Posted on 02/03/2005 6:02:48 AM PST by Tax-chick
Wild oats, now and later John R. Diggs, Jr., MD
Every college student in America has heard multiple lectures on “safe sex.” But before rolling your eyes and mumbling, “Here comes another one,” let me say at the outset: This is not your grandmother’s sex lecture.
My credentials: I am an Internal Medicine physician, BA from Haverford College and MD from the University of Buffalo. My current work involves lecturing on sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) nationally and internationally. And I am nobody’s grandma.
Students reading this article have to pay the bill for the cavalier ways of the sexual revolution. At some colleges the rate of HPV infection stands at 20%, or 1 in 5 young women. Two decades of condom and “safe sex” promotion has resulted in more than 65 million Americans over age 12 having an incurable STD, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
I shall limit my remarks to HPV since it is (1) the most prevalent STD, (2) very high numbers of students are infected, and (3) it can lead to cervical cancer in women. But it must be emphasized here that nearly all cervical cancer is caused by HPV. Moreover, in the USA, more women die from cervical cancer than die from AIDS!
Women frequently suffer along the lines of the following two scenarios. A young woman acquires HPV and develops cervical changes discovered on a Pap smear. As the cells mutate towards cancer, her gynecologist may recommend cervical freezing (cryosurgery) or worse, surgery to remove a large portion of the cervix. Later, this leads to difficulty conceiving and then, more difficulty keeping a pregnancy. If this treatment fails, and invasive cancer develops, she may need a hysterectomy or chemotherapy.
A more common scenario is that she doesn’t know she has been infected with HPV until an abnormal Pap smear arises 5-20 years later. The Student Health Center nurse retired, the boyfriends have faded. Then, the same medical offerings may await her. The fortunate ones get only genital warts.
In both cases, unless she has had sex with only one man, it is impossible to pinpoint by whom she was infected. Was it the first, second, or third steady boyfriend or was it one of many ‘hook-ups’?
The most dangerous misinformation surrounding HPV today is the myth that prophylactics will protect women. "Condoms, condoms, condoms," cry university health staffs. Incredibly, condoms are offered up like sacrifices to ‘the pleasure god’ to ward off ugly HPV. However, scientifically, condoms have been shown to be ineffective in significantly reducing HPV transmission. Lacking an alternative, public health officers are loath to admit this. They are left to sigh, shrug, and slide condoms across the desk. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) say:
For HPV, the Panel concluded that there was no epidemiologic evidence that condom use reduced the risk of HPV infection, but study results did suggest that condom use might afford some protection in reducing the risk of HPV-associated diseases, including warts in men and cervical neoplasia [cancer or precancer] in women.
Notice that the NIH says condoms “might afford some protection” and not “do provide protection.” The research on condoms fails to show significant protection. If the world’s biggest medical research organization cannot say ‘they work,’ should you really rely on condoms to protect you from genital warts and cervical cancer?
HPV is still contagious whether warts are visible or not. Only about 2% of infected persons have visible genital warts; 98% of infected persons have no symptoms.
Pap smears diagnose women with HPV. How many men do you know that get Pap smears? There is no commercially available test to diagnose men with HPV (outside of having visible warts). This puts men in the pitiful position of being ignorant that they are a vector for the Big C, cancer. Men, how will you react when you future wife has an abnormal Pap smear because of her college behavior?
HPV, like many STDs, infects both sexes, but women bear a higher burden; don’t bother filing a discrimination complaint -- HPV is not an equal opportunity offender.
Because there is no cure for HPV, men cannot be tested, most infected people have no symptoms, and condoms do not stop transmission -- students need to make other choices. Maybe you’ve read of students who have had sex only one time and yet contracted HPV. Sadly, they have paid the price of a culture that endorses multiple partners -- including "serial monogamy" -- which truly are the greatest risk factor for STDs. Before you resort to the latest faddish alternative, know that HPV and many other STDs can also be spread by sexual non-intercourse practices, too.
If you want to avoid HPV, as old-fashioned as it sounds, the only truly effective strategy is to avoid sexual activity until you have found Neo, “the one”, and pledge "til death do we part."
