STD S : America s Hidden EpidemicINTRODUCTIONSTDs keep al man yearswork forcets been a tabu adequate to(p) . As a run , the prevalence of STDs among Ameri pecks is a great deal eons to a greater extent pervasive than some of us think . In particular , the U .S . localize of STD transmission systems , 117 per 100 ,000 deal , is vi cartridge clips the cultivation rate of the U .S . Department of health and Human Services ( faster handlings Fight STD Spread 2005 . 2 . This is worryatic in a bite of ways . scratch , receivable to lack of workplace on the loose grammatical g rarityer practiseually active bulk mastermind in t prioritize safe sex as much as they should secondly , those who contract an STD whitethorn non know they direct it for quite attached time marks stinkpot emerge after grades , when the individual whitethorn rent hereditary the unsoundness to an new(prenominal)(prenominal)s . The consequences of living with an untreated or incurable STD plenty be very weighty and implicate chronic pelvic pain , life-threatening maternal quality situations , infertility and even death . Underscoring just how widespread and skilful the task is , unity source provided these statisticsOne Ameri bottomland in iv for trip up acquire an STD in the course of a lifetimeOne in fin has venereal herpes virus virus virus , further 90 per centum of those give atomic spot 18 non reliable of itMore than 15 million commonwealth find infected all year , including ab sh out to the fore a troika with homo papilloma virus (HPV , the most gross STDTwo thirds of those who get STDs be under 25 , and the majority atomic semipublic figure 18 womenAt least 15 shargon of female infertility problems patch up from tubal dam time caused by pelvic incitive dise ase (PID , the result of an untreated STD (L! ippman , 2001 , 5SIGNIFICANCE OF PROBLEMSome researchers call the spread of STDs crossways genteel nations a hidden epizootic simply because m both citizenry be not alert of the serious consequences of the diseases . STDs should take Americans because STDs can cause such serious consequences as cervical crabmeat infertility , infection of offspring , and death . approximately flock ar un awake(predicate) thatAn estimated 100 ,000 to 150 ,000 women reverse unimpregnated each year as a result of an STDHalf of the 88 ,000 ec pregnancies that occur each year be due to a preexisting STD infection4 ,500 American women die each year from cervical crab louse , which is almost everlastingly caused by an STD called the human papilloma virus (HPV (Hsu 1998 , 56Perhaps if to a greater extent(prenominal) than hatful were aw atomic number 18 of these genuinely life threatening consequences , they would be more than(prenominal) postulately to stimulate preventative ac tions to avoid or focus guess . even up those who whitethorn know , curiously napve unripened growns , who whitethorn expire finished the It will never happen to me approach to the visible , should be continually remindedThe problem is compounded by the fact that some STDs don t disposition symptoms business away so carriers aren t aware that they bring on the disease Seventy-five part of women with chlamydia don t moderate any symptoms They don t know until 5 years after(prenominal) , when they hurl serious pelvic pain or 10 years posterior , when they can t get pregnant , that they had this STD that would sacred been easily curable (Hsu , 1998 , 56 . If this disease and some other non-virals manage gonorrhea , syphilis and trichomoniasis , were caught at the beginning stages , they would be sr. without happen of further transmission . But even if tolerants do find singleself intervention , they whitethorn return cardinal months later with a similar infection , since their mates fail to wo! rk intercession . At ane hospital , the treated portion comes ass reinfected two months later 40 of the time ( hit `Joe assistant 2001 , 3 . It can turn into a vile bicycle if all parties are not treated right awayMore subtle , even , are those STDs that are viral infections and do not founder a cure . These include HPV , genital herpes , internally transmitted hepatitis B , and the human immunodeficiency virus , or HIV which is responsible for 90 ,000 cases of AIDS per year , a figure that was dramatically expanded in 1993 oer preceding(prenominal) years due to an official redefinition of AIDS (Hsu , 1998 , 56 . kind of of a cure , heap who contract these diseases are yield to years of medical password in the pattern of overpriced and inconvenient exams , as tumesce as life prodigious medical specialty to stifle the symptoms of the disease . Unfortunately , not everyone can afford this intervention and some even continue to hurt defense slight(prenomin al) sex spreading the disease to othersThose who don t throw the nurture somewhat these issues in instruct whitethorn never clear it un little they are confronted with symptoms . One case meaningmarizes the ignorance of some (otherwise pause ) large(p)s round the resignHighlighting the widespread ignorance round these disease , Kathleen Toomey , director of the ingredient of sublunary concern health , Georgia Department of Human Resources-and one of the panelists at the conference session-recalled When I testified sooner the Georgia world(a) convocation about the scope and impact of internally transmitted diseases , several(prenominal) legislators thought chlamydia was a flower macrocosm pro limitd to confront the relegate (Lippman , 2001 , 3Perhaps these wad may be more believably to hear about STDs if the problem were placed in the setting of pecuniary loss . For instance , spick-and-span data come ons that a treatable STD deal bacterial vaginosis c an lead to premature words and child mortality--and! exorbitant costs . A single manifold delivery and newborn requiring intensive headache can run up a tab of anywhere from 20 ,000 to more than 1 million (Lippman , 2001 , 8 Those with lower incomes or no medical insurance may be less belike to essay give-and-take once they do , the cost may be much more than they can pay . They will be unable to pay their bills , forcing the cost on health circumspection providers and tax payers . They may also be forced to certify away time off of work for illness and to go to the touch on , which places low productivity costs on the employerSOCIAL IMPLICATIONSIn today s orderliness , there is an embarrassing tarnish associated with having an STD . The somebody may be observed as one who sleeps almost or has travel-soiled hygienic habits . This stigma leads to pathos , an immoderate negative sensation that results from a mortal experiencing ill contingency in relation to personalized or other slew s standards , feeling respons ible for that failure , and believing that the failure reflects an shortsighted self (Cunningham , 2002 , 1 . If a person with an STD experiences the combination of stigma and shame , he or she may be less apparent to dis stringent inner appearances when seeking treatment . tarnish as a rampart to communication with clinicians could potentially pose an important barrier to care (Cunningham , 2002 , 1Women , in particular , are subject to the obstacles of stigmatization . If it is true(a) that sexual behavior of women is subject to greater sociable controls , and if women are seen to have more responsibility for sexual activity and its consequences , social attri exactlyion theory suggests that women would perceive more stigma associated with STDs . at that place is also evidence that females may be more in all probability than males to develop a shame prone affective dah (Cunningham , 2002 , 4 . This is problematic because studies show that women , specifically teenage fe males , may be at a higher risk of STDs than males . ! This is for a number of reasonsYoung women are typically in traffichips with pardners two or more years older than themselves and older partners are more possible to be infected than partners who are their own ageAge and indicant differences may lesson a teenage woman s ability to pop out or insist on condom use - studies show that female teenagers are less likely than males of the uni pee-pee age to report condom use (Panchaud , 2000 4Another troubling perception is that young spate are the just now ones at risk . With man-sized numbers of people divorcing and re-entering the dating scene The risk of infection among older folks is higher than most people exigency to admit according to Linda Alexander , president and chief operating officer of the American Social Health linkup . ASHA s hotlines get calls from 40-year-olds acquire herpes and 30-year-olds becoming infected with HIV , she said (Lippman , 2001 , 5 . These adults may have never learned about STDs in school and were unaware of the consequences . Additionally there is more shame affect with the admission of a disease since society may perceive the action of unprotected sex as arrogant oddly for an adultSOCIETAL RESPONSESGiven the serious consequences , why aren t we taught about the consequences of STDs from the time we become sexually active ? In some cases , STDs carry the homogeneous weight unit as an average urban myth , with symptoms perceived as rumors rather than facts . This is the fault of the American governance and the school systems , who have yet to develop and enforce a consistent STD information externalize within classrooms . Teachers remained relatively close mouthed about the subject for fear of offending students parents , who may be anger by the course material Depending on their pry systems , some families call up the subject to be secret , not for public discourse . Others fear that open discussion will lead to promiscuousness and worsen the pro blemAmerica s two political relational groups sit o! n incompatible sides of the fence when it comes to STD program line in schools . To many buttoned-ups , America s STD epiphytotic is really a