Ladies, as we all know college is the prime time for sexual experimentation. There are a vast amount of girls who use this time in their life as “the highlight of their sexual career”. As a first year student, I have noticed that most of the girls that I have encountered are very promiscuous. In today’s time, promiscuity is looked upon as a social standard, especially for young women in college.
Young women are expected to dress up in mini dresses, bear massive amounts of cleavage, go to a frat party and have sex with almost any guy they have encountered. If they decide to go all the way, do they know how to protect their sexual health? Can these women tell if their partner has a sexually transmitted disease (STD)? What are the signs of an STD? What are the common sexual myths? Here are some statistics, myths and STD warning signs to help you protect yourself and your partner.
STD’s– The most important part of sexual health is to know what an STD is. An STD is a sexually transmitted disease transmitted between two partners during vaginal, anal or oral intercourse. One in every four-college students has an STD while only 54 percent of students use condoms during vaginal intercourse*. Ladies, no matter what time of day it is make sure you always have a condom with you. Condoms prevent 98% of pregnancy but they FULLY prevent STD’s. The most common STD’s that spread throughout any college campus are Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), chlamydia and genital herpes*.
· Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is a common cause of genital warts that eventually leads to cervical cancer. It is an incurable virus that has absolutely NO symptoms and is spread through skin-to-skin contact.
· Chlamydia is spread through vaginal, anal and oral sex. Chlamydia also has NO symptoms. It affects women’s reproductive systems by bacteria growing in the urinary tract that spreads to the cervix causing infertility. This can be treated easily if you get your annual checkup at the gynecologist.
· Genital herpes is spread through skin-to-skin contact through anal, oral and vaginal sex. It affects the skin and mucous membranes around the genitals. The signs of genital herpes are small blisters around the genitals and mouth area. They are filled with clear to straw colored like fluid and are very painful. Once you have genital herpes you will have it for the rest of your life, and because it is a dormant disease it has occasional flare ups.
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Many STD’s show no symptoms and can be tested easily treated by your doctor*. If you are sexually active make sure you have an annual STD screening with your gynecologist.
Sexual myths. What are they? Where do they come from? And last but not least, are they even true? As women, we have all heard at least a dozen sexual myths in our lifetime. Some believe that they are true, others believe they are false. Here are the top three sexual myths and if they are true or not true.
Sexual myths are myths fabricated by mainstream society to explain sexual behavior. Most sexual myths can be DISPROVED by facts.
· You can’t get pregnant if he pulls out– this is the first and most common sexual myth. Yes, you CAN get pregnant if he doesn’t ejaculate inside of you. Before men ejaculate, they pre cum. Pre cum is pre-ejaculatory fluid that is released before a man ejaculates to prepare the penis for new sperm to be released.
Men do not feel it when they pre cum therefore making it one of the most common ways women get pregnant. Pre cum does not contain sperm but there is a high chance of sperm being in the penis from a previous ejaculation*. Also, you can contract an STD from pre cum so always make sure to use a condom!
· You can’t get pregnant if you have sex standing up- FALSE. You can! No matter what position you are in, gravity does not matter. You can get pregnant from any position you are in. When sperm enter the vagina, they are already on their way to meet an egg to fertilize. Even if a little semen enters your body you still have a risk of getting pregnant.
· A bigger penis=better sex- Most women prefer a bigger penis to a smaller penis because they think a bigger penis equals greater pleasure. As a matter of fact, this is wrong. It doesn’t matter the size of the penis but how well your man uses it! Ladies, it all depends on the man and how well he performs in the bedroom.
There you have it, the top 3 STD’s and sexual myths spread around college campuses. Next time you are sexually active make sure you remember these helpful facts and how to protect yourself against undo harm. So be smart! You’re a college woman after all! Remember the saying, “don’t be a fool, wrap his tool”, get an annual STD screening, and if you’re even a little bit unsure about your partner’s health, don’t do it. One night of pleasure isn’t worth a possible lifetime of regret.
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*http://www.nursingschools.net/blog/2010/05/10-truly-shocking-stats-on-st…
*http://collegetimes.us/3-most-common-stds-among-college-students/
*http://www.cdc.gov/std/chlamydia/stdfact-chlamydia.htm
*http://www.cdc.gov/std/pregnancy/the-facts/default.htm
*http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001860/
*http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_pre-cum
*http://www.thecureforyeastinfections.com