ADOLESCENTS AT RISK: SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES

Everywhere we look, our lives are surrounded by sex. Madonna writes a $50 book about it, The Bodyguard and other movies glorify it, and Sir Mix-A-Lot's risque song Baby's Got Back bluntly talks about it.

Meanwhile, parents and educators encourage abstinence.

Confused by these contradictory messages, many teens choose to idolize the beautiful actress and millionaire rock stars and see sex as being glamorous.

According to a study by the Alan Guttmacher Institute, more than one in five Americans sees these alluring images of sex shattered when they contract a sexually transmitted disease.

Based on these alarming statistics, Children's Express interviewed two doctors who specialize in adolescent medicine. Dr. Donald Dian of Bluffton and Dr. Philomena Dias of Indianapolis devote part of their practices to helping children combat sexually transmitted diseases.

Important to teach values

"I think it is very important that we get values into this," Dian says about teaching kids about sex. "If you base it on what the media is saying, it's saying, `It's OK. It's good. It's wonderful. It's just super. You ought to try it.'

"We're trying to say, `Wait a minute - There's danger out there,' " he adds.

According to Dian, syphilis is one of the oldest sexually transmitted diseases. Today, we also are faced with other STDs such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, venereal warts, herpes and AIDS.

According to Dian, chlamydia and gonorrhea are the most common STDs among teens, and both are curable with antibiotics. If left untreated, however, they can ultimately lead to infertility in women. Venereal warts is the third most common STD and, if untreated, can result in cancer of the cervix, he explained.

These diseases can happen at any age, according to Dian, who has diagnosed an STD in a 9-month-old child who was molested. Men and women are equally at risk, especially from the ages of 16 and 24. Unlike some diseases, you can have STDs more than once.

"You've got to catch it from somebody," Dian says. "You don't catch it from a toilet seat. You don't catch it from just being around casually other people. The more sexual partners you have, the more chance you have. You just increase your risk.

"But you can get it having sex one time, if you've got the wrong partner who's got the disease. And many times they don't know they've got an STD because they don't hurt bad."

Education essential

Dian thinks that educating children is essential to preventing the spread of these diseases, but it will take more than a lecture from a beloved superstar athlete.

"That superstar is not going to be there on Friday night after the basketball game when no parents are home, or during the daytime when Mom and Dad are both working and the kids are out of school at 3:30, or at home alone and nobody's there and it's very convenient," he says.

"I think it will take a real look at what our values (are) and how sexuality is a part of our value system, each individual. This is where I think school education could be very important, because they have the time in a classroom setting and hopefully trained people to do that."

Dias takes matters into her own hands by incorporating a counseling session with her examination and diagnosis. She discusses all aspects of sexuality with her patients - rewards as well as consequences - and counsels them to involve their parents in their decisions regarding their sexuality. Dias reasons that teens with low self-esteem are more likely to have sex and, therefore, most likely to get STDs.

She counsels her young patients to abstain but, nonetheless, distributes condoms.

Dian doesn't feel that he is in a position to preach abstinence.

Preaching about abstinence

"These individuals have already made a decision about their own sexuality, and for me to come on like a preacher and preach it, I think would, one, turn them off, and, two, it wouldn't be very realistic."

He gives them options: "They'd better use condoms if they're ever going to have sex again. They'd better do a questioning of their sexual partners. If they're going to have an intimate relationship, they ought to have intimate knowledge of that individual and who he or she has had sexual intercourse with," he said.

"If they really want to form a monogamous relationship at some time, that would be one of the things they might want to know, along with what religion they are, and what their values are, etc."

Dias believes adults need to look at why kids have sex in the first place.

"I believe that adults and society . . . need to examine the causes why teen-agers make the choices they make," she explains. "Unless we take care of these factors, teens will continue to make self-destructive choices, (and) we are Band-Aiding the future issues."

EDITED BY: Robin Potasnik, 17 ASSISTANT EDITORS: Tanisa Strong, 16; Gina Boyden, 14