Did you know? STD rates in America are currently at an all-time high, as one in five people are infected. This is an alarming number, and it can easily be brought down with the correct education and increased STD testing numbers.

Our team at AFC Urgent Care TN highlights the importance of getting STD tested below, so keep reading!

What Is an STD?

STDs, or sexually transmitted diseases, are infections that typically spread from one person to another during vaginal, anal and oral sex. They’re really common, and lots of people who have them don’t have any symptoms.

Without treatment, STDs can lead to serious health problems, which we’ve listed below.

Health Problems Caused By STDs

• Male and female sterility
• Blindness
• Damage to major organs
• Cervical cancer
• Cancer of the vagina, penis, anus or throat
• Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), which can damage a woman’s fallopian tubes, leading to pelvic pain and sterility.
• Pain during urination or intercourse

Why Is It Important to Get an STD Test?

Getting tested for STDs is one of the best things you can do for your sexual health. Because many STDs don’t show symptoms, getting regular STD tests can help you stay ahead of potential infections. Plus, if you do get one, getting treatment as early as possible will help relieve viral STD symptoms and will help quickly cure bacterial STDs.

As long as you’re sexually active, you should be tested for STDs at least once a year. Additionally, if you have more than one partner or don’t always practice safer sex by using a condom each time you have intercourse, you should be tested every three to six months.

Ways to Prevent STDs

• Practice abstinence. The surest way to avoid getting STDs is to not have sex.
• Reduce your number of sex partners. This can decrease your risk for STDs. It is still important that you and your partner get tested, and that you share your test results with one another.
• Practice mutual monogamy. Mutual monogamy means that you agree to be sexually active with only one person, who has agreed to be sexually active only with you. Being in a long-term mutually monogamous relationship with an uninfected partner is one of the most reliable ways to avoid STDs.
• Use condoms. Condoms lessen the risk of infection for all STD, but can still get certain STDs, like herpes or HPV, from contact with your partner’s skin even when using one.

At our AFC Urgent Care TN centers, we offer private STD testing and treatment. If you would like to learn more about STD testing, or would like to be tested, visit one of our locations today.