You could have one and not know it. Imagine: you’re sexually active, and things get hot, really hot. And you might be just a little drunk, or you might just be a lot drunk. And so you forget. Just this time. Just once. It wouldn’t hurt. Or maybe this isn’t the first time, and it hasn’t hurt before. Alright. Let’s go! No condom? No problem.

So the next morning things aren’t looking as pretty as they did last night. Particularly what’s in the bed beside you. Sure doesn’t smell the same. But that could be you. So you decide to slip out. Good morning, good bye. You’ve had your fun, albeit risky, but fun. Time to forget about this and move on down the road. There’s the rest of the weekend to worry about isn’t there?

But, of course you do worry a little. So you forgot the condom. There could be a pregnancy, or maybe something more serious? But it couldn’t happen to you. No way. No way. No way. So you try to forget about it. I mean, you didn’t notice anything wrong, did you? Did you? Hell, everything seemed just peachy keen.

A week goes by. A month even. Half a year. A year. And one day you wake up, look down, and well, things aren’t so peachy keen.

A burn, a drip, an itch, a bump. Maybe it feels like the flu. But it’s probably just a fluke. Nothing serious. Nothing to think about. Can’t worry about something like that when you have a whole night, a whole weekend just waiting for you. More fun ahead.

According to American Social Health Association (ASHA) 1 in 5 people in the United States has a sexually transmitted disease (STD). Two-thirds of all STDs occur in people 25 years of age or younger. One in four new infections occur among adolescents.

Things have gotten bad. And it’s not just AIDS and HIV anymore. And they aren’t the only ones that can kill you. There are over 13 million Americans that are quietly passing along diseases, sharing 28 different viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites. Thirteen million. By the mid 1990s, a once rare bacterial infection called chalmydia, had become the most common STD in the country, exploding from 3.2 cases to 188.4 cases per 100,000 population. That’s a 5,800 percent growth.

So maybe there could be a little something to worry about here. Maybe more than a little something. In fact the spread of STDs has become rampant across college campuses. With an increase in drug use, drinking, and unprotected sex, STDs have reached near epidemic proportions. But it remains in the under current. People are reluctant to talk or even think about some embarrassing and painful mishap going on down under. And so, the problem is ignored, and when the symptoms go away, because they often do, everything seems fine. Only it isn’t. People still carry the causative agents of that disease, and they are still just as able to spread it around to others.

One in five Americans has genital herpes and 80 percent of them aren’t aware of it. This incurable disease is caused by the herpes simplex type one or type two virus. Often times the symptoms do not appear until a long period of time after infection because the virus hides dormant within nerves. Painful broken blisters and swollen glands in the groin are accompanied by severe flu like symptoms. While outbreaks may subside, it can still be passed on through sexual contact. Many people wind up with chronic herpes, where outbreaks are more frequent and severe. While there are treatments to lessen the severity of the disease, again, there is no cure. The virus remains in the body as long as that person lives.

Another tiny terror is HPV, Human Papillomavirus, the most common STD in the United States, affecting over 5 million people a year. HPV is in short, genital warts, the very same kind of warts that can crop up on your fingers or your feet. These painless cauliflower-like growths seem harmless, but left alone, may spread and cause disfigurement. A few types lead to cervical cancer due to abnormal cell changes that the warts cause. Like herpes, this can be treated by certain drugs and wart removal techniques, but the virus remains with you for life.

The concern with many STDs, including HIV, is that it is a pretty much preventable epidemic. STDs are not like influenza or whooping cough. They can’t be spread through the air. You can’t catch an STD in your food. But you do catch it by being plain negligent. Unprotected sexual contact is the only way you can catch an STD. Infectious agents can spread from the genitals to the mouth, throat, anus, or anywhere on the human body. Serious cases of scabies (microscopic mites that burrow beneath the skin) can invade your entire body. And what begins as an initially localized infection, has the potential to contaminate the rest of your system.

It takes only a few moments to slip on a condom or use a dental dam, a preventitive substance used to protect against the transmission of fluids during oral sex. It may seem like a pain in whatever throws of passion you’ve got yourself locked in, but it is worth it. That tiny action could prevent a world of trouble.

You don’t even have to pay for many of these “supplies.” Clinics, such as Planned Parenthood, often supply condoms free. The internet service freecondoms.com is, well exactly that. They will mail you condoms, lubricants, dams, or even bottle openers and tee shirts if that’s your flavor. Items arrive in discretely marked packages, straight to your mailbox. And, did you get it? You don’t have to pay a dime.

If you suspect that you have, or may have come in contact with a sexually transmitted disease, make sure to get tested right away. Certain clinics offer confidential or anonymous STD screens, such as the Lane Health Center, Planned Parent Hood and the Whittier Street Health Center near Ruggles Station. For more information you can also contact the Center for Disease Control’s National STD Hotline at 1-800-227-8922.