Ready? Everyone who is having sex, raise their hands.
Good. Thank you. Unfortunately, all who raised their hands are at risk for acquiring a sexually transmitted disease. Because that’s how sexually transmitted diseases are acquired – through sex. While people can take precautions, there is always going to be a risk of acquiring a sexually transmitted disease if you engage with someone who has a sexual disease problem.
Although there are some instances of so-called “bug chasers,” people who desire to acquire the HIV virus as a way to show solidarity with those inadvertently suffering from infection, most people want to avoid having an STD. That’s mainly for reasons of health and convenience, since many STDs are lifetime afflictions, requiring medical care and careful attention and cautions to future partners.
Unfortunately, we live in a world where taking someone’s word for his or her sexual health can’t be done. Most people acquire an STD from someone they trusted enough to be intimate with, and much of that trust is misguided.
THE UNKNOWING
Many people may have a disease like herpes and/or HIV but not know it, mainly because they have been asymptomatic. But the lack of symptoms doesn’t mean they are incapable of passing along their affliction. In the case of HIV, the latency period between acquiring the virus and getting first symptoms may be a couple months, during which time their viral load is at its highest and the risk of transmission is thus far greater.