If You're Sexually Active Here's What You Need to Know About STDs

STDs are soaring. More than 2.5 million infections were reported in 2019, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s the sixth consecutive year of the highest STI numbers in this country’s history.

April is STD Awareness Month, making it an ideal opportunity to get educated — and tested. Whether you have one partner or many, contracting sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) is possible. 

The providers at Macomb Medical Clinic in Sterling Heights, Michigan, are recognized for their skill and nonjudgmental approach in testing and treating all your medical conditions, including STDs. Here’s what they want you to know about STDs. 

STDs don’t always cause symptoms

Many STDs have no signs or symptoms so mild you may not notice them. 

If you’re sexually active, any of the eight pathogens that cause STDs may lurk in your body without you are your partner realizing it. What you can’t see can be detected with testing.

Early detection is essential

All STDs can be prevented, and most can be treated and cured. The key is early detection.

Whether you came to our clinic with STD symptoms or no signs of infection, learning you have an STD is scary.

The Macomb team helps you navigate the medical side by beginning treatment (typically a round of antibiotics) and the complicated process of identifying the source and disclosing the information to others.

While not all STDs are curable, many are when caught early. The professionals at Macomb Medical Clinic offer the best treatments for managing symptoms and reducing transmission for those with no cure.

Who should get tested for STDs?

Regular wellness exams don’t include STD testing. Here’s how to know you should get tested:

• You’re a sexually active woman under age 25
• You’re a sexually active woman over age 25 with multiple partners
• You’re pregnant
• You’re a sexually active gay or bisexual man
• You engage in unprotected sex (no condom)
• You share injection needles with others

Also, everyone between the ages of 13-64, whether sexually active or not, should get tested at least once for HIV. 

Untreated STDs can cause severe complications

Having an STD is bad enough but left untreated, it can lead to serious long-term health, especially for young women. Each disease has a different set of complications, but in general:

• HIV can lead to cancer: 570,000 people get cervical cancer, and 300,000 of them die
• Herpes and syphilis increase your chance of getting HIV by a factor of three
• Chlamydia and gonorrhea can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility

Pregnant women with STDs put their babies at risk for:

• Stillbirth
• Low birth weight
• Neonatal death
• Pneumonia
• Sepsis
• Neonatal conjunctivitis
• Deformities

The good news is that early detection and treatment can prevent most of these tragic scenarios. If you have any symptoms of STDs — vaginal discharge, abdominal pain, burning when you urinate, genital sores, warts, or ulcers — schedule a consultation with the team at Macomb Medical Clinic by calling the office today.