STDs Can Be Pretty Scary

Name: Hepatitis B

How You Get It: Sex, of course, especially if you have multiple partners. Oh, and even more so when you’re gay. Shitty… Hep B can also be passed by shooting drugs, which you shouldn’t be doing anyway. Heroin’s fucking scary, dude. If you must do it, though, don’t share needles. That’s not only scary, it’s gross.

Gory Details: Hep B’s a lot like it’s relative, Hepatitis A. Again, the symptoms can look like the flu: nausea, lethargy and joint pain. Hep B can also really fuck with your coloring. Yellowing of the eyes and/or skin, graying of the poo or browning of the pee are all signs that Hep B has nestled in your liver. See a doctor. He or she will look at your blood and tell you what’s up.

How You Kill It: Sorry, but this bug’s immortal. The B in Hep B could stand for bogey man. He sneaks up on you, brings some scary symptoms and then disappears. Don’t be fooled, though, Hep B’s just hiding. He’ll come back again and again unless you get antiviral drugs from your doctor. While these won’t cure you, nor will they necessarily work, the pills can stop Hep B from multiplying. That’s a good thing. Even better, antiviral drugs can help prevent liver diseases. Also, as we all know, the bogey man has one weakness: light. Hep B, too, has a weakness: a readily available vaccine. Condoms can help, too, but a vaccine definitely does the trick. Better go see you know who.