STIs: ideas about risk and decisions to test
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) include chlamydia, genital warts, syphilis, herpes and HIV. If caught early most are easily treatable with antibiotics, but if left untreated they can have serious consequences including infertility (not being able to have children) and ectopic pregnancy.
Many people avoid catching STIs by using condoms, or after both partners being tested for STIs . The only way to keep safe is to use a condom, particularly if you're having sex with casual partners .
There are a number of reasons why people decide to be tested for STIs. Sometimes they are prompted by symptoms, like pain or bleeding during or after sex, chronic stomach pain, lower abdominal pain, an unusual discharge, itching around the genital area, pain when passing water, heavy periods or bleeding between periods. A sixteen year old girl had pain when passing water and a blister appeared on the lip part of the vagina .
Some go for a test even though they don't have any symptoms. Some worry they may have contracted an infection because they have not always used condoms . Other times a friend being diagnosed with an STI, or learning about the consequences, can prompt a person to get a check up . Or they might find out that one of their partners ex's had an STI and have an anxious time waiting for the result .
To suspect an STI can be overwhelming for teenagers and often they did not talk about it with their parents. This often meant dealing with clinic visits, tests and results on their own .
Sometimes media campaigns were seen as adding to the stigma of having an STI. One young woman suggested that scary media campaigns were responsible for some of the misinformation about STIs .
Last reivewed April 2010.
Last updated April 2010.