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Dilation and Curettage (D&C) - A gynecological procedure in which the lining of the uterus is scraped out with a spoon-shaped instrument called a curet. Used to treat a variety of disorders, including excessive menstrual bleeding
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Date Rape – Your date forces sexual intercourse on you during a dating relationship.
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Date Rape Drugs - These are drugs that are sometimes used to assist a sexual assault. Sexual assault is any type of sexual activity that a person does not agree to. It can include inappropriate touching, vaginal penetration, sexual intercourse, rape, and attempted rape. Because of the effects of these drugs, victims may be physically helpless, unable to refuse sex, and can't remember what happened. The drugs often have no color, smell, or taste and are easily added to flavored drinks without the victim's knowledge.
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Debilitating - Impairs the vitality and strength of a person.
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Decongestants - Medications that treat cough and stuffy nose by shrinking swollen membranes in the nose and making it easier to breath.
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Dehydration - Excessive loss of body water that the body needs to carry on normal functions at an optimal level. Signs include increasing thirst, dry mouth, weakness or lightheadedness (particularly if worse on standing), and a darkening of the urine or a decrease in urination.
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Delayed Ejaculation - Commonly used term for inhibited orgasm in men.
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Depilatory - A cream used to remove unwanted hair.
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Depo-Provera - The common brand name of a progestin-only contraceptive that is injected every 12 weeks to prevent pregnancy. It is a reversible method of birth control available only by prescription.
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Depression - It is a serious medical illness; it’s not something that you have made up in your head. It’s more than just feeling "down in the dumps" or "blue" for a few days. It is feeling "down" and "low" and "hopeless" for weeks at a time.
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Depression during or after Pregnancy - Depression that occurs during pregnancy or within a year after delivery is called Perinatal Depression. The exact number of women with depression during this time is unknown. But researchers believe that depression is one of the most common complications during and after pregnancy. Often, the depression is not recognized or treated, because some normal pregnancy changes cause similar symptoms and are happening at the same time. Tiredness, problems sleeping, stronger emotional reactions, and changes in body weight may occur during pregnancy and after pregnancy. But these symptoms may also be signs of depression. There may be a number of reasons why a woman gets depressed. Hormone changes or a stressful life event, such as a death in the family, can cause chemical changes in the brain that lead to depression. Depression is also an illness that runs in some families. Other times, it’s not clear what causes depression.
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Desire - A feeling of sexual attraction or arousal. The first stage of the sexual response cycle.
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Diabetes - Diabetes means that your blood sugar is too high. Your blood always has some sugar in it because the body uses sugar for energy; it's the fuel that keeps you going. But too much sugar in the blood is not good for your health. Your body changes most of the food you eat into sugar. Your blood takes the sugar to the cells throughout your body. The sugar needs insulin to get into the body's cells. Insulin is a hormone made in the pancreas, an organ near the stomach. The pancreas releases insulin into the blood. Insulin helps the sugar from food get into body cells. If your body does not make enough insulin or the insulin does not work right, the sugar can't get into the cells, so it stays in the blood. This makes your blood sugar level high, causing you to have diabetes. If not controlled, diabetes can lead to blindness, heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, amputations (having a toe or foot removed, for example), and nerve damage. In women, diabetes can cause problems during pregnancy and make it more likely that your baby will be born with birth defects.
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Diaphragm – birth control device made of a thin flexible disk, usually made of rubber that is designed to cover the cervix to prevent the entry of sperm during sexual intercourse.
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Dilation - The widening of the cervix that is necessary to deliver a baby
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Diuretic - a medication that promotes increased outflow of urine. Used to treat hypertension and premenstrual fluid retention
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Diarrhea - passing frequent and loose stools that can be watery. Acute diarrhea goes away in a few weeks. Diarrhea becomes chronic when it lasts longer than 4 weeks.
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Dietary Fiber - coarse fibrous substances found in grains, fruits, and vegetables. Dietary fiber is generally not digested but helps move food through the digestive tract. Eating dietary fiber helps prevent many long-term illnesses, including type II diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and certain gastrointestinal diseases.
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Digestive Tract - tube through which food passes and is digested, and wastes are eliminated. The digestive tract runs from the mouth to the anus and includes the esophagus, stomach, and intestines.
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Disability - a physical or mental impairment that interferes with or prevents "normal" achievement in a particular function.
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Diuretics - a type of medication sometimes called "water pills" because they work in the kidney and flush excess water and sodium from the body.
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Diversity - The presence of many different kinds of people, including people of various racial and ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientations, and social classes.
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DNA Test - a lab test in which a patient's DNA is tested. DNA is a molecule that has a person's genetic information and is found in every cell in a person's body.
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Domestic Partnership - The committed, long-term relationship of two unmarried people who live together.
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Domestic Violence - When spouses, intimate partners, or dates use physical violence, threats, emotional abuse, harassment, or stalking to control the behavior of their partners, they are committing domestic violence.
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Dominant Culture - The group that holds political, ideological, and economic power in a diverse society.
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Don Juanism - The desire by a man to have sex very frequently with many different partners.
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Double Standard - An unequal set of moral standards, rules, or expectations that allow one group to have more privileges than another group within a society. A sexual double standard, for example, usually places more restrictions on women than on men.
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Douche – The word "douche" means to wash or soak in French. Douching is washing or cleaning out the vagina (also called the birth canal) with water or other mixtures of fluids. Usually douches are prepackaged mixes of water and vinegar, baking soda, or iodine. Women can buy these products at drug and grocery stores. The mixtures usually come in a bottle and can be squirted into the vagina through a tube or nozzle. Women douche because they mistakenly believe it gives many benefits. In reality, douching may do more harm than good.
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Down Syndrome - Down syndrome is the most frequent genetic cause for mild to moderate mental retardation and related medical problems. It is caused by a chromosomal abnormality. For an unknown reason, a change in cell growth results in 47 instead of the usual 46 chromosomes. This extra chromosome changes the orderly development of the body and brain.
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Drug dependence - An addiction to drugs, or the inability to stop using harmful substances despite the harmful problems they cause.
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Dysmenorrhea – Painful menstrual periods that can also go along with nausea and vomiting, and either constipation or diarrhea. Dysmenorrhea is common among adolescents.
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Dyspareunia - Painful intercourse for women that may be caused by hormonal imbalances, especially those that happen after menopause.
