Remember how angry I have been over the misuse of information regarding circumcision as a viable option for prevention? Well, now I have an even more compelling reason why condoms always make more sense than misrepresented rhetoric; gonorrhea is now among the drug resistant superbugs, which are diseases that have no, or severely diminished options for treatment. Say what? I’ve known about the very real potential for antimicrobial resistance, but it is happening quicker than expected, as evidenced by this recent finding.
This is pretty scary, because gonorrhea, which is bad enough as it is, is now becoming steadily untreatable. For many, this is obviously not good news, especially because gonorrhea is actually kind of common among sexually active people (straight and gay), and worst of all, having it contributes to your chances of getting HIV. Not only that, it has permanent health problems associated with it, especially since it is becoming more likely to go untreated.
The point here is this; wear a fucking condom. Do it every time. If you don’t, you can end up with all kinds of nasty things, one more of which is becoming almost totally untreatable. Be sure that you know your partner’s status (STDs too!) if you want to go without a safety net, because it is getting serious here folks. Here’s the CDC’s description of complications related to gonorrhea:
Untreated gonorrhea can cause serious and permanent health problems in both women and men.
In women, gonorrhea is a common cause of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). About one million women each year in the United States develop PID. Women with PID do not necessarily have symptoms. When symptoms are present, they can be very severe and can include abdominal pain and fever. PID can lead to internal abscesses (pus-filled “pockets†that are hard to cure) and long-lasting, chronic pelvic pain. PID can damage the fallopian tubes enough to cause infertility or increase the risk of ectopic pregnancy. Ectopic pregnancy is a life-threatening condition in which a fertilized egg grows outside the uterus, usually in a fallopian tube.
In men, gonorrhea can cause epididymitis, a painful condition of the testicles that can lead to infertility if left untreated.
Gonorrhea can spread to the blood or joints. This condition can be life threatening. In addition, people with gonorrhea can more easily contract HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. HIV-infected people with gonorrhea are more likely to transmit HIV to someone else.
We can argue semantics about “more protective” until the cows come home, but this is a solid, and compelling argument for my take on the whole thing; which is WEAR CONDOMS. Protect yourself. Now, if you are sexually active, you have one more thing to think about catching, and you have the ability to be responsible about it. If you are mature enough to have sex, you should be mature enough to protect yourself. Don’t let yourself get caught up in the “maybe it won’t happen to me because of xyz” crap. Just do the responsible thing already! Wear condoms, okay!?