By Amy Stinnet, The Vista Staff Writer

The Mercy Clinic at the UCO presents “SEXposure,” a presentation to  help students regularly make responsible decisions.

The goal of this presentation is to educate UCO’s students about sexually transmitted diseases and sexually transmitted infections  said Tim Woods, a professional speaker for health education at the Wellness Center.

“It’s more than just wearing condoms,” Woods.

Woods has been working at UCO for almost two years promoting sexual health through “SEXposure.”

Woods enthusiastically provides the facts to college students using candid language, a few illustrations – one of which is himself, arms up and out, fists representing the ovaries, arms representing the fallopian tubes and his abdomen representing the uterus – and an open discussion with the students.

Woods was a professional speaker on sex education for nearly seven years prior to his job at UCO, working for communities throughout Oklahoma and also international settings, such as a military base in Japan.

He began his career as a health advocate and educator when he heard some very startling and little-known facts.

“If I didn’t know this and my head’s screwed on, I know a 15-year-old is not going to know this,” Woods said.

Woods often does presentations for fraternities and sororities, dormitories and classes such as Healthy Life Skills.

However, he is available to any group if they call and set up the event.

Today there are 70 million Americans living with STDs and 19 million more will find out that they have an STD this year.

Of the 70 million Americans infected, half are under the age of 25. One in two sexually active people will contract an STD.

STDs and STIs often lie dormant and devoid of any symptoms. It is difficult to know who has them and individuals may never know if they themselves have an STD or STI.

“If you’re sexually active you must get checked out once a year,” Woods said. “If you have multiple partners, more often than that.”

This advice is not just for the girls.

“Girls’ plumbing is a lot more complex than the fellas,” Woods said. “Guys don’t get checked out.”

But they should. Diseases like Chlamydia go undetected for long periods of time because they are what doctors refer to as asymptomatic.

“85-percent of the time, there are no obvious symptoms of an STI,” Woods said. “It’s dormant but you can pass it on.”

These silent diseases often cause serious damage if left untreated.

Chlamydia, if spread to a female and ignored, can cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), which can result in infertility.

“Pregnancy’s not the worst thing that can happen to you. It lasts nine months and you’ll probably live through it,” Woods said.

The human papillomavirus (HPV) is another threat to the health of college students. There is no test for HPV in males and it can cause serious complications in females.

“HPV is a real problem on campus. On some campuses upwards of 60-percent of the females population has HPV,” Woods said. “HPV can cause infertility and is the cause of 95-percent of cervical cancer cases.”

Woods also uses some great analogies to emphasize the gravity of contracting genital herpes.

Herpes affects 45 million Americans and 1 million more will be told by their doctors they have it this year.

One out of five Americans age 12 and up has herpes.

“That’s 87 [individuals] in the House of Representatives and 8 Yankees,” Woods said.

Woods gives students some guidelines to follow to avoid becoming a statistic. Specifically he gives the ABCs.

A is for abstain, B for be faithful to your partner, and C is for consistent and correct condom use, which means every time, all the time.

Woods also points out that the consequences of irresponsible sex are not just physical but also intellectual, social, spiritual and even financial.

“[Diseases like] herpes can be emotionally devastating. You have it the rest of your life and it’s excruciatingly painful,” Woods said.

Woods does not always fly solo when making this presentation. He gets assistance from Renee Francis, R.N. and manager of the Mercy Clinic in the Wellness Center.

In “SEXposure,” Francis compares selecting a sexual partner to shopping for a used car or choosing next semester’s classes.

“When you go to buy a used car, you ask questions. You don’t just go in and buy it off the lot,” Francis said.

“[Similarly], you spend quite a bit of time choosing classes, more than something with much graver consequences. As important as a sexual partner is, you want to know their history,” Francis said.

The program was recently awarded a $1,000 grant by the Southwest College Health Association along with the “Peer Education Campus Cook.”

This is just one service provided to the students through the Mercy Clinic. They also provide STD testing and routine medical care.

To schedule a “SEXposure” presentation for your group or event, call Tim Woods at (405)-974-2320 or email him at twoods8@uco.edu.

To contact the Mercy Clinic, call (405)-974-3115 or go to www.uco.edu/student_health_center.