STDs are not the most exciting topic for many, but you should not suffer in silence if you suspect you have contracted one. If left untreated, STDs can cause significant damage, including infertility, and lead to certain cancers. Prompt walk in gyn care for diagnosis, even without symptoms, can help you mitigate considerable concerns down the line, some that could haunt you for life. Professionals tend to call them STIs since you can have them with no symptoms. Common STDs symptoms include colored and/or smelly discharge, burning or itching, especially when urinating, bleeding, warts, and sores. Besides such symptoms, you should go for STD testing following the following criterion:
Age
Everyone aged 13 years and above should undergo annual testing, the standard age for sexual activity onset. Women 25 years or younger should get annual gonorrhea and chlamydia screening. This is because the infection can permanently damage your reproductive system. If you are over 25 but at risk of STDs, such as having multiple or new sex partners or one who has had an STD, you should also go for an annual screening.
Conception
If you plan to get pregnant, testing is crucial because STDs can lead to serious problems for you and the developing baby. Moreover, the chances of getting an infection when you have an untreated STD are higher. During the first prenatal visit, STD screening, mainly for HIV, gonorrhea, and syphilis, is done. You may also be subjected to repeat screening primarily for syphilis following your risk factors.
Contact
Vaginal, anal, and oral sexual activities are the standard means you can contract an STD. Nonetheless, STDs are not only contracted sexually. Some could be passed through skin contact since STDs are mostly spread through infected fluids. As such, if you come into contact with someone with an STD, such as touching the genitals, screening is a safer path to facilitate prompt intervention.
Lifestyle
Sexual intimacy is great, but only when you are responsible. For instance, if you engage in sexual contact when intoxicated and share items like needles, you are at an increasingly high risk of STDs. Routine STD testing is recommended in such cases. Moreover, if you are not in an exclusive relationship, it is recommended that you consider at least an annual screening routine. Multiple partners or changing sexual partners more often, even with measures like condoms, increases infection chances, emphasizing the need for frequent screening.
Health
If you have pre-existing medical conditions, especially impacting your immunity, including HIV, you can benefit from frequent STD screening. This is because you can easily contract an infection and experience overwhelming symptoms and complications if not promptly treated.
Prompt STDs treatment can eliminate overwhelming and often embarrassing experiences. It can also help you avoid concerns like infertility that cut your dreams of becoming a parent short. The simplest way to ensure you can easily keep up with STD testing is to include it in your annual wellness visits. A walk-in visit whenever you spot a symptom or engage in sexual intimacy with a person showing STD signs also helps. Visit Walk IN GYN Care today for STD screening, treatment, and prevention recommendations.
