STD Myths And Facts

Sexually-transmitted diseases aren't something most people like to talk about. I'm sure we heard plenty of rumors in high school about who had what, but aside from that STDs aren't exactly normal dinnertime conversation. Just because they aren't pleasant to talk about, however, doesn't mean that we shouldn't. Like most of the high-school rumors, there are a lot of things that go around about sexually-transmitted diseases that simply aren't true. In the interest of your health, here are six of the most common myths and the facts that go along with them.



1) You can tell if someone has an STD by looking at them.
Fact: Unless someone wears their status as a tattoo on their forehead or a slogan on a T-shirt, you can't tell by looking at someone if they have an STD. Besides, it's possible for someone to have an STD for years and not know it. The only way to tell for sure if a partner or potential partner has an STD is through a test. Period.



2) STDs only happen to 'dirty' people.
Fact: STDs don't discriminate. They can happen to nice people, rude people, men, women, people who sleep around and people who don't-all that has to happen is for someone to sleep with a person with an infection and be unlucky enough to contract it.  It can happen to anyone.



It's cruel and judgmental to make assumptions about someone's character based on whether or not they have an STD. It's not their 'fault'-They could have been raped; they could have slept with someone who knew they had something and didn't tell them (like with a friend of mine); they could have been cheated on; they could have gotten it from a long-term partner who didn't know they had an infection. You just *don't know*, so don't assume.



3) My doctor would have told me if I had an STD.
Fact-Not necessarily. Like I said above, it's very possible for someone to have an STD and not know it because they are either a) asymptomatic, or b) have symptoms that also present in other conditions. Gonorrhea, for instance, is sometimes misdiagnosed as a bladder infection.
Plus, there isn't any single test that can detect all STDs. Doctors have a lot of strict protocols they have to follow when it comes to STD testing, so it's not something most do without being directly asked for it and/or if a patient doesn't fall into a high-risk group. 
Contrary to popular belief, pap smears do not test for STDs.



4) You can't get an STD from oral sex.
Fact-Yes, you can. It's less likely to get HIV from oral sex, but you can still get things like herpes, gonorrhea and syphilis. This is especially true if a person has bleeding gums or any kind of mouth sore.
Also, it doesn't matter whether a man climaxes during oral sex or not; pre-ejaculatory fluid can still contain traces of an illness. Use a condom or dental dam.



5) Lesbians don't have to worry about STDs because they don't have 'penetrative' sex.
Fact-While the risk of STDs is lower with lesbian sex than with gay or heterosexual sex, the risk is still there. It's possible for conditions such as herpes to spread through skin-to-skin contact with an active sore, such as oral sex or areas with any kind of cut or rash.



6) The Pill can protect against STDs.
Fact-Birth control pills prevent pregnancy, not STDs. The same goes for IUDs, NuvaRing and Depo-Provera shots. None of these forms of birth control has any effect on STDs. Barrier methods such as condoms are the only artificial forms of birth control that protect against STDs.



For more information about STDs, check out http://std.about.com/od/riskfactorsforstds/tp/Ten-Common-Std-Risk-Myths.htm.
Stay safe, everyone.

Are You At Risk For Alzheimer's Disease? Part I

Have you or your dad ever had a 'senior moment'? Most of the time, this is just a joke about minor forgetfulness that can come with age. However, having a lot of 'senior moments' that interfere with your daily life can be an indicator of Alzheimer's disease, a form of dementia. But exactly what causes Alzheimer's disease? What are the risk factors, stages and warning signs? Is it always fatal? What can someone who has the disease do to increase their quality of life? How can you tell the difference between Alzheimer's and another form of dementia? In this series of posts, I'll go over some of the facts about it, as well as what can be done to improve a patient's quality of life.

Doctors still aren't entirely sure what causes Alzheimer's disease. They have, however, discovered enough commonalities among patients to determine a set of risk factors. Some of them are:

• Age. As you probably guessed, a person's age plays a huge role in whether they will or will not develop Alzheimer's. While it is possible for someone to develop the disease as early as their 30s, this only accounts for about 5% of cases. It's estimated that one in eight people over 65 suffer from some form of the disease, with the risk nearly doubling every five years after age 65. When it comes to people 85 and older, an estimated 50% will have it.
• Family history. Scientists have discovered that people who have a sibling or parent with Alzheimer's are about twice as likely to develop the disease themselves than someone with no family history. There are still more 'risk genes' being discovered, but having the gene doesn't necessarily mean that a person will develop Alzheimer's; it's just something to for your doctor to keep in mind when determining a diagnosis.
• Heart problems. There is a strong connection between heart health and brain health, most likely because things like high blood pressure and high cholesterol can adversely affect both the cardiovascular and nervous systems. The same things your doctor advises you to do-exercise, eat a healthy diet, avoid smoking and excess alcohol consumption-for your heart can also help your brain.
• Gender and race. For whatever reason, women tend to develop Alzheimer's more often than men. Also, Hispanics are 1 ½ times more likely to develop the disease than whites, and African Americans about twice as likely. The sheer diversity among Asians and Pacific Islanders makes it difficult for scientists to come to any one conclusion regarding their risk.
• Head trauma. While hitting your head playing sports doesn't necessarily mean you're at a higher risk for Alzheimer's (good thing, otherwise I'd be out of luck!), studies have shown a connection between severe brain injuries and Alzheimer's because of the changes in brain chemistry the injuries can cause.

There have also been some studies that show a higher rate of Alzheimer's in people who haven't had much formal education. I'm not really sure why this is. I wonder if the brain chemistry that comes with Alzheimer's affects people early enough to where they wouldn't really be able to handle much beyond high school? I have no idea.

The answer to question number three above is, yes, Alzheimer's is always fatal. The disease kills brain cells and causes such a decline that a person with it is eventually unable to care for themselves in any way.

Now that you have an idea as to who is most at risk for Alzheimer's, I'll go over the symptoms in another post.