Sexually transmitted diseases usually occur due to close contact with your infected partner. Thus, the more sexual partners you may have, the more likely you will be exposed to an STD though there are other risk factors too. The kind of sex and sexual partners you might have, whether you enjoy safe sex, past history of an STD and age all of them contributes to your risk of getting an STD.
STDs are the infections that usually spread due to sexual contact. You will come across different kinds of STDs such as – gonorrhea, herpes, chlamydia, HPV and HIV. Some infections might take place due to a viral infection while others occur by a bacterial infection.
Sexually transmitted diseases are passed with body fluids such as – saliva, semen, blood, breast milk, vaginal secretions or skin-to-skin contact directly. If you are continuously using condoms and dental dams, then this may avoid STDs that get transmitted due to body fluids like chlaymdia and HIV. However, it may not provide protection against herpes and other diseases that usually spread due to skin-to-skin contact.
Various things cam ne done to keep yourself protected against sexually transmitted diseases. You need to know about the risk factors so that you can control them and remain healthy. Read on to know about common risk factors for STDs and what to know about each of them.
People who are below 25 will possibly get infected with STDs than older people for various reasons.
Firstly, younger women are highly susceptible to STDs than older women as they have smaller bodies and will possibly experience tearing at the time of intercourse. Their cervixes are not developed completely and hence, they are more susceptible to infection by gonorrhea, chlamydia and other STDs.
Finally, young people will probably be engaged in sexual risk-taking when they drink alcohol and are likely to have multiple sex partners.
Drinking may be harmful for your sexual health in various ways. People who drink alcohol daily in social gatherings will be less discriminating with whom they want to enjoy sex with. Besides, alcohol may reduce inhibitions that make it difficult to convince your sex partner for using a condom in the proper way.
The biggest worry for many people about having sex is pregnancy. Due to this, many heterosexual couples prefer birth control pills as their main form of contraception. However, if you want to stay protected from pregnancy, then it is advised to use condoms or dental dams, as an important part of your sexual routine. This might be as they are afraid of infecting their partner with any kind of sexually transmitted disease or they might not like using condoms. Dual protection such as using birth control pills and condoms seem to be the best option in this case.
If you already have an STD, then this will make you highly susceptible to infection with other STDs. Skin irritation or inflammation is quite easy for another pathogen to infect. Having an STD is usually an indirect reflection of the risk of getting new infection and this suggests your other lifestyle factors might put you at greater risk.
People who have sex by taking drugs have greater chances to engage in risky sexual behaviors like enjoying sex without using a condom or other form of protection.
Drugs might be easy for someone to give you pressure into engaging in different sexual activities. Apart from this, injection drug use is related to an increased risk of blood-borne diseases such as hepatitis and HIV.
The more partners you have sex with, the more likely it will be to get exposed to an STD. Besides, people with multiple partners seem to have sex with them that increases the risk of getting infected with an STD.
Some people date one person only at a time but still date a large number each year. This is popularly known as serial monogamy. Individuals who practice serial monogamy is each time they get engaged in an "exclusive" sexual relationship, they are probably tempted to stop using precautions for safer sex precautions. But monogamy seems to be an effective way to prevent STDs in long-term relationships where both of you need to get complete STD tests done.
Homosexual and bisexual men or men who have sex with other men usually get affected by HIV, syphilis and other sexually transmitted diseases. According to studies, if men and women have had unprotected anal intercourse, then this increases the chances of getting an STD as rectal tissue seem to be more rigid than vaginal tissue. This makes anal tissue highly susceptible to tearing by upping the risk of being infected.
People who trade sex for some money or drugs might not be empowered to negotiate for safer sex. These partners are more likely to get infected with STDs than people in general population.
Though using a condom or other method of birth control does not ensure you will not get infected with a sexually transmitted disease, it is an effective way to stay protected.
Some kind of viruses like human papillomavirus or HPV for which condoms are less effective have reduced transmission rates. Apart from abstinence, consistent use of condoms means you have sex by wearing a condom which is the best way to prevent STDs.
When you refrain yourself from all sexual contact, then this is the suitable way to prevent getting a sexually transmitted disease. You can lessen the risk of infection by getting STD screenings done regularly and talking to your partner before having sex. This information may help to take smart decisions about your sexual act. You can also reduce the risk of getting STDs by practicing safer sex.
Having safer sex means you need to use a condom or choose a barrier method every time you engage in sexual activities, whether it is anal, oral or vaginal. Some barrier methods such as condoms or dental dams are not fully effective and thus, they reduce the risk of contracting an STD.
Finally, you need to keep in mind that using a contraceptive may protect against unwanted pregnancy, but contraceptives do not protect against infections. Oral contraceptive pills and IUDs are a great protection during pregnancy, but they should be used with barriers in order to protect against STDs. You may visit a private gum clinic in London and get necessary tests done to stay secured.
