Sexually Transmitted Diseases Part 1 - The "H"'s

According to the CDC STD rates are up, particularly in teenaged girls.

So do you know all about different STD's? If not, let's review.

There are seven main STD's:
Chlamydia
Gonorrhea
Herpes
HIV
HPV
Pubic lice
Syphilis

One thing to remember: If it begins with an "H" it's incurable. So let's start with those.

Herpes (HSV on a blood test)
There are two types of herpes: Type I which is nearly always an infection of the mouth, and Type II which is usually an infection of the genitals. Both types present as sores if the affected areas ("coldsores" for Type I), and are most contagious when sores are present. But they can be spread when there are no sores at all, and many people never have an outbreak. Many people have herpes and never know it.
Herpes is spread my skin-to-skin contact, so condom-use offer some protection, but will not prevent transmission. All contact should be avoided during an outbreak.
Fortunately there is medication to minimize outbreaks in the people who get them: antivirals. Acyclovir, the oldest and most common antiviral is available through generic medication programs in several pharmacies, including Target. That means it's available with or without insurance for $5 a month (or $12 for three months).
Herpes is diagnosed through tests on open sores or blood tests. The blood test is not part of standard STI tests, and is not considered particularly reliable.
Getting herpes might be embarrassing and uncomfortable (particularly if one gets regular outbreaks), but it is incredibly common (80% of adults have Type I, 20% have Type II) and very treatable even though it remains incurable.

HIV (AIDS when it progesses)
HIV destroys the immune system, and is the most dangerous STD out there.
Fortunately it's transmitted by bodily fluids (blood, semen, breast milk and vaginal secretions), which means that condoms provide major protection against it.
It's generally passed through vaginal or anal sex, but can be transmitted through oral sex as well. It's more easily transmitted from a male sexual partner than from a female one. It is not transmitted by kissing (unless a HIV-positive kisser has open cuts in their mouth).
HIV does not always show symptoms but it can be tested for with a blood test. It can take 3-6 months for HIV to appear on the blood test after infection, so a good rule-of-thumb for condom-usage is to never consider forgoing condoms until there is a negative HIV test result after 6 months of monogamy.
HIV can be treated with antivirals and help from healthcare providers.

HPV or genital warts
Like Herpes, HPV will only sometimes show symptoms--in HPV's case, warts on the genitals--but is generally assymptomatic. It passes from skin-to-skin contact, so condoms will only provide minimal protection, and it is contagious even without warts. It is, however, generally passed from genital-genital contact, so unlike herpes, it's usually only transmitted during sexual activity.
HPV is very hard to screen for: the signs of having it can sometimes be seen in a women's pap smear, but there's no accurate screen for men.
The warts themselves can be removed, but the virus' presence in the bloodstream cannot be.
Certain strains of HPV can cause cervical, throat and prostate cancers. A vaccine for several of the cancer-causing strains is available. The student insurance at Redlands does not cover the vaccine, which costs $375-450 total (for three shots). When covered by insurance, the vaccine is only covered for women between 9-26 years of age, but gay men also have an elevated cancer risk from the virus. If you are a women with private insurance, check to see if it's covered--it generally is. It's believed that more than half of college women get HPV while in college, so the sooner one is vaccinated the smaller the chances of aquiring it.

Girls who can't afford the $10 a month for birth control, a pelvic exam or PAP smear and are having unprotected sex should be tested for sexually transmitted diseases and infections. There is another option for you, maybe a little more time consuming, but worth it, it's FREE.

Less then a mile away, just a few blocks away, from the University of Redlands is a clinic for all women's needs. The clinic, Redlands Public Health Reproductive Health Services, is located at 800 E. Lugonia Ave., Suite F, Redlands, CA, 92374 (in the Walgreens parking lot). The staff is very welcoming to all women (and I'm sure men as well) and very kind and understanding. When arriving at the clinic you are asked what you are wanted to be seen for and given paper work to find out if you can qualify for treatment. Because many of us students are young, and don't make the money we hope we will someday make, most of us will qualify. Some of the questions they ask seem to be peculiar, (is anyone forcing you to come here, or are you keeping this visit from anyone?) but the reason they ask this is to protect you. Some women are in abusive relationships, where their husband or boyfriend wants them to have children, or their father is unaware they are sexually active. The clinic provides tests of many kinds as well as birth-control of all kinds. The thing that makes this program so great is that they are not there to judge, they know that women have sex, and they know that women enjoy having sex and will continue to have sex, there task at hand is to help educate women who are unaware of some of the risks and help prevent women from unwanted pregnancies, and diseases.

During your visit to the clinic, you see a doctor, take the tests you need, and are given a green card for your prescriptions, this magic card can get you birth-control pills for free. This healt

h clinic is opened Monday thru Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., walk-ins welcome and appointments are available. For more information visit the website at http://www.birthcontrol4u.com/01map.htm

Down the rabbit hole (at U of R)

It may not seem like much, but our tiny Student Health Center on campus is pretty awesome. We went to ask a few questions one day and here is everything we learned all compiled into one wonderfully helpful blog just. for. you.

First of all we'd like to point out that the Health Center is open Monday-Friday 8am-11:30am and 1pm-4:30pm and you can reach them at ext. 8021. If you need a doctor right away it is important to look HERE because that is where to go if the Health Center is closed.

Things we learned:
~ office visits are FREE (no matter what it's about)
*this includes cold vs flu questions, chronic diseases, TB screenings, sport physicals, evaluation and treatment of injuries, health education AND women's health exams!

~ if you go in for a women's health exam they ask you about your sexual history, give you a pelvic exam, and a PAP smear (which looks for cancerous or precancerous cells and is $10).
*Then they see if you want to be checked for Chlamydia and Gonorrhea ($20), HIV and Syphilis ($14). If needed, a Complete Blood Count test is $6 and a basic blood chemistry test is $8.

~ they offer the birth control pill($10/month), the Depo Provera birth control shot($50/3month) and condoms

~ they have ECPs, the morning after pill, for $15.

~ if any other lab test needs to be done they can easily give you the price.

~ they can give you any other prescriptions that you need for an additional fee

~ unfortunately if you need an x-ray or something along that nature they won't be able to accommodate you, but will refer you to a nearby hospital.


These women are amazingly thorough and it's really affordable. Props to the UoR Student Health Center

Get in touch with the Student Health Center! For those of you who, like me, don't understand where you get the number to dial BEFORE the extension, just dial this: (909) 793-8021. Now get in there and get checked out or just as some questions!