The Reality about STDs
Annika Miller Lampropoulos
Any conversation about sex, let alone sexually transmitted diseases, can be sensitive for many. This is especially true in an extremely religious town like Rexburg where 97% of the population are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
STDs and STIs impact the younger population the hardest. In the United States, over half of all new STDs are in people under 25 years old according to the CDC.
With an estimated 20,000 college students living in Rexburg (pre-COVID-19), that puts a large majority of our town’s population in the category most at risk for sexually transmitted diseases or infections.
Anyone who is sexually active risks the potential transmission of an STD or STI. The CDC includes a helpful list on their official website to answer any further questions about individual’s need for testing:
Have you had vaginal, anal, or oral sex without a condom?
Have you ever had an STD, including HIV?
Have any of your partners had an STD?
Have you or any of your partners ever injected drugs?
Have you or any of your partners exchanged money or drugs for sex?
Is it possible that any of your sex partners in the past 12 months had sex with someone else while they were still in a sexual relationship with you?
Almost every STD that can be spread through vaginal intercourse can also be spread through oral or anal sex without a condom. Usually you cannot tell if someone is infected with an STD just by looking at them. Often STDs only cause occasional flare ups, and symptoms may lay dormant for years.
It is also important to note that birth control has no effect on the spread or prevention of STDs and STIs. While very effective at preventing pregnancy, birth control will not keep you safe from a potential STD.
If you are sexually active, the only way to be sure you are free of any sexually transmitted diseases is to be tested regularly.
Even if you are married or planning to wait until marriage, discussing your sexual history with your partner is very important. No matter how long ago a sexual act took place, multiple partners do create a potential cause for STD testing.
It is important to clarify that all STDs are treatable, if not totally curable. Even HIV, long regarded as ‘incurable’, now has treatment options available to control symptoms effectively. The sooner you take action to be tested, the sooner actions can be taken should you need treatment.
Left untreated, some STDs can lead to serious health problems. For example, chlamydia can make it difficult or impossible for women to get pregnant. Left untreated for years, syphilis can seriously damage your brain, nervous system, and heart.
CDC tips for STD testing:
STD tests are quick, simple, and usually painless. For example, rapid HIV tests can provide results from just a swab inside the mouth in only 20 minutes.
Not all medical checkups include STD testing. Unless you ask to be tested, you can’t assume you have been. Ask your medical provider which STDs you should be tested for.
Talk to your partner about when you were last tested and suggest getting tested together. And if you have an STD, tell your partner. These conversations may seem hard to have, but open communication with your partner is essential to staying healthy and stopping the spread of STDs. These conversations may also bring you closer together.
You can find confidential testing near you that is free or low cost by going to www.gettested.cdc.gov.
The Rexburg Free Clinic offers free, confidential STD testing weekly. Our current hours for STD testing are Fridays from 1:00-4:00 p.m. at 60 W Main St, Rexburg, ID 83440.
For additional information visit cdc.gov or call the Rexburg Free Clinic to set up an appointment at (208) 716-8723.