I’m gonna be serious for a few minutes today. Kiddo, we need to talk about Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Infections. I know, it sounds like an afterschool special, or an awkward parental sex talk.
But I cannot stress the importance of having regular testing, and here’s why:
You May Not Have Symptoms, But You May Still Have One
Just because you don’t have any visible symptoms, doesn’t mean you still don’t have one. Over 80% of all STDs have NO SYMPTOMS. Quite a few may never have signs, and without proper testing and medication, you can pass it from one partner to the next, even if you use a condom.
Nope, Condoms Don’t Prevent All Infections
You read that right. Condoms are only effective when it comes to preventing those that are transmitted by seminal fluid and skin contact in areas protected by the condom. The following are examples of diseases that can be transmitted by contact with lesions not covered by a condom (so basically anywhere else):
- syphilis
- herpes
- genital warts
It’s Common Decency
If you have any respect for your partners, then it’s your obligation to get regular testing, especially if you engage in casual sex. Just because you do not care about your health, doesn’t mean others feel the same way. And if you can’t respect them enough to do this, then are you mature enough to be having sex?
How About An Additional Handful of Reasons:
- Tubal pregnancies, sometimes fatal to the mother and always fatal to the unborn child
- Death or severe damage to a baby born to an infected woman
- Sterility (loss of ability to get pregnant)
- Cancer of the cervix in women
- Damage to other parts of the body, including the heart, kidneys, and brain
- Death to infected individuals
Health.com has a great article on the different types of STD tests that are available and which ones you should specifically get based on your lifestyle here. And tomorrow, I’ll share my personal experience that cause me to become vigilant about both my own testing and that of the girlies I choose to ‘associate’ with.
