PREVENTION OF VENEREAL DISEASES
• The best prevention against venereal disease is to have as few sexual partners as possible. It is unusual for those who have sex with only one partner to catch a venereal disease but it is not impossible. Certain venereal infections can be caught from towels, sheets and lavatory seats, so it makes sense to avoid using other people’s belongings. Some people avoid public lavatories for this reason. Thrush and certain other genital infections in women can be transmitted to their partners who need never have had sex outside the partnership. Needless to say, babies who catch herpes or other venereal infections have not had sexual contact with anyone-they have contact with the infected genitals of their mothers.
• If you are having sex with someone you don’t know well (on a one-night stand, for example) it makes sense for the man to use a sheath. Women who have sex with strangers should always carry a sheath and insist that the man wear it. Likewise, men should carry a sheath against this eventuality. The diaphragm offers some small protection to a woman but not nearly as much as does a sheath. Spermicidal foam has some effect in killing off the organisms that cause VD.
• At the first sign of any of the above diseases seek help. This makes sense not only because you will be treated more quickly and more effectively but because the best form of prevention against VD is ensuring that anyone who knows he or she has the condition prevents themselves from passing it on to others. If you have any of the above symptoms stop having sex and get help.
• If you discover any of the above symptoms be ready to tell the clinic who your sex partners were so that they can trace them and treat them too. Absolute confidentiality is the rule at these clinics but unless your sexual contacts are traced and treated the infected people will go on to infect others.
• Prevention ideally starts early-at school and at home-by instructing children and teenagers about the dangers of sex with multiple partners. Many schools currently give such information but the quality is extremely variable and much of it takes the form of scare stories. This often has exactly the opposite effect as many children unconsciously turn away from such unpalatable information. There is a real need for professional sex educators, who would go round schools telling children about the many aspects of love and sex, among which would be a discussion of sexually transmitted diseases.
With the current scares over AIDS and herpes there are signs that VD is decreasing a little as people reduce their promiscuity somewhat. This started off among US homosexuals but is spreading to affect heterosexuals and other countries too.
*254/72/5*
