Not sure if I've ever been tested for STDs or need to be...

[Mephisto]

While reading the thread " Your Comments Please", i started thinking .. I am an adult - I have never been tested for STD's . Ever. I was married, and part of the requirements here are blood tests - I assume these include simple screening for some std's, but i have never actually gone to my Dr. and requested testing specifically.

I don't sleep around -- Casual sex is not something that i have ever participated in, but i have had a few partners.

Do you have regular testing??

[Vespertine]

STD's are scary!


I would be most concerned with HIV & Hepatitis-- Anyone that has ever had unprotected sex (monogamous or no) should be tested.

If you have medical insurance I would discuss this topic with your doctor and see what his/her recommendations are. If you don't have insurance go donate blood. The bloodbanks here screen every donation and will call you if anything suspicious turns up. I imagine all bloodbanks work on similar protocol.

If you're worried that your doctor will think less of you I can assure you there is nothing wrong with anyone being proactive when it comes to their health.
It is the responsible thing to do if you are sexually active.

[Elusive BiFem]

Vespertine is right on the money, although I'd say my concern for contracting one of the forms of Hepatitis would outweigh that of HIV. I was listening to Dr. Dean Edell last night...he talked about Hep A and how easily transmitted it is. It is frequently spread by restaurant workers, but an infected person can spread it through sex (penetration and oral) to partners. The bad thing...he said that often people do not even know they have it or had it...thinking they may have had a flu of some sort.

You can also be tested at your local Public Health Department. Testing is very inexpensive and confidential. Better safe than sorry. You would want to know if you were infected so that you could obtain treatment but also so that you would not risk infecting others.

- EBF

By the way...are you trying to get into my "naive" club? Select membership, you know....

[sir_dragonfire]

It probably depends on the state You live in. If you're concerned, go get tested!

[Atilla]

but you can't test for chlamydia or gonorhrea (sp?) through a blood test. They need to take swabs for that. Unfortunately the swabbing, for male or female, isn't pleasent.

Yes, you should be tested especially if you've had unprotected sex or have had a condom break or if you have had relations with another guy. I have been numerous times however, hubby hasn't been. The times I have been tested have been either for prenatal check ups or for my regular yearly examination. We haven't been active for long and have not had alot of sex partners yet.

We did discuss something similar yesterday during a long drive. I am a lab tech and I am frequently in contact with blodily fluids and am taking blood from people's arms. What would we do if I ever poked myself? We treat every patient like they have a communicable disease, it's called universal precaustions. However, accidents happen. Would we not have sex for a length of time for my doctor to clear me or would we have protected sex? There's always a chance that a condom could break. Do we want to orphan both of our children? It's a hard topic to come to any decision on but hubby and I feel that we would be best being on the safe side and waiting until I'm cleared by a doctor IF this ever happened.

[JustAskJulie]

I wonder if this is something that is easier for women than for men. Women go in annually (usually) for a GYN exam and typically they ask you when you fill out your forms if you want to be tested, so it's quite easy to just check yes and get it done. Men have to go out of their way to do so.