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Reader Feedback on "Raw Nerve"
Sleep only prevents STD's if you're doing it in place of fucking.
--SD
06/23 |
"A moment of pleasure (?) may last a lifetime of regrets." are my fine words of wisdom to describe sexual activities that could leave you with unwanted reminders that won't go away. For my Master's dissertation for my public health degree on "The Death of Awareness & Prevention of Non-HIV STDS in the age of AIDS in Adolescents", I tackle the fact that most people think they are impervious to STD. But guess what? We are NOT! HPV is a silent STD killer. I only slept with my first and years later I was told I had late stage of cervical dysplasia - precursor to Cervical Cancer. I was angry and upset. The sex was not even great and I get this punishment. Not that I became a sex hater but getting a STD HURTS, especially when one is getting the invasive treatments and the dude who gave it to me was no where nor do I want him to be in my life.
My point is that everytime one of us has some sexual interaction, we go to ask ourselves, is it worth the consequence? Im not turning asexual here but frivoulous sex can be very costly and ruin the only body we have.
--LC
06/21 |
It isn't only HPV. Herpes can also be passed via "safer sex." I know it bites, but sex carries risks. Unfortunately, the abstinence only community sees this as a moral crusade against sex as opposed to a health issue. People (teenagers, adults) should be given the facts about STDS: that condoms are only partially effective, that many people can carry diseases (including HPV and Herpes) and not have any symptoms (so they may not know they are carriers,) and a person who wants to have sex may lie about their infection status in order to get laid. Sex advocates do themselves no favors (and fall into the christian right's trap) by ignoring the dark side of human sexuality. A vaccine for HPV would be great, but only if people actually get the vaccine. Sadly, too many people think STDs can't happen to them.
--AA
05/30 |
I never said that sleep and a good diet prevented getting all STDs all the time, but it is part of being healthy. Don't you think someone with, for example, NO immune system is going to present with far more severe symptoms than someone with a healthy one?
There's nothing wrong with talking about the things condoms can't protect against. It's simply factual information that can save the lives and fertility of young women. And while I don't oppose a vaccine for any STD if they happen to invent one, it's hard to argue that it WILL give some less-than-bright youngsters and others the idea that they can have unprotected sex with no consequences. This could lead to even higher rates of other STDs, especially HIV. No need to let ideology obscure the facts and plain common sense.
--EM
05/28 |
Keeping yourself healthy doesn't prevent STD's. It isn't ridiculous to tell people that getting plenty of rest will make their immune system stronger, making it less likely that the STD will run rampant through their system, but it's truly misleading and irresponsible to advocate sleep or good diet or exercise as a safeguard against catching one. As for the rest of the article... well, I loathe this administration and their puritanical attitude against sex as much as the author. Luckily, though, not having an HPV vaccine for the duration of Bush's term isn't as bad as it could be. HPV often is fairly benign and can go away on its own. Most strains don't cause warts (although some of those tend to be the high-risk strains for cervical cancer). As far as the risk of cervical cancer goes, it is true that virtually every case of cervical cancer is preceded by a history of HPV. However, very few women each year are actually afflicted with this cancer (and even less of them die from it), for a few reasons: a) it develops extremely slowly, over the course of many years in most cases (and my personal experience is that a lot of abnormalities go away on their own), b) it is very easy to catch in its early stages with a Pap smear, and c) it is very easy to treat in those stages -- in a lot of cases, just the biopsy procedure will remove the abnormal cells from the cervix. I don't mean to minimize how stupid it is to withhold a vaccine, but I honestly reserve most of my anger for the atrocious sex ed programs advocated by the Bush administration. Teenage girls aren't likely to be told to get an annual Pap smear, nor are they encouraged to protect themselves against more destructive STD's. And what REALLY gets me mad is that they're discouraged from using oral contraception; I guess the government figures that "slutty girls" deserve the turmoil and stress of teenage motherhood. It makes no sense to me to promote policies that will lead to a generation of disease-ridden, pregnant teens, but maybe it's in the Bible as one of the bestest ways to glorify God. Assholes.
--AKF
05/28 |
It sounds silly to say that getting enough rest will help you avoid STDs, but it is completely true. More than diet, more than excersize or vitamins, getting enough sleep every night is the best way to strengthen your immune system so that it can fight off invaders. If you have a strong immune system and contract HPV, it is possible that your body will surpress it so that you won't get a visible outbreak of warts. There have also been reports of some people contracting syphilis and HIV and not developing symptoms because of their hearty defense system --- so it isn't ridiculous to tell kids to keep themselves healthy in order to prevent STDs
--EM
05/28 |
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