Audrey1, a 22 year old young woman came to the clinic for Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) testing because she recently heard rumors that a previous sexual partner of hers had an infection of “some type”. She had not been experiencing any symptoms of an infection, but thought getting tested, “just to be sure” would be a good idea. Specimens were collected for testing and sent off to the lab. A week later she came back for her result appointment and to her surprise learned that her tests came back positive for chlamydia and gonorrhea. “Wow, I am shocked! It’s a good thing I came in, isn’t it?”
Gonorrhea and chlamydia are often called the “silent” STIs because they can be present without causing any noticeable symptoms, yet while untreated they can actually wreak havoc on the reproductive systems of women and even sometimes men.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that in 2016, there were 2.86 million cases of chlamydia and 820,000 cases of gonorrhea2. Most women infected with chlamydia or gonorrhea have no symptoms. Though both infections are easily treated with antibiotics, gonorrhea is showing resistance to antibiotic therapy and is presenting a challenge for treatment. Both infections, if left untreated, migrate from the cervix up into the uterus, fallopian tubes and surrounding tissues. This migration of infection can often lead to Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID). Infections in these areas can lead to the formation of scar tissue which can easily block the delicate and narrow fallopian tubes, a common cause of infertility. Additionally, one in ten pregnancies after an experience of PID lodge in the fallopian tube (ectopic pregnancy). Women who are infected with gonorrhea or chlamydia are at a higher risk of reinfection, therefore putting them at a higher risk of developing further episodes of PID, each time reducing fertility.
Audrey asks about infertility. “How will I know if this infection has caused me to become infertile?” There’s no way to know if any damage has occurred without doing very expensive, invasive tests. The best case scenario is that her infections were caught early and treated before they could cause any scar tissue. What is crucial for Audrey to understand is the more partners she has, the greater her risk for reinfection and complications from infections that lead to infertility. The CDC recommends annual screening for gonorrhea and chlamydia for all sexually active women under the age of 25, as well as older women who have new or multiple sex partners, or a sex partner who has a sexually transmitted infection.
Clarity Testing Clinic specializes in the testing and treatment of STIs. In addition to excellent medical care, our medical professionals provide a listening ear and positive guidance to those in need of STI testing and treatment. Patients are made aware of the possibilities available to them and helped to find a path that doesn’t lead back to the testing clinic. Make an appointment today by visiting our Appointment Page or calling 812-418-3230.
A fictitious patient who represents a common scenario faced at Clarity Testing Clinic.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (10/06/2017). STDs & Infertility, Retrieved 06/15/2018, from cdc.gov: https://www.cdc.gov/std/infertility/
Everyone loves a free gift, right? Who wouldn’t want a free drink from Starbucks? What is even nicer is a free gift when you least expect it. Like when you’ve had a hard morning and you hit the drive through at the nearby Starbucks and find out that the car ahead of you generously paid for your order. Who doesn’t love that? On the other hand, some free surprise gifts are better left withheld or avoided. A Sexually Transmitted Infection, for example. Yeah… no thanks! So, how can you tell if your partner has a sexually transmitted infection gift waiting to be presented?
For one, unless symptoms are clearly obvious (warts, sores or blisters in the genital area, experiencing pain or burning while urinating, discharge from the penis or vagina, or redness or swelling at the head of the penis or in the vaginal area)you can’t tell by just looking at your partner. Most STIs show no symptoms and therefore aren’t detected even by the person carrying them.
In addition, many people are not aware of places to even look for an infection. Some places that provide testing and treatment for STIs fail to test areas that can be infected with gonorrhea and chlamydia, such as the throat through oral sex or the anal area through anal sex. A person can test negative for gonorrhea and chlamydia in the genital area and positive in the oral or anal area. It happens. If you have put yourself at risk of infections in those areas, get them tested too.
While it would be easy to just say, “get yourself tested”, it is not that simple. It is true that STI testing will go a long way in helping to provide clarity to you or your partner’s status, it is important to understand that a “clean” bill of health is not 100% guaranteed to prevent giving or acquiring an infection. For example, some infections like HIV or herpes won’t show up on some tests if the test was performed during the “Window Period”, that period of time between when a person is infected with a virus and when the body begins producing antibodies against that virus that are picked up on a test. Also, some infections are not part of routine STI testing. Herpes is not routinely tested unless specifically asked for or indicated. Currently there are no recommended Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) tests for men, yet it is by far the most common STI of all.
