The Problem With STD Prevention Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive Pape

The Problem With STD Prevention Sexually Transmitted Diseases or STDs are an increasing problem in today’s society. There are many of them and the number is increasing in the youth of the nation. According to a 2000 poll, 18.9 million cases were reported, and of that number, 9.1 million occurred in people between the ages of 15 to 24. America needs to recognize this problem more fully and find a cure for it. Abstinence is one way to help, but what people need to realize is that it is not working. According to a 2000 poll done by the Centers for Disease Control, 48% of sexually transmitted diseases are accounted for in people between the ages of fifteen to twenty-four. It is also reported that teens are more likely than other age groups to have multiple sex partners and practice unsafe sex more often. The three most common diseases in teens are Chlamydia, human papillomavirus (HPV), and trichomoniasis. These diseases account for more than eighty-eight percent of new cases in this age group (Davidnow, 2004). Chlamydia is a disease that can cause permanent damage to the sexual organs. An estimated three million people are infected with Chlamydia each year (Witmer, nd). Once inside the blood, the microbes can spread to the joints, skin, and major body organs. With this disease, up to twenty percent of men may not have symptom but a bigger problem is that up to eighty percent of women do not experience symptoms. When the microbes enter the body in women they focus on the cervix area which, if left untreated can cause infertility (Daugirdas, 1992). Some symptoms of Chlamydia are pain at the end of a menstrual cycle, burning discharge, pain while urinating, and even chronic arthritis. Chlamydia is one of the mos... ...go, IL: The University of Chicago Press. Daugirdas, J. T. (1992). STD: Sexually Transmitted Diseases. Hinsdale, IL: Medtext, Inc. Davidnow, J. (2004). Nation’s Youth Hit Hard by STDS 15-to-24-Year-Olds Account for 48% of New Cases. Retrieved April 24, 2004 from LexisNexis [CD ROM Database] Garrett, L. (1994). The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Marr, L. (1998). Sexually Transmitted Diseases. Baltimore, MD: The John Hopkins University Press. STD Prevention. Retrieved April 24, 2004 from http://www.cdc.gov/ nchstp/dstd/sdtdp.html Tseng, H., Villanueva, G., Powell, A. (1987). Sexually Transmitted Diseases. Saratoga, CA: R&E Publishers. Witmer, D. (nd). Sexually Transmitted Diseases STDs. Retrieved April 24, 2004 from http://parentingteens.about.com/cs/stds/a/stdsfact.htm