STDs don't hurt 'Peayness'

Students have less to fear from sexually transmitted diseases at Austin Peay State University than in other areas of the country.

Family Nurse Practitioner, Jill deGraauw of Boyd Health Services says, "we are average to below average in the number of STDs diagnosed and treated on this college campus. Gonorrhea, chlamydia, and trichomonas are the most common."

Gonorrhea is a bacterial infection sometimes referred to as the clap, drip, or GC.

It's symptoms include painful or frequent urination, anal itching, pain, bleeding, or discharge, abnormal vaginal discharge or bleeding, lower abdominal pain, fever and general fatigue and painful sexual intercourse.

Left untreated, gonorrhea can lead to serious complications or infertility.

Chlamydia, the most common STD in the United States, is also a bacterial infection, with the added complication of increasing one's chances of becoming infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) if exposed.

Symptoms vary between genders.

For women, symptoms include painful and/or cloudy urination, abnormal vaginal discharge, abnormal vaginal bleeding, genital itching, lower abdominal pain, fever and general tiredness or swollen and painful glands.

In men, symptoms include painful urination or an itching sensation with urination (often the first symptom). There can also be cloudy urine, watery or slimy discharge from the penis, crusting on the tip of the penis, tender anus or scrotum.

Trichomonas, or trich (pronounced "trick"), is the second most common STD in the United States, and is caused by a one-celled protozoan, a tiny parasite.

50 percent of women and 90 percent of men develop no symptoms with this STD.

Symptoms that do develop may include large amounts of pale yellow or gray-green, sometimes foamy, discharge from the vagina, vaginal itching or irritation, abnormal musty odor, pain with sexual intercourse even if you use a lubricant such as K-Y Jelly or Astroglide.

Patchy red areas can also appear on the genitals or on the cervix and painful urination or frequent urination or discomfort in the lower abdomen.

All of these STDs are easily treatable with a simple visit to your primary care physican or local health clinic.

At Boyd Health Services, as well as other health care facilities, privacy is of the utmost importance.

"We do not release any information regarding any medical diagnosis, including STDs to anyone other than the patient without their request and permission."

Positive lab tests for certain STDs are required by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to be reported to the local health department.

They will usually call the patient to acquire names of sexual partners. The amount of information about partners that is divulged is up to the patient," deGraauw said.

In 2004, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report of reported and treated cases Tennessee was ranked ninth for chlamydia with 22, 515 cases, and 13th for gonorrhea with 8,475 cases. Trichomonas was not listed.

However, as deGraauw said, "The problem with statistics is that they only take into account the patients that are tested/treated and not the people that are not aware or do not seek testing/treatment.

Partner notification is very important to prevent the further spread of the STD."