Young People's Guide to
Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs)
and AIDS/HIV Disease
- Index of images
- Complete list of STDs
- Short STD guide in various languages
- Reproductive anatomy Diagrams
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Message to parents
- Anatomy of the sex organs
- Physiology of the sex organs
- STDs
- How to check yourself for STDs
- AIDS
- How to prevent getting STDs and AIDS
- How to use a condom
A Message to Parents
As a parent I have worried about my son's health and well being since before he was born. We all want our children to stay healthy. Our kids face problems that we did not have when we were young and they need to be prepared to face them.
AIDS is a frightening disease that continues to spread in epidemic fashion. Adolescents make up a small percentage of people with AIDS but they are among the groups most at risk for HIV disease. The Washington Post reported in 1994 that one out of forty Washington DC high school students were HIV positive. One out of seven high school students gets a sexually transmitted disease(STD) before graduation.
Getting the message of AIDS and STDs to our children is one of our foremost responsibilities. The message has to be clear, accurate and effective. This online book can only be part of a more comprehensive health program that should be taught in schools at the earliest possible grade and at home with a strong involvement of the parents. My personal belief is that STD/HIV education should be provided to children before they put themselves at risk. This means educating them before high school and in some cases before the junior high school level. Parents and teachers are probably the most sensitive to the teens (and sub-teens) developmental stages and cultural backgrounds. Our kids need a supportive environment. The lessons here are a result of teaching hundreds of classes in STD/HIV disease prevention since 1993 in the Boston area. (See Health Awareness Connection)
Some of you will not like the explicitness of this message. My feeling is that our children have to learn what these diseases look like and how they are and are not transmitted. Some will not like the section on the use of condoms. I apologize to you but I feel we are in a crisis situation with this epidemic and we have to try bold and innovative measures to get the message out. This means that we may have to try techniques and strategies that at first may offend some. The message of abstinence is emphasized throughout this online book as the only true way of avoiding STDs and HIV disease but well over fifty percent of students have had sex before they graduate from high school and they must be taught to protect themselves. If a young persons life is saved because they learned something from this message, then I will consider my job well done. Our children's best protection against AIDS and STDs is knowledge.
In the last sections of this online book, I have tried to stress strategies that will help young people take control of their lives and improve their decision making skills to reinforce healthy behaviors. Try as we may to shelter and protect our children, they will have to make important decisions on their own and they need to have information that will help them. The purpose of this message is to educate and to try to influence young people to prevent the diseases discussed.