Condoms may save your life. Even more than pencils, calculators, books and iPods, perhaps the most important item to take back to school
is a package of condoms. School and college days are an important time of life where new friends are made, new
ideas and interests are explored, and where life can be cut short by ignoring the biological reality of human life and culture.
According to scientific data presented at a national conference on sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in March 2008, more than one
in four American girls between the ages of 14 and 19 are infected with at least one STD. This is a total of more than 3 million young
women at risk for serious health consequences, including early death. The majority of these infections could have been prevented through
proper use of condoms.
The most common disease infecting American girls and young women is human papilloma virus (HPV), which is known to cause cancer and
genital warts. There are more than 20 different high-risk strains of this virus. More than 18% of girls tested positive for
HPV infection. Even though a vaccine has been developed to prevent infection with a few strains of HPV, most of the strains going
around are not affected by the vaccine.
The only way a woman can prevent infection with HPV is to either abstain from sex or to use a condom when having sex with a boy or
man who is infected. And, don’t forget that boys and men also get genital warts and cancer from HPV, including cancer of the penis.
Even when sexual activity is limited to oral sex, the use of condoms is important. HPV is well known to cause cancer of the mouth and
throat.
In addition to the high rate of HPV infections, teenaged girls in this study were infected by chlamydia (3.9%), which can cause
infertility without causing symptoms, trychomoniasis (2.5%), and herpes (1.9%). What is worse, among teenaged girls who were infected,
over 15% had more than one type of infection. Of girls who reported having only one lifetime sexual partner, over 20% had at least one
sexually transmitted disease. What does that say about the number of lifetime sexual partners of their boyfriends?
Not all the news is bad. Many people find their soul mates by going back to school, and lifetime loves often bloom on campus.
By getting ALL the necessary back to school supplies, including a back to school condom pack,
you can help assure a long, healthy and happy life.