“Show me your genitals.”

If itching, burning, blisters or a myriad of other symptoms have hit your happy place, it’s unlikely that this request will be made in the bedroom — rather, it will be made at the doctor’s office, where each year many people are diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection.

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in King County have the highest prevalence among people ages 15 to 24, according to the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) Web site. If you’re reading this on campus, that age group is probably a majority of the people around you, and it’s likely that very few of those people realize their chance of infection, the danger that STIs present, or even if they are infected at all. While some STIs are simply annoyances, many others can have serious long-term side effects.

“STIs are kind of ignored ... it’s not talked about as much as pregnancy and abortions,” said Voices For Planned Parenthood (VOX) coordinator Sarah Kleinstein.

Kleinstein has worked with VOX for the past few years to educate people about STI prevention on campus. She said one of the roadblocks in STI prevention is that many people aren’t aware that they have an infection in the first place.

“The biggest problem is that a lot of people are silent carriers and they don’t know,” she said. “For women, STIs [are often] asymptomatic. [They] can do serious internal damage if left untreated. It’s good for your own personal health to be tested.”

A female UW student experienced this firsthand when she contracted chlamydia. Her name has been changed to ‘Mary’ to protect her privacy.

“I didn’t experience any symptoms of the STI,” Mary said. “I experienced symptoms of bacterial vaginosis first so I went in to get checked out. I was really freaked out at first and really worried and stressed. I was glad I caught it in time, because I have an aunt who is infertile because she had untreated chlamydia for so long.”

Mary is one of many to have this experience. Ingrid Helsel, a consulting nurse in the Hall Health Women’s Clinic, believes that chlamydia and herpes are the infections most often diagnosed in the Women’s Clinic.

“Chlamydia is the number one sexually transmitted bacterial disease in the country,” Helsel said.

Chlamydia is easily transmitted through bodily fluids and usually shows no symptoms, although it can manifest itself in women as pain or aching in the lower abdomen, a heaving feeling in the pelvis, pain with sex or urination and heavy menstrual flow, among others. In men, urethral discharge, pain with urination and pain in the scrotum are all common. If not treated soon enough with antibiotics, chlamydia can lead to infertility in women and genital scarring for men.

Herpes is also a problematic STI on campus. It is transmitted by touching an infected person’s lesions and causes itchy sores. Herpes can spread easily because it can be transmitted without penetration and condoms may not cover all problem areas. It is also an issue because people may not necessarily realize one of the more innovative ways it spreads, via oral contact.

“There is a misconception that oral sex is safe,” Helsel said. “It’s not prevalent, but it’s a story that presents itself not infrequently.”

Preventative measures are key in avoiding STIs. Kleinstein’s advice is that if all STIs are prevented, there will be no need for treatment.

“Condoms are the only protection [against STIs],” she said. “Even if you are avoiding pregnancy in other ways, still use one ... If our culture fosters denial and ignores the problem, it will become a bigger problem than it is.”

Mary agreed. Since her brush with chlamydia, she has been taking extra precautions to take care of herself.

“Pretty much that was the only time I had not used a condom,” she said. “I’ve used condoms with everyone else.”

Planned Parenthood also includes abstinence and being monogomous with an STI-free partner as options for those that want to try to avoid contracting STIs. However, the Web site warns that many people are unaware that they carry an STI or, unfortunately, can be dishonest about their status. The Web site includes other ways to pleasure a partner, without exchanging bodily fluids through intercourse or oral sex.

Many of these options apply across the board of sexual orientations. However, typical sex education in the United States doesn’t cover all the groups and issues that are present today, such as alternative STI prevention methods for gay and lesbian partners. For example, sexual education rarely teaches the use of dental dams and gloves for lesbians.

“Alternative lifestyles are not addressed,” Kleinstein said. “Go to the gas station — you see Trojans hanging up; you don’t see anything else.”

Another preventative measure that has recently been in the news is the Gardasil vaccine. Gardasil protects against four strains of human papillomavirus, or HPV, the most commonly sexually transmitted virus in the United States, and the most common STI among college students.

More than 50 percent of sexually active men and women are infected with HPV at some point in their lives according to the department of Health. HPV causes genital warts, but more importantly is thought to cause cervical cancer in women, the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women around the world. The vaccine currently protects against two strains of HPV that cause 70 percent of cervical cancer and two that cause 90 percent of genital warts, and doesn’t have any abnormal side effects beyond muscle soreness and fever. It consists of three separate shots for women; a male vaccine has not yet been tested.

“We encourage all women to get the vaccine,” Helsel said. “I’m amazed. Even new students have started or completed the vaccine.”

Gardasil has been the subject of controversy, according to a 2007 Time magazine article, despite being a required vaccine in many states. The newness of the vaccine has been an issue, as parents are worried about its safety. Because Gardasil doesn’t protect against all types of HPV, opponents are also worried that girls receiving the vaccine will be uneducated about the protection offered and not take other measures to prevent the spread of HPV. In addition, the vaccine is targeted at girls aged 11 to 12, so it can take effect before their first sexual contact. Many college students are just receiving the vaccine now, as it was approved by the FDA in 2006, so those 13 to 26 are just now able to start the shot sequence. Some parents don’t think their children are at risk of getting an STI and are angry that the vaccine targets preteens.

The issue of promiscuity and STIs is one that continues to hurt women today. Kleinstein thinks that it is difficult for women to bring up the idea of STIs with their partners.

“It’s harder for women to admit they’ve had something,” she said. “[There’s the] old stigma that you must have slept with a lot of guys and you’re a whore.”

One of the VOX talking points, however, is ‘If you cannot broach the topic of STIs with your partner, you’re not ready to have sexual activity.’

Kleinstein thinks it all boils down to education about the issue.

“You have to be educated to take control of your reproductive health,” she said. “Choose what you want to do with your body, and choose to protect it.”

Reach contributing writer Haylee Morse-Miller at development@dailyuw.com.