Get STD Tested!!!!!!

    I had a precarious situation to happen to me last month that hurt me deeply but it also made me think.  I was betrayed by someone that I trusted with my whole heart.  We even had the sex talk about being monogamous and committed to each other.   I thought we would get married and have a kid or two together. 

     I believed in him but I also believed that I was the only person he was having sex with; to my complete surprise I found that to not be true.  He doesn’t think that it’s a big deal what he did to me but he put my life in danger; that’s what makes me so angry.  Think about it for a minute every time he slept with her and slept with me he put my life, and to be honest hers, in danger.  What if I was HIV positive or had some other STD.  All three of us could end up infected and the crazy thing is she’s pregnant (by him no less), so the baby could have been infected too.

     I’m at an age where I don’t want to go into a doctor’s office and say “I think I have an STD.”  Talk about embarrassing.  He apologized to me but what good is an apology if his choices cost me my life.   I’m not saying that I’m not responsible too; so don’t think that I’m blameless here.  I made a decision that opened me to a situation that I don’t ever want to be in.  What a thing to think about, right, because I want to live to grow very old and very honoree.  I thank God he didn’t give me a disease but now that I think back I’m going “what were you thinking trusting someone like that.”  I know you guys feel me right?

     Did you know that some of these diseases have no symptoms at all and are you aware that some people that are HIV positive look absolutely healthy?  I know quite a few of them.  I'm just saying!  In fact, you could have an STD now and not know it.  That’s a scary thing to think about but it’s also the reason why STDs/STIs are rapidly spread from person to person.  Let me give you some statistics from the American Sexual Health Association and “Centers for Disease Control and Prevention” (CDC):

• ·         Consistent condom use provides substantial protection against the acquisition of many STDs, including statistically significant reduction of risk against HIV, chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes, and syphilis.

• ·         Recent estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Infection show that there are 19.7 million new STIs every year in the U.S.

• ·        How common is syphilis? In the United States, health officials reported over 36,000 cases of syphilis in 2006, including 9,756 cases of primary and secondary (P&S) syphilis. In 2006, half of all P&S syphilis cases were reported from 20 counties and 2 cities; and most P&S syphilis cases occurred in persons 20 to 39 years of age. The incidence of P&S syphilis was highest in women 20 to 24 years of age and in men 35 to 39 years of age. Reported cases of congenital syphilis in newborns increased from 2005 to 2006, with 339 new cases reported in 2005 compared to 349 cases in 2006. How do people get syphilis?

• ·        Syphilis is passed from person to person through direct contact with a syphilis sore. Sores occur mainly on the external genitals, vagina, anus, or in the rectum. Sores also can occur on the lips and in the mouth. Transmission of the organism occurs during vaginal, anal, or oral sex. Pregnant women with the disease can pass it to the babies they are carrying. Syphilis cannot be spread through contact with toilet seats, doorknobs, swimming pools, hot tubs, bathtubs, shared clothing, or eating utensils.

• ·        What is chlamydia.  Chlamydia is a common sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by a bacterium. Chlamydia can infect both men and women and can cause serious, permanent damage to a woman's reproductive organs.

• ·         How common is chlamydia?  Chlamydia is the most frequently reported bacterial sexually transmitted infection in the United States. In 2011, 1,412,791 cases of chlamydia were reported to CDC from 50 states and the District of Columbia, but an estimated 2.86 million infections occur annually. A large number of cases are not reported because most people with chlamydia do not have symptoms and do not seek testing. Chlamydia is most common among young people. It is estimated that 1 in 15 sexually active females aged 14-19 years has chlamydia.

• ·         Each year, there are almost 3 million new cases of chlamydia, many of which are in adolescents and young adults. The CDC recommends that sexually active females 25 and under should be screened at least once a year for chlamydia, even if no symptoms are present.

• ·         About two-thirds of young females believe doctors routinely screen teens for chlamydia.  However, in 2003 only 30% of women 25 and under with commercial health care plans and 45% in Medicaid plans were screened for chlamydia. 

     Alright, I think that’s enough for now but I’m adding a few links so you can go and check out some information for yourself.  I highly recommend that if you’re sexually active that you go and get checked out on a yearly basis.  Before you ask, yes I do.  I believe in that.  You have to know what’s going on down there.  LOL!  I’ve provided some additional links with more information on STDs; just click the link and it will direct you to the page.  I’m Lady PJ and information is power so be informed.

 ·         Minority Womans Health:  http://womenshealth.gov/minority-health/african-americans/stis.cfm·         African Americans and STDs:  http://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/newsroom/docs/AAs-and-STD-Fact-Sheet-042011.pdf My sources for this article:

• ·         http://www.cdc.gov/std/publications/

• ·         http://www.ashasexualhealth.org/std-sti/std-statistics.html