re not one of them: Protect yourself with tips from YOU: The Owner’s Manual for Teens: A Guide to a Healthy Body and Happy Life, by Michael F. Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet C. Oz, M.D.
Gonorrhea: bacteria that live in the cells of the cervix (in women) or at the end of the urethra (in men), sometimes causing a funky discharge. Antibiotics can clear up the infection. Left unattended in women, it can scar the fallopian tubes and cause chronic lower abdominal pain, as well as infertility. Most people don’t know they have gonorrhea, so the rule is to get screened by way of a simple urine test at least once a year if you’re having sex and three to six months after becoming intimate with a new partner. Have a really bad sore throat a few days after oral sex? Gonorrhea could be the culprit, causing a nasty throat infection. The bad news: Both partners need to be treated at the same time, or else it will transfer back and forth. The same goes for all bacterial STIs.
Chlamydia: This is another bacterial infection that hangs out in the urethra in the male or the cervix in the female, but it can creep up the fallopian tubes and cause big problems such as pelvic inflammatory disease, or infections in the uterus, ovaries, or fallopian tubes, causing acute and chronic pelvic pain and infertility if not treated. However, if chlamydia is treated with just a simple one-time dose of the antibiotic azithromycin (brand name Zithromax), you can avoid future pelvicpain and infertility. Visit your doctor for a urine screening test at least once a year if you’re having sex, and three to six months after a new sexual relationship. The good news? Chlamydia doesn’t like saliva, so it won’t cause a nasty sore throat.
Genital warts: These warts are caused by a virus called HPV (human papillomavirus) that incorporates itself into the DNA of cells. Some of the more than 120 different types of HPV are linked to cervical cancer. The good news? You can now get a series of three shots between ages nine and twenty-six that can prevent several of the bad strains of HPV: Types 16 and 18 (covered by both of the available vaccines, Gardasil and Cervarix) cause 70 percent of cervical cancer and some forms of throat cancer, and types 6 and 11 (covered only by Gardasil) cause 90 percent of laser-worthy, fungating external genital warts (there are other ways to treat warts besides laser too). We feel that more coverage is better and that both guys and gals should get the Gardasil vaccine — genital warts are not fun for either sex, and a guy who carries a cervical-cancer-causing strain of HPV can pass it on to his partner. For maximum protection, you need to get all three shots before becoming sexually active; the vaccine is less effective if you already started having sex, but is still worthwhile.
In addition to cervical cancer, penile cancer, and genital warts, HPV can cause anal cancer. Anal tissue is not as elastic as vaginal tissue and can tear, providing a great entryway for infection by the human papillomavirus. Anal cancer is also more common in guys who have sex with other guys, due to exposure to HPV. It is worth getting immunized with the HPV vaccine long before you are even thinking of having sex because the doses must be spread out (the usual schedule is two months after the first one, two to four months after the second), and you need all three for maximum immunity.
Once genital warts have been diagnosed, a doc can freeze or burn off the cells with the wart virus in them. You may also be given a prescription topical cream such as imiquimod (Aldara), which kicks your immune system into high gear to fight off the virus. You apply the medication nightly three times a week, then wash it off in the morning. Imiquimod can’t be used for more than sixteen weeks in a row, however. If the infection does not go away completely by then, discuss other options with your doctor; new medications are available.
FYI: Even if you have the warts treated, you still carry the virus for an undetermined period of time, so protect your partner by wearing condoms during oral, anal, or vaginal sex.
Herpes simplex virus (HSV): We call herpes the gift that keeps on giving, as this virus incorporates itself into the DNA of certain nerves and then stays there forever, silently infecting others upon contact. This virus causes blisters on the lips (HSV-1) or the genitals (HSV-2). Herpes can also spread between the two areas if there is mouth-to-genital contact. You’ll notice a tingling and burning, and then a blister that scabs over. An antiviral medicine called acyclovir (brand name, Zovirax) can be taken (400 milligrams three times a day, typically) to get rid of the outbreak. Other medicines are also available (valcyclovir, or Valtrex; famcyclovir, or Famvir). The virus stays in the nerve root forever and can reactivate if you’re stressed or there’s some kind of trauma to the area, such as eating hot foods (for mouth) or too much friction without enough lubrication (for genital ones). Some infected people never show symptoms, but they can then pass it on to someone else who gets frequent outbreaks.
Herpes can be hard on the ego. Unlike gonorrhea and chlamydia, the disease can be treated but not cured. Explaining an infection to a potential partner can be tricky. You want to tell before you do anything, but you don’t necessarily want the whole world to know. So you need to be comfortable with and close to someone without having engaged in foreplay or sexual activity so that you are not telling them too late, blowing their trust. On the good side, herpes infection can serve as a natural brake pedal, slowing your relationships so that not everyone you feel close to is someone with whom you share intimate physical contact.
LEARN MORE
- Browse more books by Michael F. Roizen, M.D., and Mehmet C. Oz, M.D.
- Browse more books about teen health
