You can get a sexually transmitted disease (STD) if you have contact with someone's skin, mouth, penis, vagina or anus that has the infection. Half of all new sexually transmitted infections happen in people under age 25. Each year, 1 in 4 sexually active teens gets an STD and 1 in 2 teens will get an STD by the time they are 25. Now is the time to get educated and protect yourself.
Think you know everything? Think again!
"You have to have sexual intercourse (vaginal sex) to get an STD."
WRONG. You can get some STDs like herpes and genital warts through skin contact alone. Condoms can protect those areas covered by the condom, but not skin around the genitals where infected areas may be. Do you want to say anything about dental dams?
"You can’t get an STDs from oral or anal sex."
WRONG.
All STIs can be passed on through oral or anal sex.
"If my partner ‘looks’ clean, they must be clean."
WRONG. Some STDs have no symptoms, and show no signs of infection. Some people with STDs don’t know that they have them.
You can get an STD from kissing, naked genital rubbing, oral sex, anal sex and sexual intercourse. For more information on what STDs you can get from different kinds of sexual activity, click here.
Did you know?
- Having unprotected sex puts you at high risk of getting an STD. Male and female condoms protect against many STDs, but not all. Birth control, spermicides, and diaphragms only prevent pregnancy.
- You can get more than one STD at a time.
- You can get the same STD more than once.
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