In light of these unsettling facts, how does one avoid accepting or giving one of these “gifts”? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the experts in disease prevention, state on many of their STD Fact Sheets:
The only way to avoid STDs is to not have vaginal, anal, or oral sex.
If you are sexually active, you can do the following things to lower your chances of getting an infection:
Be in a long-term mutually monogamous relationship with a partner who has been tested and has negative STD test results;
Use latex condoms the right way every time you have sex1
Clarity Testing Clinic specializes in the testing and treatment of STIs. In addition to excellent medical care, our medical professionals provide a listening ear and positive guidance to those in need of STI testing and treatment. Patients are made aware of the possibilities available to them and helped to find a path that doesn’t lead back to the testing clinic. Make an appointment today by visiting our Appointment Page or calling 812-418-3230.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (10/04/2017). Chlamydia-CDC Fact Sheet. Retrieved 04/26/2017, from cdc.gov: https://www.cdc.gov/std/chlamydia/stdfact-chlamydia.htm
If you are concerned you may have been exposed to an STI, schedule a visit with your physician or local STI clinic as soon as possible. Sometimes symptoms of an infection will show up within a day. Other times, it can take months for there to be an indication of a problem. Don’t wait for symptoms to appear or feel a sense of relief if they don’t. Many infections can linger, progress, and even do damage to body tissue before there are any symptoms. Testing can be conducted as early as a couple days after an encounter of unprotected sex and prove helpful. However, you may be encouraged to follow-up initial tests in 3 months to clear the time that it may take for some infections to show up. It is also highly encouraged that you abstain from further sexual activity until you have been tested and treated if necessary.
Most everyone who is sexually active should be screened for STIs at some point, whether condoms are consistently used or not. The exception would be if you have only ever had one sexual partner and you have been their only sexual partner. Even then, if you question your partner’s sexual history or faithfulness, STI testing would be beneficial.
Personal risk factors also need to be taken into consideration when deciding when and what to test for. Many people express the desire to “just test for everything”. It may seem like the safest approach. However, it is best to openly discuss your risk factors with your healthcare provider and allow them to determine with you what tests are important for you.
Here are some guidelines to help you determine if you should seek STI testing.
You should seek out STI testing if:
You are engaging in unprotected sex. Whether you have had one encounter of mutual masturbation, oral, vaginal or anal sex with only one partner or you have had many encounters with many partners, without using a condom or barrier.
You are engaging in high-risk sexual behavior. High risk behaviors include, but are not limited to, having more than one partner in a year, having sex with someone who has sex with others, men having sex with other men, having sex with random or anonymous partners or commercial sex workers, and engaging in sex in exchange for money or drugs.
You experience symptoms such as burning during urination, an unusual odor or discharge from your penis or vagina, or bumps or sores in the genital area. Your healthcare provider will be able to determine what tests to perform and treatments to offer based on your medical/sexual history, symptoms, and exam findings.
You have tested positive for an infection in the past. Once you’ve dealt with an infection, you are at higher risk of being reinfected. It is a good practice to be retested for STIs three months after treatment for an infection.
You are involved in a relationship that has a higher risk for being exposed. Maybe your partner is known to have HIV or Herpes. In addition to practicing safer sex, it is a good idea to be tested more frequently.
Clarity Testing Clinic specializes in the testing and treatment of STIs. In addition to excellent medical care, our medical professionals provide a listening ear and positive guidance to those in need of STI testing and treatment. Patients are made aware of the possibilities available to them and helped to find a path that doesn’t lead back to the testing clinic. Make an appointment today by visiting our Appointment Page or calling 812-418-3230.
Are you confused about the difference between a STD and STI? You’re not alone. With the increased use of the term STI, Clarity wants to clarify what’s up with the change.
To start off, the acronym STI refers to a sexually transmitted infection while STD refers to a sexually transmitted disease. The simple difference is between the words infection and disease. An infection occurs when the body has been invaded by microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses or parasites. These microorganisms are not normally present. As these microorganisms enter the body and begin multiplying, they may do so without any signs or symptoms. A sexually transmitted infection occurs when these microorganisms are transmitted from an infected partner to an uninfected partner through oral, vaginal, or anal sexual activity and sometimes, though rarely, through mutual masturbation. The infected partner may not be aware they are infected and are capable of transmitting the infection to others without even knowing it.
