Throughout the military, April is designated as sexual health awareness month. It is a time to inform service members on the dangers of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and provides them with the knowledge and resources to protect themselves. The primary defense against STIs and misconceptions about sexual health is to inform military personnel and spread sexual health awareness.

"To put it simply, it's being aware of your body, knowing the types of changes that your body can go through when you are sexually active, and knowing what you're exposing yourself to in regards to any sexually transmitted infections," said Lt. Ruth Y. Cortes, the physician assistant aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73).

"A lot of things can be your own body's chemistry having a response that is sensitive to either hormonal changes or any secretions like that. It does not necessarily always have to be infections. When sexual health is concerned it's more about knowing your body, your own reproductive cycle, how it works, what's normal and what's abnormal."

When it comes to sexual health awareness, there are often difficult obstacles to overcome. Chief Hospital Corpsman David Long, the leading chief petty officer of George Washington's medical readiness division, sees first-hand some of the primary issues that arise when promoting sexual health awareness.

"One of the challenging things with sexual health is that often times it is an uncomfortable subject to talk about, so we have to break down that barrier," said Long. "Everyone needs to be comfortable talking about the possibility of infection, ways to protect yourself and being comfortable seeking assistance when there is concern. Being afraid to talk about those things makes it more likely that they will go untreated, and will spread. Then the problem only worsens. The key to all of that is to try to make everyone comfortable with discussing it and sharing the knowledge."

To help combat these barriers, the medical professionals aboard George Washington implemented solutions to help Sailors become more comfortable with addressing issues of sexual health.

"We try to be proactive by going out to the departments and have things like sexual health awareness in an open, nonspecific forum that gives them the key to information that they are looking for," said Long. "The medical department is always available, 24/7, every day to provide patient education and counseling for sexual health or STDs (sexually transmitted diseases). Sailors can have one-on-one counseling with the preventative medicine department, and if necessary, they can speak with one of the providers."

Even though raising sexual health awareness can be a daunting task, George Washington's medical department has many resources in place such as airing videos on sexual health on the medical waiting area television, offering a contraceptive clinic on Wednesdays, providing sexual health pamphlets, and medical providers that can share ways that Sailors can be proactive in their sexual health.

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For more news from USS George Washington (CVN 73), visit www.navy.mil/.