Tennessee Association of Alcohol, Drug & other Addiction Services
Airport Executive Plaza
1321 Murfreesboro Pike Suite 155
Nashville, TN 37217
Phone: 615-780-5901 mail@taadas.org

Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Things You Need To Know

What are STDs? 

STDs are sexually transmitted diseases, like herpes, gonorrhea, syphilis, chlamydia, and AIDS.  The only sure way to avoid getting STDs is not to have sex.  Physicians list more than 30 infectious agents that are sexually transmitted.  STDs affect men and women of all economic backgrounds and economic levels.  Approximately 12 million people are affected with STDs every year.  STDs are considered a major growing public health problem for the 90s.  Why?  One of the reasons is that during the last few decades, younger people have been experimenting with sex earlier and experimenting with multiple partners.  Additionally, people who are sexually active also tend to have more than one sex partner thus increasing their risk of exposure to STDs. 

What are the Physical Effects of STDs?

 

·        STDs can cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), which can damage a woman’s fallopian tubes and result in pelvic pain and sterility. 

·        Tubal pregnancies (where the fetus grows in the fallopian tube instead of the womb), sometimes fatal to the mother and always fatal to the fetus. 

·        Cancer of the cervix in women.

·        Sterility – the inability to have children – in both men and women.

·        Damage to major organs, such as the heart, kidneys, and the brain, if STDs go untreated death can occur, especially with HIV infection. 

Sexually transmitted diseases affect more than 12 million Americans each year, many of whom are teenagers or young adults.  Using drugs or alcohol increases your chances of getting STDs because these substances can interfere with your judgment and your ability to use a condom properly. 

Intravenous drug use puts a person at higher risk for HIV and hepatitis B because IV drug users usually share needles.  The more partners you have, the higher your chance of being exposed to HIV or other STDs.  This is because it is difficult to know whether a person is infected, or has had sex with people who are more likely to be infected due to intravenous drug use or other risk factors.

 

You cannot tell by looking whether a person is infected with HIV or another STD.

 

 

  

Basic Signs and Symptoms That Might Mean You Have an STD: 

For Men and Women 

  • Sores, bumps, or blisters near your genitals or mouth.
  • Burning and pain when you urinate.
  • A swelling or redness in your throat
  • Fever, chills, and aches.
  • Swilling in the area around your genitals.
  • Rectal itching , pain, or discharge.

For Women 

  • Unusual discharge or smell from vagina.
  • Pain in your pelvic area – the area between your belly and your genitals.
  • Bleeding from your vagina that is not your regular period.
  • Burning or itching around vagina
  • Pain deep inside your vagina

For Men 

  • A drip or discharge from your penis.

If You Think You Have an STD: 

The keys to getting well and staying well are basically the same for all STDs.  Most STDs are caused by bacteria and can be cured by antibiotics.  There are additional precautions for some of the STDs caused by viruses and parasites: 

  • Do not have sex if you have any symptoms or if your sex partner has symptoms.
  • Immediately seek medical treatment.  Do not try to diagnose your own or your partner’s disease.
  • Inform your sex partner(s) to seek medical treatment immediately.  Even better, bring them to the clinic with you.
  • Do not have sex until you have completely finished your medicine.
  • Ask for an HIV antibody test.  Every time you are exposed to any sexually transmitted disease, you may have been exposed to the aids virus.
  • Do not take any “street medicine” or share your medicine with your sex partner(s).  It may not be strong enough or the right kind to kill the disease.

Revised 10/00

Source: U.S.DHHS