A sexually transmitted disease on the other hand is a sexually acquired infection that has impaired normal functioning of a body part and is apparent by certain signs and symptoms. Signs and symptoms serve to alert the individual to something being “not right”, which may prompt them to seek out medical attention.
In the past, sexually transmitted infections and diseases were all lumped under the category of STDs. However, in an attempt to highlight the fact that people may be infected with a microorganism like Gonorrhea and not know it, the medical and public health communities began to more accurately refer to them as sexually transmitted infections.
Consider the following case study: Bob came to Clarity Testing Clinic because his girlfriend, Kelly, began experiencing symptoms of a vaginal infection, went to her doctor and was told that she had Chlamydia. Since Bob was her first and only sexual partner, she felt she must have been infected with the bacteria by him. Bob was surprised however, because he had never felt anything unusual, which he later learned was pretty common. His sexual partner before Kelly was at least 6 months prior. Bob wondered how he could have had Chlamydia for 6 months and yet not have any symptoms. It happens. If Bob understood that STIs can be present without symptoms, he may have chosen to be tested for STIs before engaging in sexual activity with Kelly. If Kelly understood that Bob, having had previous partners, could possibly have an infection that was not producing any symptoms, she may have asked Bob to get tested before engaging in sexual activity with him. Prevention is always best.
Sexually transmitted infections, if left untreated, may cause significant damage to tissues and organs leading to complications like pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility, chronic pelvic pain, ectopic pregnancy in women and Epididymitis in men.
Clarity Testing Clinic specializes in the testing and treatment of STIs. In addition to excellent medical care, our medical professionals provide a listening ear and positive guidance to those in need of STI testing and treatment. Patients are made aware of the possibilities available to them and helped to find a path that doesn’t lead back to the testing clinic. Make an appointment today by visiting our Appointment Page or calling 812-418-3230.
April has been designated as Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) Awareness Month, so we want to take a moment to highlight the importance of getting tested. If you are sexually active and not in a long-term, mutually monogamous relationship, such as marriage, for your health’s sake, get tested. Consider the following story:
Ben* was recently served at Clarity Testing Clinic because he had heard rumors about a past sexual partner who was dealing with an infection. He was nervous, but pushed past the fear and came anyway. In gathering some information to determine what type of testing he would need, he indicated that he had had five different partners in the past three months. He also reported that he used condoms about 50% of the time, but never for oral sex. He was not having any symptoms of an infection and said, “I’m pretty sure I don’t have anything, I just want to be sure”. We collected a urine and blood sample, a throat swab and did routine testing for HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia and trichomoniasis. We scheduled Ben to return in a week for his results and instructed him to abstain from all sexual activity until he received his lab results.
A week later, Ben was shocked to hear that his chlamydia test came back positive. “How is it that I don’t feel anything?” Ben asked. What a great question! We took the opportunity to inform Ben of the following:
Many people who have an STI don’t know it because they can often be present without symptoms.
Many STIs are passed from people who don’t even know they have one.
Protection from condoms reduces the risk of getting an infection, but they don’t eliminate the risk. At best they may reduce the risk about 30-80% if they are correctly used every time. Of course they offer no benefit if they are not used
STIs may be passed on through any type of sexual activity: vaginal sex, oral sex, anal sex and mutual masturbation.
You cannot tell if a partner has an STI just by outward appearance, or by their word. Because many who are infected have no symptoms- there is nothing to notice and they don’t know what they don’t know.
When an infection is present and goes unnoticed and is therefore untreated, it can progress to a more serious infection like Pelvic Inflammatory Disease in women and Epididymitis in men. Each of these more serious infections can lead to infertility issues in the future. Maybe that doesn’t sound like a problem to a 17 year old, but can account for much heartache when a child is desired.
Eliminating the risk of an infection by saving sex for marriage is the safest and healthiest approach to sexual activity.
Ben was treated with a single dose of an antibiotic, instructed to abstain from all sexual contact for a minimum of seven days and encouraged to help ensure that his partners also received treatment. He indicated that he was glad he came in for testing and encouraged his friend that came with him to also get tested.
