Medical problems of the homosexual adolescent.

Physicians treating adolescents should take a complete sexual history, including sexual orientation and practices, to determine whether their patients are homosexually active. Lesbians are at very low risk for sexually transmitted diseases, but they do have other health concerns. Four general groups of conditions may be encountered in homosexually active men: classical sexually transmitted diseases (gonorrhea, infections with Chlamydia trachomatis, syphilis, herpes simplex infections, genital warts, pubic lice, scabies); enteric diseases (infections with Shigella species, Campylobacter jejuni, Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia lamblia, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, hepatitis non-A, non-B, and cytomegalovirus); trauma (fecal incontinence, hemorrhoids, anal fissure, foreign bodies, rectosigmoid tears, allergic proctitis, penile edema, chemical sinusitis, inhaled nitrite burns, and sexual assault of the male patient); and the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Clinicians can assist homosexual teenagers by understanding their special health needs, by counseling them about safe sexual practices, and by accepting their relationships nonjudgmentally.