About.com Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs)

New Pap Smear Guidelines

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 09:12:07 +0000

A few days ago, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists broke ranks with its fellows and changed their guidelines for cervical cancer screening. Because there are so few cases of invasive cervical cancer among young women, and there is a risk of over treatment, they now say that even sexually active young women should not be given a Pap smear before the age of 21. Then, starting at age 21, most women should be screened every other year instead of every year, and they should be screened only once every three years after the age of 30 if a they have had three normal Pap tests in a row.

This represents a somewhat significant change from the earlier guidelines and it will be fascinating to see when and whether most gynecologists adopt them. Personally, although I am swayed by the arguments about potential over treatment, I am slightly concerned that the few cases of invasive cervical cancer that do occur each year in younger women will be missed. I wonder if rather than changing things on the screening end, it would have been more appropriate to address the standards for treatment and follow-up. Then again, in our highly litigious culture, it might be much harder to convince doctors not to treat any early signs of cancer than simply not to look for them.

Pap Smear vs. HPV Test

New Pap Smear Guidelines originally appeared on About.com Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) on Sunday, November 22nd, 2009 at 09:12:07.

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Turning Back the Cancer Clock

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:11:34 +0000

A new HPV vaccine that is currently being tested in the Netherlands looks like it may be able to turn back the cancer clock. Unlike current HPV vaccines that are designed to protect men and women from ever getting the virus, this new vaccine is for women who are already infected with HPV and suffering pre-cancerous changes. When the vaccine was tested on a group of 20 women with vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia, nine women had complete remission of their lesions and another six saw significant improvement. Although it will be a long time before such a vaccine is available for the general population, and the current formulation still has some problematic side effects, this is an encouraging result for researchers who are looking for new ways to treat and prevent HPV related cancers after women have already been infected with the virus.

Turning Back the Cancer Clock originally appeared on About.com Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) on Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 09:11:34.

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Stomping Out Genital Warts?

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:28:36 +0000

Results from an Australian study recently published in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections found that the number of new cases of genital warts in young women dropped by 25% during each quarter of the first year after the country began providing the HPV vaccine. The number of cases seen in heterosexual men also dropped each quarter, although by a smaller 5 percent. The fact that the decline in the number of cases of genital warts began approximately 6 months after free vaccination campaigns had gotten under way, and that it followed more than 3 years of no changes in the incidence of genital warts, suggests that the vaccination program may be responsible. Although the study only looked at data from one large urban health center, the results are promising, and hopefully other researchers will engage in further investigation.

Stomping Out Genital Warts? originally appeared on About.com Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) on Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at 09:28:36.

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WHO said it...

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 09:10:53 +0000

Didn't think that a failure to practice safe sex was such a big deal? According to a new report from the World Health Organization, "Global life expectancy could be increased by nearly five years by addressing five factors affecting health - childhood underweight, unsafe sex, alcohol use, lack of safe water, sanitation and hygiene, and high blood pressure." Worldwide, unsafe sex was responsible for four percent of attributable deaths in 2004.

One of the biggest dangers from unsafe sex is cancers caused by HPV - cervical cancer alone is responsible for more than 10 percent of unsafe sex deaths. Almost all cervical cancer is caused by the sexually transmitted virus, and cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in Africa. Many people think of practicing safe sex as an inconvenience, but it's important to remember that it saves lives - and not just by preventing HIV.

WHO said it... originally appeared on About.com Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) on Sunday, November 15th, 2009 at 09:10:53.

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About Face(book)

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:53:51 +0000

I have to admit that I'm fascinated by all the people who are using social networking sites as a venue for sex education. Case in point - the new HPV Factcheck Facebook tool that allows people to take a quiz about HPV and then share their results with their friends (or not) in order to improve their education. Although I will admit that people do love taking quizzes, this does not necessarily seem to me like the most sensible use of social networking technology for sex education. It may be a bit too transparent. I really can't see most high risk individuals advertising their desire to learn about HPV and sharing the tool with their friends. Maybe I'm wrong, but I have a feeling that social networking sites are probably more useful for partner notification -- and similar outreach attempts that have to do with how people form relationships -- than simple provision of information... even if the information comes with buttons to click on and a fun little quiz.

