Category: STI

Getting Tested for STIs

Posted on by Grayson Schultz

This post is sponsored by STDCheck. All content is mine, per usual.

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We’ve talked in the past about some basic STI facts, but let’s dig in a little deeper.

It’s worth reiterating that STIs aren’t always symptomatic. That means that you might not be able to tell if you or someone else is dealing with an infection. The only ways to be sure are to either abstain from all interpersonal activity or get tested.

Many STIs are bacterial and curable with antibiotics… well, except the super strains. For those that are viral, there are medications to help make day-to-day life more manageable.

Also, hey, there are plenty of people who have robust sex lives despite viral STIs. Don’t think that it’ll ruin your future.

Alright, let’s dig in!

Continue reading “Getting Tested for STIs” →

What To Do When Your STI Clinic Isn’t Accessible

Posted on by Grayson Schultz

This post is sponsored by Health Labs. All content is mine, though, as usual.

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It’s happened to a lot of us. You open your phone to a text from a former hookup saying, “Hey, you should probably get tested…” As a sex educator, I know those conversations are hard. How are you supposed to respond? Do you say, “Hey, thanks for the heads up” or get defensive? Do you hold space for them?

Actionably following up on these texts can be even more difficult. Where do you go? Should you see your primary doctor, or will that bring up shame? Does your local Planned Parenthood have openings anytime soon? Is there another testing option?

While these situations are difficult for any person, they often get harder for many of us. As someone who is genderfluid, queer, and disabled, I have to prepare myself for crappy interactions, especially in health care.

For one, STI clinics are notoriously inaccessible. They’re often small and crowded. Like Andrew, we may not even be able to get inside a testing location. There may be no temperature control inside. Workers there may wear too much perfume or use plug-in fragrance dispensers. People like Rachael and I – and many others – would need extra medication, transportation, and scent-proof masks to protect ourselves.

Again, like Andrew, we may encounter health care providers who are shocked that we’re having sex. This is especially true when we’ve visibly disabled or even fat. It feels like going into a losing battle when I know I have to defend myself.

On top of that, testing almost always means having to ‘come out’ in one sense or another. Providers need to know which spaces to swab and take a look at. Even though we should be able to have these conversations, they also open us up for judgments. Are these providers queer friendly? Will they judge me based on my gender expression and genitals? Do they think non-monogamy is satanic?

For those of us who live in less accepting or rural spaces, we may not have a space safe enough to go for testing. When I was growing up in Eugene, most adults in my family had the same primary care doctor. Today, the man is nearly 60 years old. He has seen each generation from my great grandparents to me when I was little.

Would I be able to trust that he wouldn’t share an STI test with gossiping gals in my family? I honestly don’t think I could.

For people who are on their parents’ or someone else’s insurance, a concern over privacy goes way deeper than for others. A statement or explanation of benefits often gets sent to the person in whose name the insuarnce is listed. If you’re a young adult whose parents don’t know you’re sexually active, you might be forced to have that conversation.

“What do I do when there’s not a good space to go?”

This is one of those moments I thank the deities for the internet.

There are tests out there you can easily order online. I don’t trust a lot of them, though, if they don’t run through proper labs.

You can always reach out to organizations such as Planned Parenthood to find clinics near you they’d endorse. You can also call around to local clinics and ask about any accessibility needs you may have. Of course, that’s not a great option for many of us who have anxiety around phone calls, but it could be a viable alternative.

Thankfully, Health Labs also has a great selection of STI-related tests! I’d recommend their Comprehensive STD Panel, unless you’re only looking for a specific STI test. You can see their offerings here.

How does it work?

Health Labs works with Quest Diagnostics and have a handy testing center locator. You can contact locations and ask about their accessibility before you pay, too, which is nice. I’d much rather know that a space traditionally uses air deoderizers that I’m allergic to than have no idea – at least I can prepare!

First, you go order your test and pay for it on the site. They don’t accept insurance which can helpful for anyone worried about an insurance issue.

Then, you simply show up at whatever location works best for you with your receipt to get your tests done. There’s no scheduling to do!

You get your test results within a couple days. You’re alerted via email that your results are in. All you have to do is log into your account to view them.

Make sure to get in touch with a health care provider for the proper treatment if you test positive for anything. Many STIs can be cleared up with a course of antibiotics! During the time you receive treatment, it’s important to take proper precautions with partners. It’s no fun to pass any infection back and forth!

Above all, remember to have conversations with recent partners if you test positive for an STI. Their consent relies on your disclosure.

