February 6, 2002
By Marcie Young
Statesman Internatonal Editor
There is fact and there is fiction. When it comes to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and infections, many people can't tell the two apart.
Health educators from organizations such as the Utah AIDS Foundation (UAF) and Planned Parenthood agree many myths are circulating about who is at risk for sexually transmitted diseases and infections and who isn't.
Myth: Sexually transmitted diseases aren't very common in Utah.
Fact: Virtually everyone who engages in any sort of sexual contact is at risk for contracting a sexually transmitted disease or infection, said Stan Penfold, director of the UAF.
According to a report from the Bureau of HIV/AIDS at the State of Utah Health Department, there were 50 new HIV infections and 114 AIDS cases reported in 2001 in Utah. But Tyler Fisher, youth HIV prevention specialist at the UAF, said these numbers probably aren't accurate.
"All of the information we have is gathered from tests," Fisher said.
Gay men are more likely to get tested than other groups because there is an awareness for HIV among homosexual males, Fisher said.
When the AIDS epidemic began appearing in the early 1980s, it was often seen in homosexual men, he said, and as a result, many people who had exposed themselves took action and were tested for the virus.Fisher said the trend continues today because there is a higher rate of men who have sex with men who are getting tested.
Although Hispanic, gay men were the predominant group testing positive for HIV in 2001, Fisher said the numbers are probably incorrect because other groups get tested much less frequently.
"The reason we see higher rates in one group over another is because some people get tested more [than other groups]," Fisher said.
For example, people under the age of 20 account for 4 percent of HIV infections in Utah, Fisher said. The numbers change drastically, however, in men and women between the ages of 20 and 29, who make up 43 percent of all HIV cases in the state.
Fisher said the huge gap in the statistics is because youth under 20 aren't getting tested for HIV and other STDs.
"They'd rather not know and aren't being tested until they're a little older," Fisher said.
He explained that many young adults don't see the problem as a real issue when they read about it in a health book. Discussions, he said, are a better way to educate people in their teens and 20s about infections and other uncomfortable topics.
"I make sure it's never a lecture. We're discussing," Fisher said. "It gives ownership. It cuts down on the complacency of 'it won't happen to me.'"
Myth: Men, especially gay men, are more at risk for AIDS and other infections.
Fact: Although myths, like AIDS being the gay man's disease, are commonly heard in smaller communities like Logan, Sara Reeves, health educator and nurse at Logan's Planned Parenthood, said such myths just aren't the case.
"I'm hesitant to give gender-specific information because it's misleading," Reeves said.
She said connecting infections to specific groups is dangerous because people might think only certain groups are at risk.
"If we told men they could get pregnant, they'd use birth control," Reeves said.
Although men are reporting more cases of chlamydia, women are also at risk for the infection, she said.
Penfold said, "I don't think anyone is confident that men are infected more."
Men generally show signs of chlamydia sooner than women because there are less places in a man's body for the infection to hide, Reeves said. Women, however, are absorptive and can contain sperm in many more areas than men, she said.
Because of this, Reeves said females show symptoms less often, even if they are carrying the infection.
Myth: People who are abstinent will never contract an infection.
Fact: One of the biggest STD-related myths is connected to the idea that abstinence will keep people safe, Reeves said.
This gets to the idea that people who don't engage in penetrative, vaginal sex will be safe, she said.
But Penfold, Fisher and Reeves agree there are other ways to contract dangerous infections and being sexually active isn't reserved to intercourse. Oral sex, anal sex or any other form of contact where bodily fluids are present increase a person's chances of contracting an STD, Penfold said.
"Anybody who is sexually active does increase their risk to any STD," Penfold said.
Fisher said, "Kids don't know the rate for [genital warts] is one in five."
And Herpes, Reeves said, can actually spread to a person's face and can be passed to another person by kissing.
Although abstinence is the best way to stay protected, Reeves said communication between a sexually active couple, whether they are engaging in intercourse or not, is important.
"The best protection is to know your partner," Reeves said.
© Copyright 2002 The Statesman
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