STD Fact or Fiction

Most people with an STD experience painful symptoms

FalseMost people who are infected with an

STD, men and women alike, do not notice any symptoms until they visit their doctor or suffer from infertility.

Sores do not have to be painful to be a problem

Birth control pills prevent the spread of STDs

FalseBirth control pills prevent pregnancy, but do

not offer protection from sexually transmitted diseases or infections. They

may change the ph in the vagina and make the woman more susceptible to gonorrhea.

Douching will cure an STD

False Douching, or washing the vagina out, may only spread an infection from the

vagina into the uterus. Unless specially prescribed by a doctor,

douching will not cure an STD

Abstinence is the best way to prevent STDs

True

Abstinence from sexual intercourse is the most effective way to avoid becoming

exposed to a sexually transmitted disease. However, some genital tract infections

can be spread through oral sex and close body-to-body contact

If you get an STD once, and are treated, you can’t get it again.

False

Even if a person has been treated with antibiotics, he/she can be re-infected

if she/he has sexual contact with someone who carries the disease

A person does not need to see a doctor if she/he notices sores on his/her genitals once, but then they go away

FalseEven if symptoms go away after a week or so, a person still needs to

see a doctor. Just because the symptoms have abated, doesn’t

mean the disease has disappeared

Condoms help prevent the spread of STDs

TrueAlthough condoms are not 100% effective

in preventing exposure to STDs, they are much better than nothing. They prevent direct skin-to-skin contact. Genital areas not covered by the condom may still be

infected

30 to 40 million Americans currently have

a) HIV/AIDSb) Herpes

c) Chlamydia

Women who've had an STD are at increased risk for:

a) infertility b) HIV/AIDS

c) cervical cancer

Experts call which of the following bacterial STDs "the silent epidemic"?

a) Scabiesb) chlamydia

c) trichomoniasis

Which of the following groups is at greatest risk

for STDs? a) men under 25

b) women under 25c) men 25-40

When asked to name the greatest obstacle they face in trying to protect themselves against STDs, people most

often cite: a) Carelessness

b) Ignorancec) self-consciousness

Experts now recommend that young people be

immunized against what STD?

a) Chlamydiab) Herpes

c) hepatitis B

Which of the following STDs can be cured?

a) Herpesb) gonorrhea

c) genital warts

The most common symptom of STD infection in women is:

a) vaginal discharge

b) sores and/or blisters in the genital region

c) no symptoms

You may be at increased risk for HIV/AIDS if:

a) you have had many sex partners in the last 10 years

b) you have given blood at a blood bank or blood collection center

c) you have eaten food prepared by a person infected with HIV

The best form of protection against STDs during sex is:

a) Spermicidesb) condoms, used correctly all the

time c) the pill, Norplant, and Depo-

Provera