Sexual Health

Sexual health, like other components of health, is a state of physical, social, and mental wellbeing. Specifically, health from a sexual standpoint includes relationships which are fulfilling and are devoid of discrimination, coercion, or violence. Both partners in a relationship must maintain responsible sexual behavior throughout lifetime in order to ensure sexual health.
There has to be communication about sexuality not only between sexual partners, but also among members of the community and in the home. Sexuality is an important issue in adolescents, young adults, and in middle age and elderly people. Awareness of sexually transmitted infections, use of condoms, abstinence, multiple sexual partners, mutual monogamous relationship with an uninfected partner, same sex relationships, and teen pregnancy are some of the essential items which couples should explore.

Sexually Transmitted Disease Epidemic
Worldwide, there are more than 34 million people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. More than two-thirds of these cases are in sub-Saharan Africa. In the United States there are at least a million people with this disease, and a quarter to a third of these individuals do not know that they have the infection. Therefore, it is important that everyone go for testing to determine whether he or she has a sexually transmitted disease.
The rates of sexually transmitted diseases are disproportionately high in African-Americans particularly women of this racial group, men who have sex with men, adolescents, and young adults. Nevertheless, elderly people must understand that they too need barrier protection to reduce their risk for acquisition of these medical conditions.
The occurrence of teen pregnancy is another public health problem which is especially high in Bulgaria, Romania, and the United States. Its consequences affect not only the teenage mother, but also the biologic father, the families of both biologic parents as well as the eventual health of the offspring from these relationships.
Men and women need reproductive health care, and one issue that hinders that medical care is stigma. People must understand that health screening reduces the occurrence of disease whether from sexual relationships or other medical conditions. There may also be legal issues that arise when a sexual partner acquires a sexually transmitted infection. Spread of disease between partners, in fact, can lead to civil or criminal penalties or both.
The occurrence of coinfection is a major public health matter today. For example, it is possible to acquire syphilis with HIV coinfection or genital herpes with HIV coinfection. The simultaneous occurrence of more than one sexually transmitted disease in a patient creates somewhat of a vicious cycle. This is because human immunodeficiency virus weakens the immune system and makes management of the other disease more of a challenge for the health care provider.
Conversely, the other disease in patients who have HIV coinfection may increase the likelihood that the sexual partner will acquire HIV through damage to skin and mucous membranes. For example, the skin ulceration that takes place in individuals with genital herpes or syphilis serves as an open wound as there may be bleeding or oozing of body fluids from these ulcers.
Many people do not understand that although condoms significantly reduce the risk that one will acquire a sexually transmitted disease, this barrier method is much less effective when the infection is one which transmits via skin-to-skin contact. Examples of this include syphilis, genital herpes, chancroid, and human papillomavirus infection.
These four diseases which spread by skin-to-skin contact may transmit regardless of whether the partners use a condom because the skin lesions can be present on parts of the body that a condom does not cover. Hence, syphilitic skin lesions, or chancres, can transmit the disease to a sexual partner as these sores may be present on the hands, trunk, or other parts of the body.
Sexuality is Beneficial
Sexual relationships can be fulfilling for both partners. Moreover, the presence of a healthy and active sex life generally correlates with physical and mental wellbeing. The first step to the attainment of sexual health is to view sexuality as something positive and beneficial to a person’s life.