Valentine’s Day Fact Sheet on Sexual Health

What do you plan to give your valentine this February 14th – a bouquet of flowers, a heartshaped box of chocolates, a candlelit dinner? Have you considered the gift that keeps on giving -- a sexually transmitted infection? Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are infections that result from the transmission of certain bacteria or viruses during physically intimate acts. An STI may or may not result in a sexually transmitted disease (STD) that has noticeable symptoms. It may seem unromantic to raise the issue of STIs on a day that celebrates love and romance. But let’s be realistic: love and romance tend to lead to sex in U.S. society today. And STIs have reached epidemic proportions in America, with 19 million new cases occurring each year. So what are the odds of becoming infected? A 2000 report estimated that a third of Americans had contracted a STI by age 24. This is why a holiday focused on love, romance, and seduction should also be a time to focus on sexual health. Researchers have discovered much useful information about STIs, but many people continue to avoid learning about these socially taboo infections.

-Virgins do not have to worry about STIs. 

- Only certain types of people get STIs. 

- People know if they are infected.

- Regular annual medical exams and HIV testing eliminates the need to worry about STIs.

- Condoms eliminate the need to worry about STIs.

- Having the ‘STI talk’ is unromantic. 

Source: 

*Bersamin, M. et al. (2007). Defining Virginity and Abstinence: Adolescents’ Interpretations of Sexual Behaviors. Journal of Adolescent Health, 41(2): 182-188.

*Nack, A (2002). Bad Girls and Fallen Women: Chronic STD Diagnoses as Gateways to Tribal Stigma. Symbolic Interaction, 25 (4): 463-485. http://www.ashastd.org/news/news_pressreleases_CDCsurveillancereport.cfm.

*St Lawrence JS et al. (2002). STD screening, testing, case reporting, and clinical and partner notification practices: a national survey of US physicians. American Journal of Public Health, 92: 1784-1788.