This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Sewanee chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.
We’ve all taken a high school health class, and we’ve all heard some sort of schpeel on safe sex and sexually transmitted diseases—by the way, apparently we’re calling them infections now. But no matter how often we hear about STI’s and how important it is to prevent them and get tested for them, there is still this prevailing mindset that “STI’s happen, but not to me.” I hate to hit you with some health class facts, but according to Center for Disease Control, there are nearly twenty million new sexually transmitted infections each year, and half of those occur in people ages fifteen to twenty-four. So not only do STI’s happen, they are thriving in the hook-up culture that is college campuses, and Sewanee is no exception.
The good news is, all of you sex-positive ladies and gents out there don’t have to give up your weekend Strides of Pride; we just have to be knowledgeable, communicate with one another, and get rid of the unnecessary stigma that comes with sexually transmitted infections.
I made a trip down to University Health Services, where I interviewed the wonderful Karen Tharp, registered nurse/ STI fountain of knowledge. So in an attempt to relax the conversation on STI’s and get everyone thinking and hopefully talking, I’m going to relay some of the dirty details as best I can.
Prevention:
CONDOMS. Seriously though, wear a condom.
What you should know:
You can get STI’s in more ways than just penetration. Yes, that means you can contract Gonorrhea, Chlamydia, herpes, and HPV through oral sex, which sucks—literally.
What you should look out for:
Bumps, sores, blisters, funky smells and/or funky fluids like discharge or prolonged spotting. You’ve lived with your body for a decent amount of time, so if you notice something is off, there’s a good chance it probably is. Trust your instincts and don’t hesitate to go to Health Services if you have questions or concerns. It’s better to be overly cautious than to ignore a problem and risk unknowingly spreading an infection. Though, you should be tested regularly, because not everyone shows symptoms.
Who you should go to:
Sewanee Health Services provides both exams and screening tests, as well as counseling for any questions or concerns you have. They can also refer you to a health department if you are uninsured or want to get tested without a bill, aka you want to avoid the uncomfortable, “By the way, Mom, my syphilis test is probably going to show up on our insurance statement” conversation.
Starting the conversation:
If you test positive for any STI, let any of your sexual partners who are at risk know that they should be on the lookout for symptoms. As our STI guru Karen says, “If there is one thing I could change about how we deal with STIs, it would be stopping the blame game. If a person gets strep throat they don’t go on a man (or woman) hunt to try to find ground zero. They just do what their provider tells them and they may communicate easily to partner/s that, if they start feeling bad, they should seek treatment. The conversation should very much occur like this. It is true that most people carrying an STI don’t not know it. Telling your partner/s that they need testing or treatment is the responsible and caring thing to do. Until we reduce the stigma around STIs and work on our ability to take care of each other by being courageous communicators, this won’t change. Unfortunately, our fear works only to make the spread of STIs happen more efficiently and effectively.”
YSR