A safe sex life is a happy sex life

‘This couldn’t have happened. Not me.’ That’s a natural reaction, said Mary Ruiz, coordinator… ‘This couldn’t have happened. Not me.’ That’s a natural reaction, said Mary Ruiz, coordinator for Pitt’s Sexual Assault Services. Many students go into denial when they’re diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection, said Ruiz, but that only makes it harder for them to recover. ‘They will judge themselves,’ said Ruiz of these students. ‘The initial reaction is probably shock. They don’t want to believe they have an [STI].’ ‘You’ve got to reach a point where you accept that you have it,’ she added. ‘If you’re resisting, you won’t understand it. I’ve found that those who take a more proactive approach reach a stage of acceptance.’ A 2007 survey by the Centers for Disease Control indicates that people ages 15 to 24 account for nearly half of all new STIs. They’re more prone to the infections, the survey says, because some of them are less likely to be able to pay for treatment. Others may feel uncomfortable using medical services designed for older adults, and they may be concerned about their confidentiality, the survey says. Ruiz said she’s counseled many students who refused to use their health insurance, because they didn’t want their parents to find out. ‘I think what students do is tell a close friend,’ she said. But until they figure out who they can trust, Ruiz said, some students will suffer from anxiety that can cause problems with their sleep, appetite and digestive systems. Ruiz said some students worry that if they tell their partner about an STI too early in a relationship, they’ll lose him or her. Others, she said, worry that their partners will think they betrayed them. Ruiz said students can help counteract the stereotypes surrounding STIs ‘by not judging friends or peers who open up to them, by not blaming them’ and by helping the person to get the proper help. Education is crucial Jaime Sidani, who has been a health educator at Student Health for almost three years, is working through PantherWELL to try to teach Pitt students to educate their peers about STIs. One of the main lessons Sidani stressed was that some STIs, such as herpes and HPV, can be spread through skin-to-skin contact, meaning people can contract them even if they’re using condoms. Sidani also emphasized that while some infections, like chlamydia and gonorrhea, can be cured, others cannot. Knowing which infection they’ve caught and how to cope with it can help students emotionally, Sidani said in an e-mail. ‘Obviously, living with HIV is much more difficult than living with HPV,’ she said. ‘However, individuals diagnosed with [STIs]eventually learn how to keep themselves healthy and how to avoid passing the [STI] on to others.’ Pitt’s Counseling Center and Student Health Services allow students to come to their offices and speak with professionals about their infections. Employees at the Counseling Center will help students work through their anxiety and assess whether they’ve gotten medical treatment, said Ruiz, adding that the center refers people who haven’t been treated to Student Health, a private clinician or the Allegheny County Health Department. Student Health offers STI and HIV testing, said Sidani, adding that clinicians may also choose to test a student based on their sexual history. Sidani suggested that students request a test if they notice anything out of the ordinary, such as unusual discharge, lesions or a burning sensation when they urinate.