Same Day STD Testing Can Mitigate Our Nation"s Epidemic
One thing most of us can agree on is that there is nothing more important than our health.
Yet when it comes to getting tested for STDs, many of us willfully delude ourselves into thinking it couldn't happen to us, or worse, we don't think about it at all.
In the United States there are close to 19 million new cases of positive STD results each year.
This is an alarming number, especially considering the vast majority of positive carriers aren't getting tested.
According to the American Social Health Association, almost half of all cases occur among people between the ages of 15 and 24.
At no time in history has it been more vital for our youth to become educated about STDs and to get tested if they're at risk in any way.
To quell this epidemic, STD testing services are increasing in numbers and have become crucial elements in the overall promotion of our national public health.
Additionally, the stigmas that once plagued certain STDs (and prevented people from getting tested) - most commonly HIV - have mostly fallen away now that we know a thing or two about them.
STD testing labs are now readily available, discreet, affordable and fast, yet even with the bevy of options surrounding us, many still don't take advantage of what can amount to a life or death decision.
Fear and embarrassment are major emotions that come into play when we consider STD testing.
After all, what if we test positive? Naturally, this is news no one wants to hear, which is why STD testing isn't as prevalent as it should be, but there is good news, even after a positive test.
Many STDs - such as gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis - are easily treatable.
If your test yields a positive result, look at the bright side: You caught it, you can treat it and you can move on without spreading it.
That's good news indeed.
Most of our fear revolves around yielding a positive HIV test.
In the past three decades a positive HIV result has changed from a death sentence to a disease that can be lived with.
Modern medicine has found ways to suppress the transformation of HIV to full blown AIDS, meaning a proper regimen of medication coupled with a healthy lifestyle can provide carriers with lives as rich and long as non-carriers.
Sadly, widespread misunderstanding and fear of the disease still prevents most carriers from ever finding out until it's too late.
STD testing is the only way to be sure and thus the only way to catch diseases so the necessary steps can be taken to move forward.
Since many STDs have no discernible symptoms, it's easy to convince ourselves we're perfectly healthy.
Allowing treatable STDs to flourish in our systems can result in serious health complications and contribute to this preventable epidemic.
With the availability of same day STD testing that everyone can afford and find, there's no longer any excuse for our nation to continue to suffer.
Yet when it comes to getting tested for STDs, many of us willfully delude ourselves into thinking it couldn't happen to us, or worse, we don't think about it at all.
In the United States there are close to 19 million new cases of positive STD results each year.
This is an alarming number, especially considering the vast majority of positive carriers aren't getting tested.
According to the American Social Health Association, almost half of all cases occur among people between the ages of 15 and 24.
At no time in history has it been more vital for our youth to become educated about STDs and to get tested if they're at risk in any way.
To quell this epidemic, STD testing services are increasing in numbers and have become crucial elements in the overall promotion of our national public health.
Additionally, the stigmas that once plagued certain STDs (and prevented people from getting tested) - most commonly HIV - have mostly fallen away now that we know a thing or two about them.
STD testing labs are now readily available, discreet, affordable and fast, yet even with the bevy of options surrounding us, many still don't take advantage of what can amount to a life or death decision.
Fear and embarrassment are major emotions that come into play when we consider STD testing.
After all, what if we test positive? Naturally, this is news no one wants to hear, which is why STD testing isn't as prevalent as it should be, but there is good news, even after a positive test.
Many STDs - such as gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis - are easily treatable.
If your test yields a positive result, look at the bright side: You caught it, you can treat it and you can move on without spreading it.
That's good news indeed.
Most of our fear revolves around yielding a positive HIV test.
In the past three decades a positive HIV result has changed from a death sentence to a disease that can be lived with.
Modern medicine has found ways to suppress the transformation of HIV to full blown AIDS, meaning a proper regimen of medication coupled with a healthy lifestyle can provide carriers with lives as rich and long as non-carriers.
Sadly, widespread misunderstanding and fear of the disease still prevents most carriers from ever finding out until it's too late.
STD testing is the only way to be sure and thus the only way to catch diseases so the necessary steps can be taken to move forward.
Since many STDs have no discernible symptoms, it's easy to convince ourselves we're perfectly healthy.
Allowing treatable STDs to flourish in our systems can result in serious health complications and contribute to this preventable epidemic.
With the availability of same day STD testing that everyone can afford and find, there's no longer any excuse for our nation to continue to suffer.
Source...