Student Health 101 General Health
A Reference Guide to Student Health
Sexual Health
Contraception
Infertility
Sexual Assault
Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD’s and AIDS)
Contraception
Numerous options are available to prevent pregnancy. Generally contraception methods fall into three categories: non-hormonal methods, hormonal methods and permanent sterilization. Discuss the risks and benefits of each type of contraception with your physician to decide what is best for you.
Non-hormonal Methods
Non-hormonal contraceptive methods vary greatly in effectiveness, safety, and cost. They include:
- Natural family planning
- The condom (both male and female)
- The diaphragm
- The cervical cap
- The intrauterine device (IUD)
Hormonal Methods
Hormonal contraceptive methods are generally safe and very effective in preventing pregnancy. However, women with certain medical conditions are not candidates for these methods. Hormonal methods include:
- The birth control pill
- The birth control patch
- The vaginal ring
- Hormonal injections
Permanent Sterilization
Both males and females can undergo procedures to ensure permanent sterility. The male sterilization procedure, a vasectomy, is performed in an office setting with local anesthesia. Bilateral tubal ligation is the female sterilization procedure commonly referred to as “tying the tubes.” It is performed in an operating room and may require general anesthesia. Both the male and female sterilization procedures are associated with some risks. Contact your physician to discuss these risks based on your individual situation.
Infertility
Approximately 15% of couples in the United States are infertile. For healthy, young couples, the odds are approximately 20% that a woman will become pregnant during one menstrual cycle. This figure declines with age, especially after the age of 35.
When a woman ovulates, she releases an egg, which can be fertilized any time during a 12 to 24 hour period. For a woman with a 28-day menstrual cycle, this occurs approximately 14 days after the first day of her period.
Semen is the fluid that carries sperm, which travel up through the cervix to fertilize the egg in the fallopian tube. The fertilized egg then migrates to the uterus, where it attaches and begins to grow. If a problem occurs in this chain of events, pregnancy is not achieved.
Physicians generally recommend infertility testing for couples that do not become pregnant after 12 months of intercourse without birth control. Basic infertility testing may help determine the cause. It consists of:
- A physical examination
- A medical history
- Semen analysis
- Ovulation tests
- Tests to check for a normal uterus and open fallopian tubes
- A discussion about how often and when to have intercourse
If a problem exists, steps can be taken to correct it. Depending on the cause, your physician may recommend lifestyle changes, medications, surgery, and/or a referral to a specialist.
Sexual Assault
The legal definition of sexual assault depends upon the state in which you live, but generally, it is any sexual act (genital, anal, or oral penetration) that is performed without mutual consent. Sexual assault occurs in all age, race, and socioeconomic groups. Rape can occur in a marriage or a dating relationship, or be perpetrated by an unknown assailant.
A person who has been sexually assaulted experiences many physical and psychological changes. Three main factors need to be addressed:
- Medical evaluation and treatment
- Psychological counseling
- Legal action
Visit the emergency room or your physician as soon as possible after the assault. The medical exam involves specific tests, and you also may be offered medications to prevent infection and/or unwanted pregnancy. While you are at the hospital, notify the police of the assault. Follow recommendations regarding ongoing treatment with health personnel trained in working with sexual-assault victims.
Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD's and AIDS)
Sexually transmitted diseases are spread by sexual contact. Some are more common than others, and most are easily preventable. However not all are curable.
Herpes
The herpes virus affects one in five adults in this country and is spread through close contact. It can cause painful blisters and sores in the mouth, lip, and genital areas. Most people notice the outbreak of blisters approximately one week after being infected, though some have no symptoms for many years. Early symptoms include itching, tingling, and pain. Blisters appear several hours later and can take up to a week to heal.
A physician diagnoses herpes via an exam and possibly lab tests. Herpes has no cure, but medication can help shorten the outbreak and decrease pain. The best way to avoid infecting your partner is to abstain from sexual contact when symptoms or blisters are present. Condoms are also helpful, although they are not guaranteed to stop herpes transmission.
Chlamydia and Gonorrhea
Chlamydia and gonorrhea are bacterial infections. They affect both men and women. Most people don’t experience any symptoms. But men are more likely to experience symptoms—such as redness, itching, or penile discharge— than women. Unfortunately, women often have no symptoms and therefore go untreated. Chlamydia, one of the most common STDs, can have many long-term and serious health risks for women. If these infections go untreated, they can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, which can cause infertility due to scar tissue. In a pregnant woman, chlamydia and gonorrhea may cause infection of the fetus, early labor, and infection of the baby’s eyes at birth. If symptoms exist, they include abnormal vaginal discharge or bleeding, painful urination, and painful sex.
An examination and cervical culture can diagnose your condition. Prompt treatment of you and your partner with antibiotics should follow if you do have one of these infections. Condom use can help prevent transmission of chlamydia and gonorrhea.
Syphilis
Syphilis is rare, but can have devastating effects. Its first symptom is a painless hard chancre (sore) that heals on its own in two to six weeks. When syphilis spreads to the blood symptoms may include a rash on the hands and soles of the feet, growths on the penis and vulva, and swollen lymph nodes. Sometimes several years later syphilis can cause visual disturbances, weakening of the feet, and large skin abscesses. If syphilis is passed to a fetus during pregnancy, major birth defects, including stillbirth, can occur.
Blood tests can diagnose syphilis, and antibiotics can cure it. All pregnant women should be screened for this disease. Condom use can help prevent its spread.
Genital Warts
Common among young adults, human papilloma virus (HPV) causes genital warts and is the main cause of abnormal Pap smears in women. The virus can also produce warty growths on the penis, vulva, perineum (skin between vagina or scrotum and anus), buttock and anal areas. These warts can grow very large, especially during pregnancy, and a physician needs to evaluate them to determine the best treatment.
HPV has no known cure, but genital warts and HPV of the cervix can be successfully treated. Sometimes HPV infection clears on its own. Sometimes, your physician can apply medication in the office to treat the warts, or you may be able to self-apply a different medication at home. In other cases, surgery may be recommended. If partners have warts as well, they should seek appropriate treatment. Condoms can help prevent the spread of HPV, but they are not always completely effective.
If HPV is on the cervix, you need close follow-up by a physician, including a pelvic exam and possibly a colposcopy, in which a viewing scope is used to closely look at the cervix.
AIDS
Spread via bodily fluids such as blood and semen, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) causes AIDS. Behaviors that put you at risk of acquiring HIV include intravenous drug use (sharing needles) and having sex without condoms. Blood transfusions no longer pose a true risk for transmitting this virus.
Most people with HIV remain symptom-free for many years. Once AIDS develops, symptoms may include weight loss, fatigue, diarrhea, yeast infection in the mouth, or chronic vaginal yeast infections. AIDS patients can also experience pneumonias and rare skin cancers.
Anonymous blood tests are available for HIV. Every pregnant woman should be offered the screening test. Many medications are available to help the immune system fight the virus and help prevent the spread of HIV to the unborn fetus.