With 1 in 4 American teenage girls infected with an STD, it is alarmingly clear that new educational interventions are needed in order to stem a rising tide that will surely have dire consequences. 

Recent studies by the CDC revealing that 25% of American teenage girls are infected with an STD raise many troubling questions devoid of ready answers. With a relatively high prevalence of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), chlamydia, trichomoniasis, and genital herpes, it is clear that something must be done to stem this tide, beyond the abstinence-only efforts so frequently touted by the federal government and any number of (mostly faith-based) interest groups nationwide. If we are troubled by these numbers---and frustrated by the profound failure of abstinence-only programs---then a great deal of strategic planning must commence in the interest of the health of millions of young American women.

More than twenty-five years since the global emergence of HIV and AIDS, one would hope that teenagers of this generation would be fully indoctrinated into the ubiquitous drill of safer sex, self-protection, and avoidance of behaviors which put one at risk of potentially life-threatening----or at least life-altering----illness. Sadly, studies have revealed that many teenagers still feel universally immortal, a characteristic that has historically been part and parcel of adolescence since such a state existed.

In the 1990s, Bill Clinton very unwisely taught teens nationwide that oral sex is not “sexual relations”, and anecdotal evidence demonstrates that many teens have taken that unfortunate lesson to heart, using the former President’s lamentable excuse to the chagrin of any number of exasperated parents. And as the war over “family values” (whatever they are) still rages across the landscape, teens nationwide are disallowed access to effective birth control due to fears that its availability will promote promiscuity, a notion which has long been disproved by numerous reputable studies.

More frustrating still, other reports have revealed that anal intercourse has risen in popularity among sexually active teens in recent years. Denied access to birth control, teenage boys convince teenage girls (or vice-versa, of course) that anal intercourse will avoid that most unpleasant and common of teenage errors---unplanned pregnancy---with apparently little thought to the fact that STDs can still be easily passed through the traumatized (and highly vascular) rectal tissue.

With the relatively recent discovery that Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) can cause cervical cancer in women of all ages, the development and current widespread availability of a vaccine against HPV and cervical cancer is a positive step forward for the protection of young women from avoidable illness. Still, the fact that 1 in 4 teenage girls in the United States carries an STD is a highly disturbing notion with no easy fixes.

On a personal level, not having a teenage daughter myself certainly does not diminish my concern about what this new study reveals. My nieces, goddaughters, cousins---as well as the daughters of friends and acquaintances---are all at risk, as are the millions of young women who are completely unrelated to me through family or social connections. I am concerned as a nurse, as a citizen, and as a loving friend and family member, and I assume that my concerns are widely echoed.

While I assume that girls and women are, overall, apparently more susceptible to STDs in general, I also wonder what risks boys and young men are running as they enter the age of sexual maturity and potentially risky activity. While homosexual young men are, of course, at high risk of HIV transmission and subsequently developing AIDS (and studies show that this generation is somewhat dismissive of the gravity of that risk), heterosexual men will, of course, become infected with STDs---including HIV---as well. It is a widely known fact that men can carry STDs such as chlamydia for decades while being wholly asymptomatic, thus passing these common infections on to unsuspecting female and male partners with remarkable ease. Couple this prevalence of STD infection with poor access to birth control and a laissez faire attitude towards risk sexual behavior, and the recipe for an ongoing public health disaster is alive and simmering. 

This state of affairs is worrisome and should be a call to arms for those who wish to protect our young people from avoidable---and potentially life-threatening---disease. While abstinence-only campaigns may meet with limited success in some small pockets of this burgeoning demographic, the notion of abstinence does not protect those for whom abstinence is not a viable or agreeable choice. History has shown us again and again that teenagers will have sex no matter what we tell them or what we choose to believe. And if teenagers are indeed going to have sex, it is our responsibility to equip them with the skills, tools, and information which can protect them from the avoidable and deleterious consequences of their often misguided actions.

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NurseKeith is a nurse, writer, blogger, and consultant. Please feel free to visit his blog, Digital Doorway .

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