I found the following information on-line - it was quite an eye-opener! Let's be careful out there, guys.
STD's (Sexually Transmitted Deseases) and Condoms
The following are key findings from Todd Page's research, as documented in "Condom Promotion: A Dangerous Solution to the STD Epidemic." Todd is now an MD at South Bend Memorial Hospital.
Aside from the common cold and flu, Page writes, STD's are the most common diseases in America. The CDC (Center for Disease Control) reports 56 million Americans have an incurable, viral STD. Two people are infected every five seconds; up to 50 percent of the American population will acquire an STD by age 35.
Heterosexual adolescents and young adults are the population at highest risk. In North America, 63 percent of all STD's reported annually affect people less than 25 years of age; three million people are infected each year.
There are more than 50 different organisms and syndromes that spread through sexual activity, including:
HIV
HPV
Herpes
Gonorrhea (increase the risk of HIV)
Chlamydia (increase the risk of HIV)
Syphilis
HIV - Human Immunodeficiency Virus
Latex condoms have openings that are too small to allow the passage of sperm, but can allow the passage of the AIDS virus. (The virus is 0.1 microns in size. This is 50 times smaller than the openings of the latex.) Although most HIV virus particles are within larger cells, studies demonstrate that free-floating virus in seminal fluid can transmit infection.
HPV - Human Papilloma Virus
Prevalent among 38-46 percent of adolescent and young adult females. They have a 50 percent chance of being infected in one sexual encounter.
Clearly linked to the development of cervical cancer, causing it 90 percent of the time. More women, 7,000, die of cervical cancer each year than from AIDS.
Incurable; almost half of the babies born to HPV infected mothers become infected.
Studies indicate condoms not only do not protect against the virus but may increase chances of infection.
Herpes - Herpes Simplex Virus
Herpes is common but often undiagnosed; babies born to infected mothers have a 40-50 percent chance of infection. Those children have a 60 percent chance of dying, or if they survive, a 50 percent chance of permanent brain damage.
Studies show condoms may protect against herpes only if the lesions are in the protected area. The disease may be transmitted by any skin-to-skin contact.
Gonorrhea
Three million Americans contract gonorrhea each year
Repeated infections carry a 12-35 percent chance of sterility
Some studies show condoms may protect against gonorrhea.
Chlamydia
The most common STD in America, it is prevalent in some populations from 8-40 percent of the time.
Infection spreads to babies born to infected mothers and the disease may cause infertility more often than gonorrhea, up to 50 percent of the time.
Studies show females are equally likely to contract chlamydia whether a condom is used or not.
Syphilis
Syphilis is at a 40-year high in America; 15 percent of infected babies die within two months, a third who survive have permanent abnormalities.
Research shows condoms do not offer complete protection because they do not cover all the essential contact areas.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
STD's (Sexually Transmitted Deseases) and Condoms
The following are key findings from Todd Page's research, as documented in "Condom Promotion: A Dangerous Solution to the STD Epidemic." Todd is now an MD at South Bend Memorial Hospital.
Aside from the common cold and flu, Page writes, STD's are the most common diseases in America. The CDC (Center for Disease Control) reports 56 million Americans have an incurable, viral STD. Two people are infected every five seconds; up to 50 percent of the American population will acquire an STD by age 35.
Heterosexual adolescents and young adults are the population at highest risk. In North America, 63 percent of all STD's reported annually affect people less than 25 years of age; three million people are infected each year.
There are more than 50 different organisms and syndromes that spread through sexual activity, including:
HIV
HPV
Herpes
Gonorrhea (increase the risk of HIV)
Chlamydia (increase the risk of HIV)
Syphilis
HIV - Human Immunodeficiency Virus
Latex condoms have openings that are too small to allow the passage of sperm, but can allow the passage of the AIDS virus. (The virus is 0.1 microns in size. This is 50 times smaller than the openings of the latex.) Although most HIV virus particles are within larger cells, studies demonstrate that free-floating virus in seminal fluid can transmit infection.
HPV - Human Papilloma Virus
Prevalent among 38-46 percent of adolescent and young adult females. They have a 50 percent chance of being infected in one sexual encounter.
Clearly linked to the development of cervical cancer, causing it 90 percent of the time. More women, 7,000, die of cervical cancer each year than from AIDS.
Incurable; almost half of the babies born to HPV infected mothers become infected.
Studies indicate condoms not only do not protect against the virus but may increase chances of infection.
Herpes - Herpes Simplex Virus
Herpes is common but often undiagnosed; babies born to infected mothers have a 40-50 percent chance of infection. Those children have a 60 percent chance of dying, or if they survive, a 50 percent chance of permanent brain damage.
Studies show condoms may protect against herpes only if the lesions are in the protected area. The disease may be transmitted by any skin-to-skin contact.
Gonorrhea
Three million Americans contract gonorrhea each year
Repeated infections carry a 12-35 percent chance of sterility
Some studies show condoms may protect against gonorrhea.
Chlamydia
The most common STD in America, it is prevalent in some populations from 8-40 percent of the time.
Infection spreads to babies born to infected mothers and the disease may cause infertility more often than gonorrhea, up to 50 percent of the time.
Studies show females are equally likely to contract chlamydia whether a condom is used or not.
Syphilis
Syphilis is at a 40-year high in America; 15 percent of infected babies die within two months, a third who survive have permanent abnormalities.
Research shows condoms do not offer complete protection because they do not cover all the essential contact areas.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Risky business this thing called life, no?