TUA PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT!!! As an advocate for abstinence, safe sex, and AIDS/HIV awareness/prevention, I can't stress enough how important it is to protect yourself in terms of your sexual health. Sex is NEVER something that should be approached lightly or recklessly. With that being said, another STD may not be as easily treatable in coming years, according to Women's Health. MSN.com reports:
Scrunch your nose, curl your toes, and cross your legs--experts say
that gonorrhea may soon be resistant to its only known treatment. Not
good, considering the bacterial infection--which can be transmitted
unknowingly through vaginal, oral, or anal sex--is estimated to infect
more than 700,000 people in the U.S. each year, according to the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
"We could be facing the
real possibility of untreatable gonorrhea [in the U.S.]," says Robert
Kirkcaldy, M.D., M.P.H., medical epidemiologist and antibiotic-resistant
gonorrhea expert at the CDC's Division of STD Prevention. "It's scary
to think about."
In recent years, effective treatment options for
the newest strain of drug-resistant gonorrhea have dwindled down to one:
the injectable antibiotic cefriazoxone, recommended in conjunction with
an oral antibiotic. That's because the bacteria that cause gonorrhea
mutate quickly and develop resistance to antibiotics quite rapidly.
"Antibiotic resistance is a very serious public health and medical
problem that we are facing, and the bacteria that cause gonorrhea are
among infections we're very worried about," says Kirkcaldy. (It's true,
antiobiotic resistance is on the rise. Learn Why Antibiotics Won't Cure This Common Condition.)
It gets worse: the very real threat of a national health epidemic comes at a time when few new antibiotics are being developed.
So
what now? According to Kirkcaldy, the CDC is urging drug companies to
research new drugs, and new combinations of existing drugs to buy time,
while an ongoing clinical trial is expected to provide some additional
options, as well. In the meantime, your best line of defense: don't get
gonorrhea.
Know Your Risk
According to the National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, women have a 60-80% risk of
contracting the clap after just one one-night stand with a man who has
it. While symptoms depend on which part of your body is infected--such
as your lady parts, anus, eyes, mouth, or throat--pain when you pee or
vaginal discharge are fairly common. That said, the infection is
asymptomatic in 50% of female carriers, so it can easily be passed along
unknowingly. Left untreated, the STI can trigger chronic pelvic pain,
pregnancy complications, and even infertility in women--not to mention
an increased risk of contracting HIV. Men are equally unlucky: common
symptoms include uncomfortable urination and discharge from the
penis--symptoms you won't necessarily know when you see. (Could you spot
an STD? Learn The Symptoms of 5 Common STDs.)
Protect Yourself
The
CDC says the best way to prevent the sexually transmitted infection is
by--duh--not having sex. If that's not an option, using condoms
correctly and consistently with a mutually monogamous, uninfected
partner is a surefire way to stay gonorrhea-free. Additionally, the CDC
recommends that at-risk, sexually active women (e.g., those with new or
multiple sex partners) undergo annual screenings to detect (and prevent
passing along) asymptomatic infections. (Preventative screenings aren't
just for your sexual health: learn to spot early warning signs of
serious conditions with The 10 Self-Checks Every Woman Should Do.)
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