STDs are probably more common than you realize. According to the CDC, one in five people currently have an STD! This rate is much too high, and it’s highly preventable.

Our AFC Urgent Care Boulder team provides further information on STDs and the importance of regular STD testing below, so read on.

What Are STDs?

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), also known as sexually transmitted infections, or STIs, are very common. Millions of new infections occur every year in the United States.

STDs are typically transmitted by having unprotected vaginal, anal or oral sex with someone who has an infection. They may also be transmitted through sharing needles and breastfeeding, although that’s less common. STDs can potentially cause severe health problems when left untreated, and we’ve listed some of them below.

Health Problems Caused By STDs

• Male and female sterility
• Blindness
• Damage to major organs
• Cervical cancer
• Cancer of the vagina, penis, anus or throat
• Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), which can damage a woman’s fallopian tubes, leading to pelvic pain and sterility
• Pain during urination or intercourse

How Can I Know If I Have an STD?

The best way to know if you have an STD is by getting an STD test. If you are sexually active, the CDC recommends getting STD-tested at least once a year. If you have more than one partner, share needles or don’t always practice safe sex by using a condom each time you have intercourse, you should be tested every three to six months.

Additionally, STDs don’t typically show up right after you get one. It can take three months for HIV to show up on a test, but it only takes a matter of days to a few weeks for STDs like gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis to show up. To prevent getting an STD, try the tips that we’ve listed below.

Effective Ways to Prevent STDs

• Practice abstinence. The surest way to avoid getting STDs is to not have sex.
• Use condoms. Condoms lessen the risk of infection for all STDs, but you can still get certain STDs, like herpes or HPV, from contact with your partner’s skin even when using one.
• Have fewer partners. First, make sure you know that neither of you has an STD, then have sex with one person who is only having sex with you. This will dramatically lower your STD risk.

Have additional questions about STDs? Don’t hesitate to reach out to our AFC Urgent Care Boulder team today.