Family Planning Plus

Thats a good question. If you had sex with someone who has a STD, no, its not a definite that you will be infected. It is possible to be exposed but not infected.

Think of it this way: you are in a room with two of your friends. You have a cold. You shake hands and talk with both of them. Friend A comes down with a cold a week later, Friend B stays healthy. Confusing? Sure.

According to Contraceptive Technology, the risk of becoming  infected depends on: having intercourse with an infected person, the transmissibility of the particular infection, and the gender of the infected person.  Women are more likely than men to become infected with an STD  from a single sex act. Women can also have more long term consequences from STD infection (pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility, ectopic pregnance, pelvic pain, cervical cancer).

Sexually transmitted infections are most common in people under age 25. According to the most recent CDC statistics, in 2010 there were 1.3 million new cases of chlamydia, with 50% of these being people ages 15-24. Thats an infection rate of 1 in 4 people.

There were 300,000 new cases of gonorrhea. About 50% of all sexually active people will acquire HPV infection. Currently approximately 20 million people in the US already are infected….and may not even know it.

For even more STD stats, including those on HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis go to the CDC website at www.cdc.gov.

No one can say what the specific risk for you is with any one sex act. It is wise to approach each sex act as it is: a chance to be infected.  Using condoms can decrease your risk of infection. As they say, “its better to be safe than sorry” .