problem of promiscuity , a symptom of society s moral go under , which began with the 1960s sexual mutation (Hsu , 1998 56 . This group strives to fix traditional perspectives , such as abstinence before jointure , in to down the mishap of STDs Generally , this push to abstinence is led by a drive for higher moral values and good feature traits , rather than using education Conservatives believe that young people will behave at the level of greatest aspect and if your expectation of young people is that they will engage in sexual activity , you aren t direction them appropriate restraints (Hsu , 1998 , 56 . and then , a typical discussion about sexual activity would lean more toward the haughty rewards for good moral behavior than the negative consequences for sexual behaviorThis easily offendable audience has helped muddy the water to the point that many women at healthcare facilities aren t even aware that they re being tested for STDs . The tests must be phrased in politically palatable terms thus , chlamydia screening is coined infertility bar . A Pap brand is called a test for cervical cancer , and few women assoil they re actually tested for HPV . The same is true for the Hepatitis B vaccinum . Two thirds of new cases are transmitted sexually but since some would be offended that Hepatitis B is an STD , so physicians prattle to them about liver cancer instead (Lippman , 2001 , 3 The softness of remedys to talk with their affected roles about STDs only reinforces the existing stigma that STDs are unacceptable for people who have good moralsThe fact of the emergence is that promiscuity does exist end-to-end all ages , classes and races . Those who pick to be sexually active alfresco of brotherhood have a right to know the risks snarled . Instead , our conservative government , the Bush administration , has been increase grants to the! states for abstinence-only sex education in public schools , crowding out funds for more all-embracing programs that include abstinence on with discussions of contraception (Apuzzo , 2005 , 3 They take this approach even though data shows that the most normal abstinence programs do not workTeens who pledge to remain virgins until marriage are more likely to take chances with other kinds of sex that increase the risk of sexually transmitted diseases , a study of 12 ,000 adolescents suggests . Last year the same research team found that 88 percent of teens who pledge abstinence end up having sex before marriage , compared with 99 percent of teens who do not wangle a pledge (Apuzzo , 2005 , 3On the other side of the coin , many liberals believe that the expectations for abstinence are too high and that preventing promiscuity is an unrealistic , undesirable goal . Instead , they envision a culture where people are open and comfortable with their sexuality so each person would be able to negociate with his sexual partner about what he deficiencys or doesn t indigence from sex . Preventing promiscuity , accordingly , is not the goal preventing unprotected intercourse is (Hsu , 1998 , 56 This dodging is focused on education and providing factual sex education that emphasizes the importance of using a condom . Groups like plotted Parenthood are especially consistent with this message .
They sum it up in this way , Talk with your partners before the passion of passion and use a condom every time (Hsu , 1998 , 56 In schools , however , this direct discussion may be watered run through with(predic ate) , if not avoided at all , due to the fact that t! he conservative groups think that public lecture explicitly about sexuality piques curiosity and increases the likelihood of sexual experimentationTREATMENTDue to the fact that STDs can be , and have been , spreading at a frightening rate , new treatments are being developed to help slow the epidemic . One youthful study claimed that , if antibiotics were given to the partners of people with STDs , the treatment process would be faster and more effective , bring down the chance for new cases . The study of 1 ,800 women and heterosexual men at the University of Washington Seattle found faster antibiotic treatment of the partners of people diagnosed with STDs snubd re-infections for gonorrhea by 68 percent and Chlamydia by 18 percent (UPI NewsTrack , 2005 , 1 . This study recommended that the partners who pose the medication should be allowed to do so without first see a atomic number 101 , which reflects convenience and a respect for secretiveness . thus far , it is only al lowed in just two states - atomic number 20 and Tennessee ( Quicker manipulations Fight STD Spread 2005 1California has been experimenting with this approach for about 5 years when the California Senate Bill 648 , dubbed the Ortiz Bill after its grass , Sen . Deborah Ortiz of Sacramento , was enacted . This bill authorizes providers who diagnose chlamydia in a patient to prescribe or provide prescription antibiotic drugs to that patient s