Monday, July 14, 2008
Last March, Mairin Cannon made an appointment at the University of Kansas Medical Center. She wasn’t feeling sick, and she didn’t need a routine check-up. After her recent behavior, Cannon, Lenexa senior, wanted to make sure she didn’t have a sexually transmitted disease.
“I was slightly more promiscuous than usual after a break-up,” Cannon said. “So I thought it would be a good idea.”
So the doctor gave Cannon a pap smear to test for HPV, took extra vaginal cultures to test for gonorrhea and Chlamydia and drew a syringe of her blood to test for HIV and herpes.
According to Centers for Disease Control and prevention, about 19 million new STD cases are reported every year. Almost half of those cases occur in people 15 to 24 years old.
Patty Quinlan, nursing supervisor at Watkins Health Center, estimated that the center tests 140 students for STDs per week, a number she didn’t think was high at all.
“I’d rather people come to be tested than just deny it and hope nothing’s wrong,” Quinlan said. “Just to be safe.”
Quinlan said people should get tested if they engaged in certain behaviors, including having sex with more than one partner, having sex under the influence of alcohol or drugs and having sex with acquaintances.
After her doctor’s visit, all Cannon could do was check her mail and wait. It took about two weeks for the results of the HPV, gonorrhea and Chlamydia tests to arrive. It took another three weeks before she received the results of the HIV and herpes test. As the time passed slowly, Cannon’s anxiety grew.
“You think about it all the time,” Cannon said. “If you pee and it burns you’re like, ‘Oh fuck, what do I have.’”
Chlamydia, genital warts and herpes are the most common STDs among college students. Chlamydia is treated with antibiotics and genital warts must be frozen off. Herpes is incurable, but an antiviral medicine will lessen side effects and outbreaks.
Undetected and untreated, STDs can cause serious health problems later in life. In women, Chlamydia can cause infertility. HPV can lead to genital warts and in women, it can cause cervical cancer in 20 years. If someone doesn’t know he has an STD, he is also more likely to pass it on to others.
“Obviously if you’re having sex with someone you care about them, and you should care about their well being,” Cannon said.
Cannon checked the mail to finally find her results. She had one word to describe her reaction to what she saw.
“Awesome.”
All her tests read negative.
Cannon was relieved. She said that though she used protection before she was tested, she was even more inclined to use it afterwards.
“I didn’t want to go through the stress of all that again,” she said.
Cannon also urged other students to get tested if they might be at risk for STDs. Not knowing whether you have an STD, she said, was worse than having one.
“If you’re not responsible enough to get tested you shouldn’t be having sex,” she said.
- Edited by Rebekah Scaperlanda
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Comments
Certain behaviors increase need for STD testing
if this girl applies for jobs and her employer searches her name on google, this story is going to pop up. just saying.
Certain behaviors increase need for STD testing
It is very important to get tested for STDs. Without getting tested, there is no way to know if you are spreading it on to other people. GetSTDtested.com offers local STD testing for Herpes, HIV, Hepatitis, Chlamydia, Gonorrhea & Syphilis. We also offer at home STD testing kits. Order your STD tests online and get STD tested today.
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