STI & STD Testing
The healthcare providers at South Pointe Healthcare can help you navigate through the process of STD Testing. Although it could be stressful, testing for STDs is an important part of maintaining your health, protecting your sexual partner, and protecting your future children.
STI & STD Testing
The healthcare providers at South Pointe Healthcare can help you navigate through the process of STD Testing. Although it could be stressful, testing for STDs is an important part of maintaining your health, protecting your sexual partner, and protecting your future children.
What Are STD's & STI's?
An STD is a Sexually Transmitted Disease. An STI is a Sexually Transmitted Infection. A person can contract an STD or STI through vaginal, oral, or anal sex. STDs are common – The CDC reports one in five people in the US have an STI, and there were 26 million new cases reported in 2018.
STD Testing
The primary care physician at South Pointe Healthcare can help you navigate through the process of STD (Sexually Transmitted Diseases) Testing. Although it could be stressful, testing for STDs is an important part of maintaining your health, protecting your sexual partner, and protecting your future children. STD testing is a vital step in maintaining your health because many sexually transmitted diseases and infections have no symptoms. And if left untreated, STDs could cause serious health problems.
Who Should Get Tested For A STD?
If you are sexually active, getting tested for sexually transmitted diseases is one of the best things you can do for your health, according to the CDC.
This is important because a person can have a sexually transmitted disease (STD) without knowing it since in many cases, there are no signs or symptoms.
If you are pregnant, or planning on becoming pregnant, STD testing can help you protect not only yourself, but your new baby as well. If you are pregnant and have a STD, you can pass the infection to your baby. The CDC recommends that every woman get tested during a first prenatal visit since many STDs have no symptoms, but it could lead to serious health risks for the baby and the mother. The CDC also says it could be helpful to do some tests again closer to your due date.
The CDC recommends annual chlamydia and gonorrhea screening of all sexually active women younger than 25 years, as women older than 25 with risk factors such as new or multiple sex partners, or a sex partner who has a sexually transmitted infection.
If you’re a parent of a teenager or young adult, you can encourage them to get tested, too. More than half of the 20 million new sexually transmitted infections that occur each year are from teenagers and young adults ages 15 to 24, according to the CDC.
Below are additional STD screening recommendations from the CDC:
- All adults and adolescents from ages 13 to 64 should be tested at least once for HIV.
- All sexually active women younger than 25 years should be tested for gonorrhea and chlamydia every year. Women 25 years and older with risk factors such as new or multiple sex partners or a sex partner who has an STD should also be tested for gonorrhea and chlamydia every year.
- All pregnant women should be tested for syphilis, HIV, and hepatitis B starting early in pregnancy. At-risk pregnant women should also be tested for chlamydia and gonorrhea starting early in pregnancy. Testing should be repeated as needed to protect the health of mothers and their infants.
- All sexually active gay and bisexual men should be tested at least once a year for syphilis, chlamydia, and gonorrhea. Those who have multiple or anonymous partners should be tested more frequently for STDs (i.e., at 3 to 6 month intervals).
- Sexually active gay and bisexual men may benefit from more frequent HIV testing (e.g., every 3 to 6 months).
- Anyone who has unsafe sex or shares injection drug equipment should get tested for HIV at least once a year.
Benefits Of Getting tested
STDs often have no symptoms, so getting tested can be the only way to detect if you have one.
Left untreated, STDs can cause severe health issues, including infertility, certain cancers, blindness, and organ damage.
If you have an STD, the CDC says you are more likely to get HIV or transmit it to others.
Some STDS can lead to infertility. Chlamydia and gonorrhea are two sexually transmitted diseases that are preventable causes of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and infertility. The CDC estimates that left untreated, approximately 10-15% of women with chlamydia will develop PID. Another side effect of chlamydia could also be fallopian tube infection, which has no symptoms. PID and fallopian tube infection in the upper genital tract may cause permanent damage which can lead to infertility.
If you do have an STD or STI, testing can help you get proper treatment and prevent the spread to a partner or a baby. If you do not have a STD, testing can offer peace of mind to confirm that you do not have an STD.
Common STDs & STIs
Bacterial Vaginosis
Some women with Bacterial Vaginosis don’t suspect they have it because there are often no symptoms. Bacterial Vaginosis can increase your chance of getting an STD and is the most common vaginal condition in women ages 15-44. Treatment is especially important for pregnant women since Bacterial Vaginosis, or BV, may deliver premature (early) or low birth-weight babies.
Chlamydia
Chlamydia is the most commonly reported STD in the United States but is easily cured. Most people with chlamydia report no symptoms. Chlamydia can make it difficult for women to get pregnant if left untreated.
Genital And Oral Herpes
Genital herpes is a common STD, but most people do not know they have it. The CDC estimates that more than one out of every six people aged 14 to 49 years have genital herpes. You can contract genital herpes from a partner, even if your partner has no herpes symptoms. While there is no cure for herpes, medication is available to reduce symptoms and make it less likely that you will spread herpes to a sex partner.
Hepatitis
There are various forms of Hepatitis, some of which can be contracted during sexual activity, among other activities.
Left untreated, hepatitis can cause liver problems.
Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States, according to the CDC. It is estimated there were 43 million HPV infections in 2018, most commonly present in people their late teens and early 20s.
HPV can lead to genital warts or certain cancers.
Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID)
If left untreated, some sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) can cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). PID is a serious condition in women that could lead to infertility, long-term pelvic and abdominal pain, and ectopic pregnancy. If treated early, the complications of PID can be prevented.
Syphilis
Syphilis can have very serious complications when left untreated, but it can be cured with the right treatment. Since syphilis can be spread to a baby during child birth, cause a stillborn birth, low birth weight, or early delivery, the CDC recommends all pregnant women get tested for syphilis. The CDC also recommends regularly syphilis testing if you are sexually active and are a man who has sex with men, are living with HIV, or have a partner who have tested positive for syphilis.
Trichomoniasis
The CDC estimates that there were more than two million trichomoniasis infections in 2018 but only about 30% develop any symptoms. If left untreated, it can increase a person’s chances of getting or spreading other sexually transmitted diseases.
Pregnant women with trichomoniasis are more likely to have their babies too early and have a low birth weight.
In addition to screening for STDs, our healthcare providers can discuss how to further prevent sexually transmitted diseases.
HIV / Aids
HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that attacks cells that help the body fight infection. This makes a person have an increased vulnerability to other infections and diseases. HIV is spread by contact with certain bodily fluids of another person with HIV, most commonly during unprotected sex (sex without a condom or HIV medicine to prevent or treat HIV), or through sharing injection drug equipment.
If left untreated, HIV can lead to the disease AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome).
AIDS is the late stage of HIV infection that occurs when the body’s immune system is badly damaged because of the virus.
According to HIV.gov, people who begin HIV treatment early experience more benefits—that’s why HIV testing is so important.
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150 Old Laramie Trail E #120Lafayette, CO 80026
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