What STD Tests Should You Be Considering?

There are several different reasons from different people in the plan of getting an STD test. Even doctors and medical professionals have different opinions when it comes to who must be tested for sexually transmitted disease. Generally speaking though, the moment an official recommendation is released, it is mostly based on sexual activity and infection rates, translated into statistics. But based on your own sexual history as well as your level of suspicion and concern, it is best that you put in the effort to educate yourself about the possibility of contracting STD.

The truth is there’s actually nothing wrong in learning the basic STD testing guidelines, and in fact, it’ll help you figure out which specific testing you possibly will undergo based on certain factors such as your sexual life and others.

Now if you look at yourself as a sexually active person, CDC or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention highly recommends that you surrender yourself to an HIV testing, whether you’re a typical adult or a pregnant woman. The good news is unlike before you can now get tested for gonorrhea and chlamydia through your urine, which means that it’s no longer invasive like before. Know that everyone has the right and freedom to go to a doctor and have these tests requested.

In a study summed up into a surveillance report by the CDC in 2006, it was revealed that people aged 15 to 24 represented 50% of the STD cases during that year, which means that if you belong to this group and consider yourself as sexually active, then you must also subject yourself to STD testing. This is very true when it comes to common diseases like HIV, syphilis, and gonorrhea. Keep in mind though that there’s really no recommended or standard frequency of testing for those diseases as you can base yours on your own sexual behavior.

Now what about those men who maintain sexual relationships with multiple partners but who also limits them to women alone? If this is the case for you, know that majority of doctors won’t bother testing you for many types of STDs aside from HIV. On the other hand, you still might be required to get tested in case you are showing symptoms of an STD that’s different to that of HIV.

Lastly, if you belong to a group of men who are active in a sexual relationship with other men, it is crucial that you get tested for HIV and syphilis. The obvious reason is because this group comes with very high probabilities of contracting both infections. But the frequency of your screenings generally depend on the number of partners and how active your sex behavior is.

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