ABUSE_MAGAZINE_ID_ ABUSE Magazine Iowa | Page 12

ABSTINENCE

IS SEX WORTH AN STD ?

TOO HOT NOT TO TOUCH .......

Decorah

Tool & Die

2488 171st Ave . - Decorah , IA 563-382-8421
Proud to provide our youth with the TOOLS they need to build an ABUSE FREE FUTURE !
1798 Old Stage Rd . Decorah , IA 563-382-8737
“ We at Walmart are proud to support our ABUSE FREE youth !”

Katie ’ s Café

“ We are proud to be a drug free workplace ”
608 Main Street Jewell , IA ( 515 ) 827-9095
At my house we have a wood burning stove . On the coldest nights it will wrap its ’ amazing warmth around you proving its love by protecting you from the bitter cold outside . It ’ s a great looking piece of furniture , and a great conversation piece . It ’ s also really hot and will burn you if you touch it in the wrong place . In a lot of ways that stove is like a boyfriend I had in high school . He was great looking , definitely a conversation piece between me and my friends , and I know this sounds stupid , but just being near him made me feel warm all over . One big difference though was that when we “ touched ” I didn ’ t get burned right away … it took a few weeks , but then I kept getting burned by him over and over again over the next few years . Yes , I ’ m talking about sex , but don ’ t stop reading … this isn ’ t just my story , it ’ s the story of thousands of students who made decisions about their lives and relationships without getting all the information they needed to make the choices that were right for them . But first , we need to settle the definition of sex . When it comes to Sexually Transmitted Diseases ( STD ’ s ), any genital contact counts as sex . Guys , let me put this a different way ; when your junk touches or gets touched , that ’ s technically sex . Mouth , hands , other junk ; if it touches , STD ’ s become an issue . The only sure way to avoid STD ’ s and all the drama that comes with them is … don ’ t touch the stove . If you are not having sex you are not going to get a STD .
Photo Source : www . alamy . com
The first time I got burned was about
for a couple of years .
6 weeks after I touched the stove . I found out later that you are 3 times more likely to get an STD than to get pregnant , but that first burn wasn ’ t a baby or an STD . The first burn was when we broke up . I didn ’ t know it at the time , but the average high school couple will breakup 21 days after having sex . After having my heart broken I decided to take things a little slower the next time around . The next time actually wasn ’ t
In all that time nobody ever told me that STD ’ s are the most common diseases in America next to the flu and common cold . It turns out there are more than 27 different STD ’ s and 11 of them are incurable . At least 1 out of 2 sexually active people get a genital HPV infection at some point in their lives . That ’ s nasty ! HPV is warts , nasty incurable warts on ( and for girls , in ) your parts ( definitely do not do a HPV image search ). Untreated gonorrhea or chlamydia can cause chronic pelvic pain , infertility , cancer and in extreme cases , death ). 1 in 4 teenage girls already have at least one STD . And yes , girls run a higher risk than guys . Girls are easier to infect and damage because their bodies are constantly developing and changing . About 50 % of all STD ’ s occur in people under the age of 25 .
Of course I ’ d heard about condoms and “ safer sex ” but that wasn ’ t something I really fully understood , or even cared about . I figured I could be careful , protect myself , and if I did get any symptoms I ’ d
12 | Iowa Fall / Winter 2013-2014 | abusemagazine . org
Source : Informed Choices