Clarity Testing Clinic specializes in the testing and treatment of STIs. In addition to excellent medical care, our medical professionals provide a listening ear and positive guidance to those in need of STI testing and treatment. Patients are made aware of the possibilities available to them and helped to find a path that doesn’t lead back to the testing clinic. Make an appointment today by visiting our Appointment Page or calling 812-418-3230.
*Ben is a fictitious character, but represents a common experience of patients served at Clarity Testing Clinic.
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted bacterial infection, caused by the spirochete bacteria, Treponema pallidum.
How is it spread?
Through vaginal, anal and oral sex, from person to person through direct contact with a lesion. Pregnant women can also spread syphilis to their unborn children.
What are the signs and symptoms?
Syphilis is manifested in several, overlapping stages, Primary, Secondary, Latent and Tertiary (Late).
Primary Stage: Symptoms appear between two weeks after exposure to three months via a painless sore or sores in the genital area or mouth at the site where the bacteria entered the body. The sore(s) lasts for 3-6 weeks and heals without treatment.
Secondary Stage: Symptoms appear as the sore is healing or afterward. A non-itchy rash develops on the body, often on the palms of hands and soles of feet. Some are very distinct and others are hardly noticeable. Other symptoms include sores in the mouth, vagina, or anus, fever, sore throat, flu-like symptoms, and patchy hair loss. The secondary stage symptoms will subside with or without treatment. Without treatment the disease progresses to the latent and possibly late stages of the disease.
Latent Stage: This stage has no symptoms and is only detectable through a blood test. This stage may last for years. Early-latent syphilis, which is when the infection is less than a year old, is considered contagious. Late-latent syphilis, when the infection is greater than a year old, is considered non-contagious. However, because there are no symptoms and previous stage symptoms may have been unrecognized, it is difficult to determine whether someone is in the early or late-latent stage.
Tertiary (Late) Stage: When syphilis is left untreated after months or years, it progresses to the Tertiary or Late stage of the disease. At this time the disease begins to produce lesions on the skin, liver, bones, eyes, heart or other vital organs. Lesions on the brain can lead to dementia and other neurological complications. Damage to vital organs can result in death. Most people in the United States do not progress to the tertiary stage because of antibiotic therapy used to treat other infections that can have an indirect effect of clearing the syphilis infection.
How can syphilis affect newborns?
The severity of syphilis in the fetus or newborn, known as congenital syphilis, can range from no symptoms to spontaneous abortion, stillbirth or neonatal death. Common early symptoms of the disease in babies are a generalized skin rash, runny nose, liver and heart issues and multiple organ failure. Late symptoms are usually not present at birth and later appear as long bone deformities, deformities in the bones of the jaw and face, neurological issues resulting in hearing loss and psychosocial deficiencies.
How is syphilis diagnosed?
Primary and secondary syphilis can be diagnosed through microscopic examinations of tissue obtained from lesions. Blood tests, of which there are several types, are the most common means of diagnosing syphilis. A positive result in one type of blood test should be followed-up with a second type of blood test to give a definitive diagnosis, as each test has limitations and may produce false-positive results in certain situations.
How is syphilis treated?
Syphilis is easily cured in the primary, secondary and early-latent stages with a single injection of penicillin. In the later stages, or for those infected with the bacteria for more than a year, additional doses of penicillin are required. Some damage caused by the disease during the later stages is irreversible. Syphilis in pregnancy and congenital syphilis are treatable, but require special considerations.
How can syphilis be prevented?
The best way to avoid transmission of all sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is to abstain from oral, vaginal and anal sex or to be in a long term, mutually monogamous relationship such as marriage, with an uninfected partner.
Consistent and correct condom usage can reduce the risk of syphilis, but does not eliminate it because sometimes the infectious area is not covered by the condom.
Alcohol and drug use may affect a person’s judgment leading to high risk sexual behavior. Therefore, avoiding such substances may also help reduce transmission of syphilis and other STIs.
It is virtually impossible to tell if your partner has an STI, such as syphilis, by what they report or just by looking at them. Many STIs have no symptoms so your partner could have an infection without even knowing it themselves. Getting tested can put both of your minds at ease.
Clarity Testing Clinic specializes in the testing and treatment of STIs. In addition to excellent medical care, our medical professionals provide a listening ear and positive guidance to those in need of STI testing and treatment. Patients are made aware of the possibilities available to them and helped to find a path that doesn’t lead back to the testing clinic. Make an appointment today by visiting our Appointment Page or calling 812-418-3230.
