The Truth About STDs

By: Asa Montreaux

The Truth About STDs

Years ago, before the aids crisis, people often assumed that there would be no consequences to their sexual adventures, to any of their sexual engagements period. But the sheer reality is it is in every encounter with a partner that we contract viruses of the sexual and non-sexual variety. Whether the other person, or persons had flu germs, tuberculosis germs, norovirus germs, you had contracted them. You may feel terrible the next morning from the alcohol and whatever else, but also from the sicknesses you contracted. And that does include the sexual sicknesses.

You will contract viruses of a non-sexual nature, and you will one hundred percent for sure contract viruses of a non-sexual nature. The sexually transmitted disease HPV will be transmitted to you. It is sometimes interchangeably known as warts. Though truth be told it more often than not comes in a less aggressive form. 

At its worst, HPV will cause cancer. It is the leading cause of spinal cancer, and a leading cause of may cause other kinds of cancer. You are already the carrier and victim of HPV if you have sex even once, including with a condom. You may have not gotten any sexual fluids on you, or got any in your mouth, but by way of almost any sexual touching you received the warts virus. 

Each time you have sex you are risk of a new strain of HPV, and other STDs. So was sex ever something that had no consequences, or was safe? No, it never was. The question is sex something, that to a certain extent, is a construct of the society? This means, did popular culture, or some aspect of culture, invent the idea, that having sex for a long period of time, and not for the purpose of making babies, was normal?

Clearly the evolutionary purpose of sex is to facilitate procreation. It is to pass our genes on to the next generation, so that some part of us will survive, while time and decay take us away from the world. Put plainly, our ancestors had sex in order to have kids.

When we feel urges to have sex, it is because the ancestors that had their genes survive, were the ones that had sex. This behavior was so conducive to the survival of the species, that it became rewarded in our dna. That sex will lead to something good thing, namely survival, was conditioned into us over time. Since the dawn of human existence, the only way to cheat death was to pass your genes along to your children. So over the millennia, is has become a biological, and not just a psychological conditioning, that sex will lead to survival. Thus, we feel pleasure when this happens. It is basically the opposite of saying when we have hurt ourselves physically, say when we have cut ourselves, we feel pain. It has been biologically conditioned into us to avoid hurting ourselves. So in the moment we hurt ourselves, we feel pain, and not pleasure.

So why is it we have sex at all in a recreational way? Well, these urges to survive need release. We have sex by releasing fluids, and having them combine. A male will ejaculate into a female’s vagina, and then her fluids, that arise during sex, will assist that fluid to travel down into her navel area, where the male seed can combine with the female seed. And this will create a child. So these fluids will build to some extent, and demand release. But more so, our conditioning requires us to seek this release. Otherwise we will have symptoms of stress, dissatisfaction, and ill health. Just as the body punishes us for getting bruises or cuts, it will punish us for not having sex.

So, you may say that sex is a biological need that we satisfy at the price of contracting illnesses. This is more or less true. That we celebrate the act of sex, the way by which we procreate, is just something that stems from the fact sex is pleasurable, and life-giving. While sex isn’t a typical massage, it is just a physical experience, so there is no evidence that anyone needs to have sex for any specific amount of time, or to any degree of pleasure. These things may bring benefits to well-being, and even achievement, but it is basically an unnecessary and coincidental effect.

So what is the price of this release, what is the price of the pleasure? The more sexual contact you have, the more ways you have sexual contact, and the longer the sexual contact, the more likely you are to contract STDs. What are some of the other common one? Herpes is one of the most common STDs you can contract, and similarly you can contract herpes while you are using protection. However, you will contract the oral strain, which sometimes does cause symptoms in the sexual areas of the body, but is nevertheless the oral strain. Have you seen a cold sore before? This is herpes. Having sex, possibly in an unsafe way, gave that to someone.

Herpes can lead to complications that are severe, and researchers know a lot more about it today, than they did before the AIDs crisis. The time of free love was unaware of what we have proven today, that herpes can cause severe illnesses, including cancer. And so can other STDs.

Oral herpes can be contracted just through kissing. It can even be contracting by sharing a drink with someone with the illness. Generally it happens when the symptoms are present. But as I alluded to, sometimes the symptoms are apparent on another part of the body, and may be covered. Some strains of herpes are even considered to be both oral and sexual. Other common illnesses to contract through oral sex include gonorrhea and chlamydia. Gonorrhea can be transmitted sexually as well, and chlamydia is actually most often transmitted sexually. 

Both illnesses can cause complications of severe illness just like HPV and herpes, and as well they can cause a disruption of bodily function, and permanent damage to sexual and other body organs. They are also some of the most painful illnesses, as Gonorrhea will create burning sensations as you pee, or even at random times, and if you have it in an oral area it will create a burning sensation in the throat, which may interrupt eating and drinking.

Both of these illnesses are commonly reported. They cannot be transmitted through kissing alone, but they are easy to catch. Condoms are 99 percent effective against these, as well as most STDs other than HPV, though any contact with sexual fluids will run the same risk. So, you need to keep the condom on through all part of the encounter.

The risk of more serious sexual disease is real, and illnesses such as Hepatitis A, B, and C, and more common than you think. The risk of these illnesses, which can cause damge to the immune system, increase the risk of death from immune related diseases or pandemic diseases like Covid-19, by as much as 90%. 

There are over 300 million people living with Hepatitis B and C in the world. The illnesses is incredibly common and can be spread. Similarly, over 1.5 million new cases of Hepatitis A are reported every year.

Of course the starkest reality of sex, is the possibility of contracting HIV. Particularly through not using condoms, or having sex with unsafe partners, HIV can be contracted. The possibility of becoming infected, and having that illness progress into AIDs, is actual. AIDs is a debilitating illness that will cause severe weight loss, severely compromised immune functioning, extreme tiredness, and an overall reduction in functioning. There is no known cure for AIDs. Previously AIDs had led to death in a short number of years after it developed. But in recent years, treatment often slow the rate of progression of the disease, so that people survive for many years, and live a life of an almost normal length. In rare cases nowadays, it could seem to have had not made an impact of life length. But the disease has no known cure. It can only be controlled. 

There are more than 40 million people living with HIV in the world right now. So be sure to ask your partners before engaging with them whether they have the illness or not. It is a crime to not disclose that you have the illness before having sex, even with protection. And be sure to use protection if you have any doubt, or if the other person is infected. Condoms are 99 percent affective at preventing HIV. The chances of catching an amount of HIV that will cause serious infection are more rare with protection. It is worth noting that there more than one thousand HIV infections that don’t become active, for everyone that does. One time in one thousand, a person become infected with HIV. The rest of time, the disease had passed naturally. So for every 40 million confirmed infections, there where well more than 40 billion HIV transfers. That had happened over more than just one or two years, though. 

Short Story Selections supports the treatment, and the search for curse to these illnesses. And your writer is dedicated to creating cures for them as well. So, if you have contracted an STD, there is hope you will have sex normally again in the context of a healthy life in the future.