STIs - How To Prevent It?

The risks of being afflicted by an STD increase chiefly if you engage in vaginal, anal or oral sex without using a condom or any other protection. The risks increase exponentially, especially if you engage in intercourse with multiple partners, or with someone who engages in sex with multiple partners. Sharing needles, using improper contraception and trading sex for benefits are other prominent reasons for spreading of STDs.

There can be a high risk of getting afflicted with HIV or some other bloodstream-borne disease, such as Hepatitis B or C, especially if the instruments used for tattooing, such as needles, are not disinfected or sterilized. Also, any instrument used for piercing skin should only be used on a 'use-and-throw' basis.

Gonorrhea is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases to plague the world today and is usually passed through infected bodily fluids, such as exchange of saliva, or during intercourse. This affects the female reproductive organs or urethra, for both men and women.

While some sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV or herpes will stick with you throughout your life, some which can be cured, such as gonorrhea or Chlamydia, often have a chance of affecting you again in case you engage in sexual contact with an affected person.