About Face(book) originally appeared on About.com Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) on Friday, November 13th, 2009 at 09:53:51.

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HIV & HCV - A Dangerous Pairing

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:11:50 +0000

Research reports coming out of New York City, suggest that sex between HIV positive men is shifting the face of Hepatitis C infection (HCV). Although HCV is primarily thought of as a blood-borne illness, new research highlights that sexual transmission - during unprotected anal and oral sex are actually playing a major role in the current NYC epidemic. Although treatment for early cases of HCV is usually successful, that means that infections have to be caught soon after they have been acquired. It is, however, important to realize that successful treatment can not repair liver damage that has already occurred, and the recent study also discovered disturbing results about how common liver fibrosis is even during the early stages of infection.

HIV & HCV - A Dangerous Pairing originally appeared on About.com Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) on Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 at 09:11:50.

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Unseasonal Illness

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 09:58:03 +0000

I was tickled pink when someone sent me this e-card to share with all of you, because it's true. Many people are scared witless of getting the swine flu, but won't even take the simplest precautions against contracting a sexually transmitted disease. I find it particularly amusing when individuals are willing to humiliate themselves by wearing face masks in public (more useful if you're the one with the flu than if you're trying to avoid it) but are too embarrassed to discuss or practice safe sex.

I don't mean to negate people's worried about swine flu, or the regular flu, but STDs are something that individuals should be concerned about all year. If you're willing to get a vaccine, avoid work, or carry a giant bottle of hand sanitizer everywhere you go, is it really so difficult to just buy a condom?

Unseasonal Illness originally appeared on About.com Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) on Sunday, November 8th, 2009 at 09:58:03.

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The Right Test

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:00:42 +0000

A recent study published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases found that many doctors do not have access to the appropriate tests for primary syphilis. Although the syphilis blood tests are capable of detecting an infection that has been going on for a while,doctors need to swab a chancre and examine the sample under a special type of microscope to confidently detect an early syphilis infection . The blood test alone can miss up to 30 percent of new syphilis infections, thus leaving newly infected people falsely confident of their negative status and more likely to pass on the disease.

The Right Test originally appeared on About.com Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 09:00:42.

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Debunking the Down Low?

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:31:23 +0000

There was a great story on NPR last week that was designed to debunk the popular belief that the down low is a major contributor to the HIV epidemic among African American women. The reasoning didn't come as much of surprise to me, but I was really fascinated to hear some of Dr. Kevin Fenton's ideas about the actual explanation for the fact that although African Americans make up less than 15% of the population, African American women make up more than 65% of new female HIV cases in the U.S. I highly recommend taking a few minutes to take a listen to the story on the NPR webpage. Dr. Fenton is the director of the CDC's National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD & TB Prevention and he knows of what he speaks.

Debunking the Down Low? originally appeared on About.com Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 09:31:23.

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Condoms : On the Rise

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 09:07:32 +0000

An ongoing series of British surveys have found that the use of condoms by British women has been steadily increasing over time. In 2009, for the first time, they were used by similar numbers of women as were using the birth control pill. Although I think that the rise in the number of women who are protecting themselves from not just pregnancy but STDs is great, the accompanying TimesOnline editorial does make an excellent point. If your major goal is to protect against pregnancy, it's worth considering other options in addition to condom use. Condoms are fabulous, but they do occaisionally fail - particularly if they're not used correctly - so it's important to have other tools in your arsenal, including emergency contraception.

Condoms 101
The Top 10 STDs
How to Use a Male Condom
Emergency Contraception - From the Guide to Contraception.

Condoms : On the Rise originally appeared on About.com Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) on Sunday, November 1st, 2009 at 09:07:32.

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