Although attitudes towards sex have changed dramatically in recent decades, the risks associated with regular sexual activity have not. That doesn’t mean that all people should see abstinence as the only way forward; it means normalizing and removing the stigma from STD testing should be a top health priority.
That stigma is real. And it affects people regardless of whether it is their first time having sexual intercourse or not. Despite possibly having symptoms or even general concerns about their health, some people choose to ignore potential problems simply because they worry about the stigma of being seen as unclean. They fear that friends will judge them harshly or scare away people they care about.
We won’t go into the details of what can happen if serious infections occur. Our STD symptoms guide goes into more detail about what the symptoms are and how to act appropriately. Even if you don’t feel any symptoms and you’re not 100% sure about the testing status of either of your partners, it doesn’t hurt to gather as much information as possible about STD testing.
The fact is that half of sexually active people will have some kind of STD by the time they are 25 years old. It is not our job to judge or jump to conclusions. Our job is to provide the most accurate STD testing in the country in a timely manner.
Regardless of age, we want to support people in making responsible decisions about their sexual health. Asking difficult questions to people you care about can be difficult, putting you at risk of damaging a relationship. However, the more people are willing to have open conversations about sexual health and STD testing, the more the stigma will disappear and the incidence will continue to decline. This can be even more difficult if you don’t know where to start.
During a single vaginal intercourse with an infected partner, a teenager has a 30% risk of contracting genital herpes, a 50% chance of contracting gonorrhea, and a 1 in 100 chance of contracting HIV.
Until recently, more than a third of school districts taught abstinence-only sex education. While some believe it could work in theory, statistics show that during a single vaginal intercourse with an infected partner, a teenager has a 30% risk of contracting genital herpes, a 50% chance of contracting gonorrhea, and a 1 in 100 chance of contracting HIV. If that person is never taught about safe sex, a disturbing cycle continues where unsafe sex continues and more people can become infected.
The need for an STD Awareness Month stems from the need to have open conversations about sexual health and raise awareness of these issues. STD testing can seem like a frightening ordeal to someone who has never gone through the process before, or worse, gone through a bad process. The possibility of being judged negatively only adds to that stigma.
That’s why we train everyone we work with to be open and honest with our clients, while providing the best available information without taking sides. We want you to be healthy and have all the tools to achieve that goal.
We hope you have a safe STD Awareness Month. To find out how you can get involved and participate in the Get Yourself Tested campaign, check out the It’s your (sex) life MTV campaign. Also encourage your friends to be open to discussing topics so they can feel comfortable and make smart health decisions.