Dr. Diggs an Internist who lives in South Hadley, MA. He is co-chair of the Massachusetts Physicians Resource Council, and medical advisor to the Family Research Council.
Related thread on college sexual behavior:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1333269/posts?page=1,50
Old fashioned != wrong.
Many ideas are old fashioned because they have stood the test of time and are still right.
Shalom.
Shalom.
Scary, I didn't know that condoms were ineffective in preventing HPV. Pap smears diagnose cervical cancer which is very, very nasty even as cancers go... 99.7% of cervical cancer is from HPV. So HPV cannot be tested at all?
(snip)
The most dangerous misinformation surrounding HPV today is the myth that prophylactics will protect women. "Condoms, condoms, condoms," cry university health staffs. Incredibly, condoms are offered up like sacrifices to ‘the pleasure god’ to ward off ugly HPV. However, scientifically, condoms have been shown to be ineffective in significantly reducing HPV transmission
(snip)
There is another piece of highly dangerous misinformation about HPV and cervical cancer, and some of it comes from the NIH, along with many other health and medial professional organizations.....that smoking causes cervical cancer. This false claim is touted around even more than the condom thing, even though there is absolutely no medical or scientific proof it is even remotely true.
If you want to avoid HPV, as old-fashioned as it sounds, the only truly effective strategy is to avoid sexual activity until you have found Neo, “the one”, and pledge "til death do we part."
I couldn't agree with the good doctor more.
Teach them the dangers of wanton sexual activities, and of smoking, by all means...............but don't lie about it.
So the good doctor tels women to wait for "the one." Well, what if "the one" has HPV? His advice does nothing to prevent a woman from getting HPV. If fact the only thing that will guarantee that a woman not get HPC is lifetime celibacy.
What rot. You can find 'the one' and the one can have a STD.
Good point. Maybe there's contact information at the source on Townhall ... you could e-mail the gentleman and tell him about his logical lapse.
It looks from the article as if there's no direct test for HPV. If warts appear, then a diagnosis can be made for men or women. And if a woman has an abnormal Pap smear, then that's an indication of HPV infection.
Viral infections in general can be very hard to diagnose or test for.
Bump
After two more cups of coffee, I will write a letter hehehe. He's being very unrealistic about waiting to get married.
The contemplation of early death will do much to adjust "reality".
Waiting till marriage will NOT guarantee someone disease free unless both parents are virgins. How many men are virgins today well into their twenties and thirties?
High STD rates are a symptom of too much turnover in partners. Condoms are one thing, but you really have to discourage people from having sex with everything that moves.
I meant to say 'partners' and no death has not stopped people from having sex. Hasn't this become to apparent to you watching how AIDS is spreading? Sex instinct is probably more powerful than death.
It's a numbers game - and the statistics will only turn around if large groups of people become educated EARLY - and act appropriately based on that info.
It used to be that guys didn't worry about pregnancy - they could always deny the baby was his.
Then came along paternity tests and DNA tests.
Laws have been passed accordingly prohibiting men from passing on this responsiblity.
So now men do, indeed, need to worry about pregnancy.
So here we have an interesting situation.
While the concept of free and open sex is being sold to the young by MTV, and our pop culture - it turns out this message could wind up killing many American women.
So now young American women need to worry about this free sex business.
They need to tell kids in health classes that "free" sex is not free and is deadly.
They are going to have to figure out a way to test the men.
Women are going to have to "screen" men before they sleep with them.
Blood tests and STD tests should be reintroduced to the process of marriage licensing.
Please do write him ... what you say is absolutely correct, and it's an important point to bring out.
I was watching MTV the other night and turned it off. One girl is running after three boys on the beach in Fiji looking for a hook up. The other half is two men having sex in a shower. As such I've given up on the major media doing anything. We women do bear the brunt of these things from pregnancy and all that goes with it, to STDs like HPV and gonorrhea another disease that is symptomless. You're right. People will have to start figuring out ways to test people,etc.
That seems to be what the author is trying to do!
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