The problem of STIs on college campuses has received growing attention in recent years as epidemic numbers of students have become infected. In general, STIs continue to increase faster than other illnesses on campuses today, and approximately 5 to 10 percent of visits by U.S. college students to college health services are for the diagnosis and treatment of STIs. The beliefs that it won’t happen to you and that you can’t catch these sorts of infections are inaccurate and potentially more dangerous than ever before. If you choose to be sexually active—particularly with more than one partner, but even if there is only one—exposure to an STI is a real possibility.
STIs are usually spread through genital contact. Sometimes, however, STIs can be transmitted through mouth-to-mouth or mouth-to-genital contact. There are more than twenty known types of STIs; Table 13.2 lists those that are most common on college campuses.
| SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTION | FEMALE SYMPTOMS | MALE SYMPTOMS | NUMBER OF NEW CASES IN THE UNITED STATES ANNUALLY | CURABLE OR TREATABLE |
| AIDS 287
(acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) |
Symptoms appear several months to several years after contact with human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV; unexplained weight loss; white spots in mouth; yeast infections that do not go away | Symptoms appear several months to several years after contact with HIV; unexplained weight loss; white spots in mouth | 40,000 | Treatable |
| Chlamydia | Yellowish discharge; bleeding between menstrual periods; burning or pain during urination | Painful and frequent urination; watery, puslike discharge from penis | 3 million | Curable |
| Genital HPV (human papillomavirus) | Small, bumpy warts on the sex organs and/or anus; burning or itching around sex organs | Small, bumpy warts on the sex organs and/or anus; burning or itching around sex organs | 5.5 million | Treatable |
| Gonorrhea | Thick yellow or gray discharge; abnormal menstrual periods or bleeding between periods; cramps or pain in lower abdomen | White, milky discharge from penis; painful, burning urination; swollen or tender testicles | 600,000 | Curable |
| Hepatitis B | Symptoms appear 1–9 months after contraction; flulike feelings that go away; tiredness; dark urine | Symptoms appear 1–9 months after contraction; flulike feelings that go away; tiredness; dark urine | 46,000 | Treatable |
| Herpes | Burning sensation and redness at the site of infection; painful blister that will crust over, dry up, and disappear | Burning sensation and redness at the site of infection; painful blister that will crust over, dry up, and disappear | 1 million | Treatable |
| Syphilis | Painless chancre; rash or white patches on skin; lymph nodes enlarge | Painless chancre; rash or white patches on skin; lymph nodes enlarge | 36,000 | Curable in early stages |
| Trichomoniasis | Yellowish, unpleasant-smelling discharge accompanied by a burning sensation during urination | Watery, white drip from the penis; burning or pain during urination; need to urinate more often | 8 million | Curable |
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Sources: Rebecca J. Donatelle, Access to Health, 13th ed. (San Francisco: Benjamin Cummings, 2014); Linda L. Alexander et al., New Dimensions in Women’s Health, 5th ed. (Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning, 2010). |
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Adapted from http://www.plannedparenthood.org, www.ashastd.org, and http://www.herpescounter.com. |
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One particularly common STI is the human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted infection that is closely linked to cervical cancer. In fact, the CDC estimates that currently 20 million people in the United States are infected with HPV. Gardasil, a vaccine that became available in 2006, provides protection for both men and women against the types of HPV that cause genital warts, anal cancer, and cervical cancer. For more information about this vaccine or to receive the three injection series, contact your college or university health services or local health care provider.