The rates of gonorrhea, a bacterial infection that can damage the heart, the liver, and the joints and can cause infertility, have declined since the early 1980s. However, among men, 20- to 24-year-olds had the highest rate of gonorrhea, and incidentally the second highest rate of syphilis. STDs are easily preventable, by refraining from sexual contact with affected individuals and by using a condom or other barrier method EVERY TIME you have sex. The pill does NOT prevent STDs. Many of these diseases can have serious complications, especially syphilis and gonorrhea, and the health consequences can be especially severe for women, who risk infections which can cause infertility. Additionally, for those women who are pregnant, a sexually transmitted disease can have a serious negative impact on newborns (like blindness, for example) who catch these untreated infections from their mothers. Symptoms to look for: sores, rashes, blisters, pain, or itching in the genital area; pain when urinating, bad cramping or severe pain in the pelvic area (for the women); discharge from the penis, vagina, or rectum.

The bottom line is that if you think you have an STD, go see the doctor and get it checked out. Could be nothing, or could be something, and if it is something, you want to get it treated early. If you're already using some other non-barrier form of birth control, use a condom if you feel there might be a risk of getting or giving an STD. I know the phrase 'use a condom' has been said to you more times than the name Monica Lewinsky has been mentioned on television, but there's a reason for that. It's like when your mom made you put on a raincoat when it's raining. Same principle, except now it's not your mother making you wear a coat, but me making you wear a condom. These things are preventable, so it just takes a little common sense to do the right thing.

I mean, if you're doing it, you might as well do it right.