If there were no such thing as STDs...

[anachronistic]

what would you do?

[Cain]

Meh, even if there weren't any STDs, I wouldn't be sleeping around... simply because I wouldn't be attracted to a woman that was doing it so I don't think I should... it'd be hypocritical.

[Charlie Boy II]

yeah fear of stds has put a definite curb on my sexual behaviour over the years. f-cking things.

[anachronistic]

sometimes i wonder if the government maybe had something to do with stds... or maybe if some of it is a bit spoofed to scare us into being monogamous.

[Charlie Boy II]

you're kidding right? STDs are as old as time.

[anachronistic]

if they were that old, i think just about everybody would have them. don't you?

i remember reading somewhere that humans were infected by stds and stis by ****ing animals. it's pretty much common sense that that is pretty much impossible.

[Charlie Boy II]

Well no, because they are that old and not everybody has them. But they change. The best known one is Syphillis. King Henry VIII had that, so did Lenin, Hitler, Vincent van Gough and lots of other historical significants. Although now I believe it mostly crops up in the gay community. Don't forget most of them are curable nowadays with some notable exceptions.

[anachronistic]

well the only two i am dearly afraid of are aids and herpes. all of them are pretty nasty, but those are the worst i think.

[Charlie Boy II]

yeah, me too. The other one is Chlamydia, because its so subtle and can make a woman infertile if it isn't picked up (as it often isn't). It isn't often talked about, but a lot of infertility relates to earlier infections.

[shh!]

Chlamydia is really common - in fact, one of the most common, and when you get it, the assumption is that the infected person also has gonorrhea because they almost always occur together. Unfortunately, the newer strains are becoming resistant to penicillin, too.

Syphilis is pretty common, too... pretty easily treated (if caught early).

The majority of people already have one form of herpes or another. It is outrageously common.

I would worry the most about hepatitis, HIV, and genital warts.

[starbuck]

If there were no such thing as STDs, the condom manufacturers would go out of business.

[Cain]

If there were no such thing as STD, the condom manufacturers would go out of business.

Not really.

It is more for protection against pregnancy.

Anyone using a condom to try not to get an STD is stupid.

Especially if it's something that doesn't need fluid transfer and only needs skin contact.

[starbuck]

Not really.

It is more for protection against pregnancy.

Anyone using a condom to try not to get an STD is stupid.

Especially if it's something that doesn't need fluid transfer and only needs skin contact.

My comment was half-joking.

Don't you think that condoms are promoted more to prevent disease these days? Maybe it's just more like that here in the city.

I think that if there were no STDs alot more women would go on the pill.

And what about gay folks? There's a good portion of the population not buying condoms if there were no such thing as STDs.

[Charlie Boy II]

Not really.

It is more for protection against pregnancy.

Anyone using a condom to try not to get an STD is stupid.

Especially if it's something that doesn't need fluid transfer and only needs skin contact.

?! actually that's garbage. Next to abstinence and having partners tested, condoms are the best STD defense available. They're not perfect, but they're highly effective. For STDs like HIV, and Chlamydia they're fully protective as long as it doesn't break. Even for skin-to-skin stds like herpes and genital warts they still have an efficacy of around 90%. Just because you're not smart enough to use 'em I wouldn't go around spreading bullshit.

Personally I never have sex without them, and I won't until I get married. Not just for diseases, I mean, its pretty easy to forget a pill here and there. I like using them as back-up and its kept me out of trouble so far.

[Cain]

You're that confident in a condoms ability to protect against disease?

Would you knowingly **** a girl with HIV since condoms are going to protect against it?

EDIT: Anyways, my point wasn't that condoms don't offer some kind of protection. My point was that it's primarily to prevent pregnancy.