CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind. – There are certain kinds of bugs that get into the framework of buildings and eat away at them piece by piece undetected until the structures are severely damaged. These bugs – termites – are not unlike some sexually transmitted diseases that lurk inside your body for months until they finally show up and the carrier has spread it unknowingly.
April is National Sexually Transmitted Diseases Education and Awareness Month and leadership at Camp Atterbury want Soldiers to think twice about having unprotected sex.
Richard Ford, a physician assistant at the Troop Medical Clinic here, said chlamydia is one of the most common STDs whose symptoms are hard to detect.
"Chlamydia, in a male can stay in his urine tract system for a year without even knowing about it," said Ford. "For females, usually they'll start getting vaginal discharge and start having some problems...that's when they find out that [they and their partners] have to be treated," he said.
Ford said that in addition to chlamydia, syphilis, HIV and herpes display similar behaviors in your body; they may go undetected for months or even up to a year.
"With herpes, you might not have symptoms for six months to a year later," he said. "Once you have it, to really suppress it, you almost need to take medicine every single day for the rest of your life."
According to the Center for Disease Control, one out of five adolescents and adults has had a herpes infection. This is why Ford says it's so important for Soldiers to be careful with whom they are being intimate.
"What you have to think about before you have sex with someone is that although you know you're having sex with them, you're also having sex with them and everybody they had sex with..." he said. "Every other person that person had sex with, that's who you are having sex with."
The CDC also estimates human papillomavirus to be the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States, yet most people who become infected with HPV do not even know they have it. This paints an astounding picture considering their statistics which state 50 percent of sexually active men and women acquire a genital HPV infection at some point in their lives.
In light of the very real possibility of contracting sexually transmitted diseases through unprotected sex, Col. Steven Merkel of the 205th Infantry Brigade here urges Soldiers to take precautions when choosing a partner.
"Simply put," Merkel said, "The impact of choosing the wrong sexual partner can have life-changing consequences from a health standpoint and so that decision deserves careful consideration."
Merkel said he believes the reason so many people have unprotected sex is that they believe that it can't happen to me. What they don't realize, he said, that when something does happen to you, it affects you on a personal and a professional level.
"The most significant personal consequences center on the serious health problems – such as infertility, cancer or HIV infection – as a consequence of contracting a sexually transmitted disease," Merkel said. The professional consequences of contracting an STD are equally serious," he said. "As Soldiers we all must meet certain minimum health standards to continue to serve our nation. If the impact of the STD prevents a Soldier from being medically deployable then logically the Soldier's career can be terminated."
1st Sgt. Steven Brock of the 205th Infantry Brigade here also explained how STDs affect the Army's strength and its commitment to the nation.
"The effect on the Army is that it degrades combat power because of the amount of time dealing with getting the disease cured," said Brock. "We encourage Soldiers to have safe sex because it will help maintain our force combat readiness."
Brock also stressed the importance of maintaining a respectable image for the community and the world at large.
"We in the Army try and represent the positive moral fiber for the country we represent," Brock said. "STDs can cast a shadow of doubt on our ability to this."
There are many ways to contract STDs to include oral-genital contact, genital-genital contact and unprotected sex. During one unprotected sexual encounter you can pick up any number of diseases that in some cases become fatal.
If you were to load a 9 mm pistol with one bullet, you wouldn't point it at a Soldier and tell him he only has a 15 percent chance of being shot. He would tell you he'd rather you didn't pull the trigger. In that same respect, when in the heat of the moment someone tells you "I'm clean" and the rubber is tossed aside, the odds are just as much not in your favor that you'll walk away from the encounter without an itch, a bump, or something that burns in your nether regions.
For additional information on STD education resources, Soldiers can contact the TMC at extension 1120 or visit www.hooah4health.com and type STDs in the search engine.
| Date Taken: | 04.08.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 04.08.2009 14:07 |
| Story ID: | 32163 |
| Location: | CAMP ATTERBURY, INDIANA, US |
| Web Views: | 163 |
| Downloads: | 128 |
This work, Using body armor below the belt, by Joseph Rivera Rebolledo, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
