Let me tell you what I know....

This is very important. I learned all of these statistics when I worked at Pregnancy Resource Center. I was the queen of knowledge for STD's (Sexually Transmitted Disease). The running joke was I could scare monogamous couples to be abstinent.

Here are the numbers:

* Most STD's do not have symptoms. Or if they do, they are ever so slight, the person doesn't notice.

* One in three people (this number was from 8 years ago, this could, and probably is, worse by now) have an STD and don't know it. Stop and read that again. That is huge. Look at the cars you are sitting by at a light. Look at the drivers, count up about twelve of them, four of them have an STD and don't know it.

* More women die per year from cervical cancer, caused by Human Papiloma Virus (HPV), than do from AIDS or even other cancers. Human PAPiloma Virus....get it?? PAP smear. Our yearly checkup. We are being checked for precancerous cells annually. I didn't know that they were really checking for an STD related cancer for a long time.

* Herpes (the one that causes outbreaks of blisters, and has no cure) transmissions are caused most often when the carrier is not having an outbreak. The long running belief was that you were only contagious during an outbreak. Not so.

My point here being, you can have an STD, be transmitting it to others, and not even know it. Your health is also in jeopardy. Cancer cells could be growing!

Way back when this was my specialty, there was a song on the radio that was a big hit called "Mambo Number Five". It was this catchy little tune where the artist lists off women he has slept with. I read an interview with the artist and he fully admits these were actual conquests in his life. I just can't imagine listening to the radio, a song from a lover comes on, and your name is listed with a whole bunch of other women. That had to be mortifying as one of the girls.

So, what did I do? I listened to that song about a dozen times to get the full list of women. There are twelve women and one name is doubled up.

Let's do the math. If you have slept with someone, you have also slept with all of the lovers that person has slept with. You need to accept that fact in the world of STD's. So, this man has named twelve women he has slept with and let's assume those women have each slept with twelve guys. It ain't far fetched in our world right now.

Do you know how many people he has been exposed to for an STD? 144,000 plus.

I am sure one of those people has one, don't you think?

I put this scenario into a little chart and put it in the waiting room of our PRC, and just watched.

Many gals just slammed the book shut, said something I won't repeat, sat back, and gazed at the ceiling. I am sure they were doing some math in their heads.

Okay, but what about the person who says, "I get checked (tested for STD's) often, I am fine." Honestly, that is great. I wish more people did. But what happens when it comes back positive to a disease that is incurable? Herpes and AIDS are the biggies for that. Getting checked is great, but it's not preventative. It's finding out the bad news and then back peddling.

What works? Abstinance before marriage, and once married, staying faithful.

I have been married almost sixteen years. I have never ever ever had to worry about contracting an STD and my annual exam is a waste of my time. I do it anyway mainly because one can still get cervical cancer even without HPV.

What do I think about the HPV vaccine that is touted these days and we see the adds for? I don't think it's a bad thing. But the adds are completely misleading. It is a vaccine against an STD. I will also teach any daughters I may have in the future this very thing. You can take a vaccine, that has it's own sets of risks, or play by the rules God has given us to protect us.

Abstinance works. It is 100% effective against STD's and unplanned pregnancy.

Condoms? Really? I promise you they don't work. I would see about once a week at PRC a girl pregnant after having sex using a condom. If they don't work for pregnancy and blocking men's swimmers, they certainly don't work blocking microscopically tinier bacteria and viruses.

Now, most of my readers are fuddy duddy adults who don't go partying at the clubs, meet people on craigslist for entertainment purposes, etc. But we need to know this. It has happened to me more than I care to think about.

I am sitting in a room with thirty-something professional women. We start talking about something like Britney Spears or Paris Hilton. One of Hollywood's tarts that have bad reputations. Paris more than anything because she keeps letting sex tapes go on the internet. I usually say something like, "She'd better get checked, I am sure she has an STD." I get the question, "Really? How come?" My answer is "One in three people have one and don't know it. With as many partners she's had, for her health, she needs to get checked." And it goes from there. It is friendly.

What shocks me every time. These highly professional, knowledgeable women don't know this at all. Then it becomes close girlfriend talk. I hear about the ex husband that gave one woman herpes. It caused complications in later childbirth. The woman who is having fertility problems because of scar tissue on her fallopian tubes. Or the other woman who has had to have a lot of her cervix laser/burned to remove precancerous cells. Carrying a pregnancy full term is dicey for her. Her cervix may not be able to hold a baby.

These women are wearing business suits, living in houses way nicer than mine, and driving cars way nicer than mine. They have it all, but they don't have their health.

This is important.