Sexually Transmitted Infection Facts

Posted on by Grayson Schultz

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Before we get started, let’s address the elephant in the room: STIs do not make someone dirty, gross, or inhuman. In fact…

I had Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) my freshman year of college. This is the first time I’ve told anyone other than the partner I had at the time and my current gyno… who I just told last year. I wasn’t the smartest person when it came to risk-aware sex and using barriers at the time.

I’ll go into why I didn’t talk about it before below. Instead of getting treatment for it, I scrapped off the warts which is as painful as it sounds. It hurt to pee for like a week because of the sting on all those small wounds. Even now, I will get itching around my labia where the HPV hit the most. I’ve never had another breakout and none of my pap smears have come back abnormal or showing signs of HPV. My gyno and I have decided the infection cleared up on its own, thankfully.

So, there you go. You know a vagina-owner who has dealt with HPV.

Heads up for hella gendered language in the references below. Apparently, the field of statistics isn’t aware of how gendering these statistics might be harmful. [insert eye roll here]

Barriers to Treatment

Access to Healthcare

One of the biggest barriers to getting diagnosed and treated for an STI is not having access to healthcare. This could be because of a lack of providers where someone lives, age, family or culture, finances, abuse, and a lot more.

Lack of Sexual Education

People might not realize that what’s going on with them isn’t normal. Thanks to the state of sexual education in most places, there are a lot of people who aren’t familiar with the ‘normal’ functions of their sexual organs, let alone are aware of what types of symptoms may be cause for concern. This is especially true in spaces like the Deep Southern United States where people don’t talk about HIV/AIDS but have some of the highest infection rates.

On top of that, most people do not have symptoms of STIs, especially during the early parts of infection.

Confidentiality

Many people may fear seeking medical attention due to concerns about privacy. Maybe someone with an STI is a minor who doesn’t want their parents to know they’re sexually active and can’t seek medical care without using their parents’ insurance. Perhaps someone is having an affair in a monogamous relationship and isn’t able to seek help.

Lack of Screening

For many people, there’s no automatic testing. Many penis-owners aren’t tested for some STIs due to the invasiveness of testing. Married people are assumed to be monogamous, meaning you have to ask for specific screening. On top of that, many health care providers aren’t aware of the need to test marginalized groups like trans women of color.

Stigma

Last but not least, the stigma is awful. People assume that you’re dirty, unclean, gross, an abomination, etc. There’s a lot of victim-blaming with anything around sex. Get pregnant? It’s your fault as the uterus-owner. Got HIV? It’s because you’re a slut. Infections happen and they’re just a part of life – some stay with your forever and others clear up.

For me, the stigma is what made it so that I didn’t talk about this for the last eleven years. I was worried about what exactly I had and what treatment would entail, especially since I didn’t have medical care at the time.

Statistics

According to the World Health Organization, more than ONE MILLION new STIs are acquired every day globally. Many people do not experience symptoms – or symptoms that are alarming – with STIs. That’s part of why testing is so integral to diagnosis and treatment.

Half of new STI cases happen in very young populations – 15-24. That same age group winds up with five times the rates of Chlamydia, four times the rate of Gonorrhea, and three times the rate of Syphilis as the general population.

Over three-quarters of women living with Chlamydia aren’t aware they have it. Did you know 35% of the Americans who have Herpes don’t know it? About 33% of people who have Syphilis aren’t aware of their status. One-fifth of all Americans with HIV/AIDS are unaware they have it.

Around 44% of the half million people living with HIV/AIDS are African American. Many statistics don’t even include race, socioeconomic status, location, or gender.

The Good News

Most STIs are fully curable – Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, and Syphilis are the main ones. Others include Trichomoniasis, Molluscum Contagiosum Virus, Mycoplasma Genitalium, Crabs, and Scabies. Note that scabies isn’t just an STI but a general transmittable parasite.

Antivirals can help treat and manage Herpes, Hepatitis B, and HIV/AIDS.

Vaccines exist to help protect you against Hepatitis B and HPV. HPV can cause genital warts, cancer, and fertility issues for people of any gender.

Barriers like internal condoms, external condoms, gloves, capes, finger cots, and dental dams can all reduce the risk of STI transmission. On top of that, HIV/AIDS can be prevented by using Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) or Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP). Learn more about those here.

Tips

Get tested regularly. All the time! Make sure to get tested between partners or before you couple up with someone new.

Be risk-aware and utilize barriers and treatments as needed.

Remember that being on immunosuppressants may increase your risk of snagging an STI. Even if it doesn’t, it can make the severity of any infections much worse.

References

  • https://www.stdtestexpress.com/std-facts/
  • http://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/sexually-transmitted-infections-(stis)
  • https://www.cdc.gov/std/hiv/stdfact-std-hiv.htm
Posted in STI