When Carrie met Roger she almost immediately fell in love. At least she thought it was love.  Life in high school can be complicated and her relationship with Roger was so important to her.  When he said sex would make them even closer, she agreed and thought they’d get married after graduation.

While some high school relationships endure and the couples eventually marry, most do not. Carrie and Roger were like most high school couples, and they went their separate ways. Only for Carrie, her life would never be the same.

Unknown to her, she had been infected with the silent sterilizer, Chlamydia. Graduation and Roger were distant memories when she was finally diagnosed with pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), caused by Chlamydia. It had so badly scarred her fallopian tubes she would never be able to get pregnant.

According to Dr. Jennifer Shuford, the director of applied science at the Medical Institute for Sexual Health, there are 1.1 million new Chlamydia infections annually. When you calculate the unreported cases, there are over 2 million cases.

Chlamydia is sneaky. The symptoms can be mild, but the results are often irreversible. Each year Chlamydia sterilizes more than 100,000 women.  Even though Chlamydia is a bacterial infection, and treatable with antibiotics, with the mild symptoms, and sexual promiscuity rampant, this is an unfortunate battle.  Be aware also that condoms are only 50% effective against this bug. Too many victims are making choices that rob them of their dreams.

There is a choice that will protect you, however, and that’s sexual abstinence. Then remain with an infection-free, monogamous partner and this will be a disease, like so many other STD’s, that won’t leave you with empty arms.