Sexually Transmitted Diseases

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Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Sex is a popular subject; it is on television, in advertisements, in magazines, and practically everywhere. One very serious side effect of an increase of sexual activity is the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases. They affect more than twelve million Americans each year. Sexually transmitted diseases are becoming common and widely spread throughout Americans because of unprotected sex, permiscuity, and multiple sex partners. Some of the most commonly found sexually transmitted diseases are gonorrhea, chlamydia, HIV/AIDS, and syphilis.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates there are six hundred-fifty thousand new infections of gonorrhea in the United States each year. (Ultimate Guide: Gonorrhea par.2) Gonorrhea is a very common bacterial sexually transmitted disease. Gonorrhea is caused by the bacteria Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and is also one of the oldest known human diseases. In the second century A.D., the Greek physician Galer first gave it the name Gonorrhea, which means, "flow of seed" in Greek, as the discharge from the penis (actually pus) was thought to be semen. (Jackson 68)

Gonorrhea can be transmitted by vaginal, anal, or oral sex. According to James K. Jackson, men often will have a burning discomfort at the tip of the penis during urination and a discharge of pus from the urethal opening, after being contaminated with gonorrhea. In women symptoms usually include increased vaginal discharge, painful or difficult urination, pain during or following intercourse, and bleeding between periods. (Ultimate Guide: Gonorrhea par.4) Gonorrhea can be easily detected by urine, or by taking tissue samples from the infected area. Gonorrhea can...

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...rs. With a society crazed with sex it is still possible to avoid it.

Bibliography:

Works Cited

Dudley, William. Sexually Transmitted Diseases. California: Greenhaven Press, Inc.

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Jackson, James K. AIDS, STDs, and Other Communicable Diseases. Connecticut:

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Oxygen. The Ultimate Guide to STDs: Syphilis. Jan 2001. Oxygen Media.

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WebMD Health. Sexually Transmitted Diseases Statistics. Dec. 1998. WebMD

Corporation. http://my.webmd.com/content/article/1680.50904.

WebMD Health. Some Facts about Chlamydia. May 1999. WebMD Corporation.

http://my.webmd.com/content/article/1680.5003

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