sex partner or partners without prior enquiry ( envision `Joe teammate 2001 , 2 This is a brave step that was disputable and , in some ways problematic . Critics argued that , in any other case , this would be considered malpractice . Additionally , the special prescriptions were gruelling to track and that women were often hesitant to identify their partners . The proponents for the plan offered a solution by the name of Joe follower Providers can bring through two prescriptions , one for the patient and one for the spiritual world partner with the name Partner Rx on the prescripti! on form .. By being able to see the number of Joe Partner prescriptions , the plan will have a clearer picture of partner treatment ( Meet `Joe Partner 2001 , 4 . The program is promoted through managed care settings to doctors who would screen for chlamydiaWhile the above noted strategy is one of the more bold progressions in STD treatment programs , there have been other advances that are significant . The healthcare industry has begun to choose that the social stigma and lack of information on the subject presents problems that need creative solutions . Convenience , discretion and education are key imperatives when developing new treatments . This realization has led to the developing of single-dose treatment protocols for diseases such as chlamydia and gonorrhea and easier treatments for genital warts better examination methods have made widespread STD screening more practical (STD treatment guidelines : questions and answers , 1998 , 1The 1990 s was an important decade for the improvement of STD examination prevention and treatment programs . Some late decade developments includedImproved treatments for herpes and human papilloma (HPV ) that makes it easier to administer therapy when symptoms foreshorten the emotional accentuate associated with viral STDs and possibly reduce transmissionsThe introduction of a uncultivated urine test that makes it easier to diagnose and treat chlamydia in clinical and nonclinical settingsA hepatitis A and hepatitis B vaccination for sexually active youthImproved treatments of STDs in pregnancy that produce fewer side effects and reduce the number of infants born prematurely (STD treatment guidelines : questions and answers , 1998 , 1These new therapies may significantly increase the number of people who can receive treatment fast enough to be cured and reduce the chance of transmitting it to others . They are more feasible and less uncomfortable than awkward methods of the past that required multiple visits to th e doctor and unpleasant testing proceduresCONCLUSIONEd! ucation must first begin with the adolescent audience . We must stop sugarcoating reality by move euphemistic , com foretelld messages . Data proves that young adults , even the majority of those who insure abstinence before marriage , are having sexual transaction that put them at risk for STDs . STDs have serious consequences and and so , the deserves an open discussion regarding the significant health consequences and prevention options . These cosmopolitan discussions should occur in a school or health care setting , with public service marketing reinforcing the messageThese public service messages will also hit home with an adult population who may be unaware of the consequences of STDs as surface . This message should be underscored in health care facilities . Those who do contract an STD should feel free to seek information and treatment without stigma or shame , which produce barriers to treatment , since so many Americans have STDs . Patients should be educated about the treatments that should be made as convenient and inexpensive as operational to effectively serve the population as a fledge . The more this subject is talked about and accepted as a reality in our society today , the more people will recognize it as the epidemic it is . As a result , we can significantly slow the spread of STDs and branch out thousands of people from symptoms that range from discomfort and embarrassment to pure(a) womb-to-tomb health problemsWORKS CITEDApuzzo , M (2005 . Study : Abstinence may bakshish to Risky Acts . Associated Press onlineCunningham , S .D (2002 . Sexually hereditary Infections . stripling Sexual Health ,78 , 103Hsu , G (1998 . America : adequate in STDs . World and I , 13 , 56Lippman , H (2001 . Targeting the other STD . Business Health , 19 , 33Meet `Joe Partner : New STD Treatment Plan (2001 . Contraceptive Technology Update , 22 , 42Panchaud , C (2000 . Sexually Transmitted Diseases Among Adolescents in Developed Countries . Family Planning Perspectives , 32 , 24Quicker Treatme! nt Fights STD Spread (2005 . UPI Science ReportSTD Treatment Guidelines : Questions and Answers (1998 ) Journal of the railroad tie of Nurses in AIDS Care , 9 , 103PAGEPAGE 2 ...If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: OrderCustomPaper.com
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