40 years ago, if you had asked many doctors, they would have told you that most sexually transmitted infections would be eliminated from the population in the developed world. That hasn't been the case, and some diseases are more prevalent than ever before. There are, however, plenty of ways to protect yourself, including testing, screening, and prevention, let's take a look at a few problems and solutions available today. First Comes Screening You never want to have sex with anyone that's ever injected IV drugs in their entire life. Although AIDs, HIV, Hepatitis A, B, and C, can all be transmitted sexually, they are more commonly transmitted by sharing needles. They are all far more contagious when sharing needles as well, so you should eliminate any hard drug users to start with, just say no. The same goes with anyone that hung out with, and had sex with, hard drug users, as they are at much higher risk of being infected than the rest of the population. If you really must, offer to get anonymously STD tested for all sexually transmitted infections if they will do the same. After you've both been tested, you're good to go, and safe as long as you both remain monogamous. There Are Ways To Keep Your STD Tests Anonymous There are several ways to get tested and one of the best is to buy an STD testing package online. Some of the tests are immediate and will give instant results, while others will have to be sent back to the lab to be tested. When receiving your package in the mail, it will come in plain wrapping with no designations on the outside that reveal what's inside. When you send back the samples you'll also be sent to a PO Box that isn't identifiable in any way. Then, you'll have a secret code that you'll be able to enter on a website to get your results. Many testing labs also offer doctor's prescriptions for those that have readily treatable diseases such as gonorrhea, syphilis, or chlamydia, and there are also treatments for some viral diseases as well. The Walk-In STD Clinics Are Just As Anonymous Although it may not seem like it, the walk-in STD testing labs can be more anonymous than the online mail-in tests. With walk-in testing, you can pay in cash, make up any name you wish and get your results online with a secret code. Many will have results immediately or later in the day, you can check with them for availability when you're there. Some of the services also have partner notification as well. This is where you can enter your partner's email address or phone number and they will be sent a message recommending that they get tested as soon as possible. Notifying partners is the best way to stop the spread of many diseases and doing so anonymously seems to work the best for everyone involved. The faster previous and current partners are notified the more lives that can be saved by prevention.
Did You Know? HALF of all new STIs happen to people under the age of 25. https://t.co/r2xWnEqB11
- Renee (@MeetPositives) August 3, 2016
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