What You Need to Know About STD Tests

There are various kinds of reasons why a person will be contemplating on getting an STD testing. The fact is even medical experts and doctors can have varying opinions with regards to who among individuals must be tested for carrying a specific sexually transmitted disease. For the most part though, an official recommendation is to be based on research statistics, which in turn focuses on an area’s infection rates and sexual activity. But individually, you must make it a point to educate yourself without the need of recommendations, particularly if you believe based on your sexual history that you can in fact be carrying an STD.

The fact is if you’re someone who is sexually active, there really is nothing wrong if you dig in a little deeper on the different STD testing guidelines; it even can help you understand what test you should contemplate on getting.

First of all, if you are an adult or pregnant woman who sees and considers yourself as sexually active, the CDC or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stresses the importance of undergoing HIV test. Thanks to modern technology, there now are urine testing for gonorrhea and chlamydia, which means it no longer is as invasive as before. Keep in mind that anyone can simply go to the doctor ask for these tests.

Meanwhile, young adults and teens aged 15 to 24, particularly those who are already sexually active must also subject themselves in STD testing for the reason that they represent a huge percentage of people with STD, this is according to a study conducted by the CDC back in 2006. This is very true when it comes to common diseases like HIV, syphilis, and gonorrhea. Remember though that there’s really no uniform or established standard on how often you should get tested; the best way to figure that out is by evaluating or looking closely at your sexual behavior.

How about men who have sexual relationships with women exclusively? 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 reason for this is because this particular group has high rates of getting those infections compared to other groups. The frequency or the question of how often you must subject yourself to screenings depends mainly on the number of partners you have.

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