After a hard night of drinking at the Plaza you may find yourself going home with some tasty little thing, and you just might end up in bed. Sometime during your coital bliss your inner voice is screaming at you, “What if this chick isn’t clean?”
This little scenario plays out more often than anyone is willing to admit. Some disturbing facts have been uncovered that may catch the attention of sexually active college students.
This week UHS reported the virus that causes cold sores–Herpes simplex one or HSV-1–is the most common cause of new genital herpes infections in UW-Madison students. This means that students are passing herpes around via oral sex. In fact, some 78 percent of genital herpes infections diagnosed by UHS in 2001 were due to HSV-1.
For any uninitiated who don’t understand this (and by uninitiated I mean crack heads), having unprotected oral sex can give you herpes. Herpes is a disease you can’t get rid of; it truly is the gift that keeps on giving. The disease lays dormant within your system until you have a flare up, which usually occur monthly.
On a campus filled with highly intelligent people it boggles the mind that students don’t have basic knowledge of how you contract sexually transmitted diseases. Just so we are on the same page, you should know that oral sex isn’t exactly hand holding; there are bodily fluids being exchanged, and you may get some nasty diseases as a result.
We here in Madison clearly enjoy our oral sex, and that’s fine. It’s just important to know going in what the consequences are for screwing around with the wrong person.
What is more disturbing (and disgusting) is the apparent lack of dedication to sexual awareness in the state of Wisconsin as a whole.
According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Milwaukee has the 10th highest rate in the nation for gonorrhea, moving up from 13th in 1999–not exactly exciting news for anyone looking to find a date in the Milwaukee area.
Cases of gonorrhea generally occur in high-density urban areas among people under the age of 24 who engage in unprotected sex. Basically, what this means is if you don’t want to end up with the clap, remember to wear a condom.
Another example of the low level of education and failure to live responsibly is the number of chlamydia cases reported. Wisconsin ranks 10th in the nation in the number of cases of chlamydia among women aged 15-24.
Herpes, chlamydia and gonorrhea aren’t party favors; you don’t want these things. STDs could possibly be some of the most gruesome things that can happen to your body, and they are completely preventable.
More frightening than all the other diseases related to sex is the prospect of being infected by HIV. You could very well consider yourself lucky if you screwed around with the wrong person and only ended up with gonorrhea.
AIDS may not be in the news as much now as in the past, but it is clearly one of the most awful diseases our society must deal with. Ultimately, the possibility of getting this disease continues to impact our society. If you plan on being sexually active you must be aware of the responsibilities that come along with sex.
I have never had a STD, but I can’t imagine it is very fun. Sure, it may make a good story to tell your friends, but I really don’t think anyone would be impressed by your ability attract unwanted social diseases. As the old saying goes, having a fire in your crotch proves that VD isn’t cool.
James P. Kent ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in economics and business management.
