Tag Archives: STI screening

STD Awareness: Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Pregnancy

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Every month since January 2011, we’ve been sharing installments of our STD Awareness series, and each month, we’ve encouraged you to protect yourself from sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) by using dental dams and condoms. But what if you’re trying to get pregnant? In that case, you’re probably not using condoms! However, it is very important that partners know their STD status — being screened and treated for STDs prior to pregnancy is a good idea for your health, and can protect your future baby.

If you and a partner are trying to get pregnant, you might consider being screened for STDs together.

When present during pregnancy, certain STDs can have negative health effects for you or your future baby (including preterm labor, stillbirth, low birth weight, pneumonia, certain infections, blindness, and liver disease), especially if they are not cured or treated in time. Receiving prenatal care can help prevent these problems, so it is important to be screened and treated for STDs prior to or early in your pregnancy.

During pregnancy, the immune system undergoes changes, which are probably necessary to ensure that the body doesn’t reject the fetus — normally, the immune system recognizes non-self cells as potential pathogens and attacks. These immune system changes might make a pregnant person more susceptible to disease. Latent viral infections, like genital warts or herpes, might come out of dormancy. Additionally, anatomical changes lead to a larger exposed area of the cervix, which is potentially more vulnerable to initial infections. Continue reading →

Over 90 Percent of What Planned Parenthood Does, Part 3: STD Testing

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Welcome to the latest installment of “Over 90 Percent of What Planned Parenthood Does,” a series on Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona’s blog that highlights Planned Parenthood’s diverse array of services — the ones Jon Kyl doesn’t know about.

What is a sexually transmitted disease (STD)? It’s an infection that you receive or transmit through unprotected sexual contact. It can happen with one encounter or with multiple partners. Sometimes people say, “I’m a virgin, how can I get an STD?” These infectious diseases may be transmitted to another person through kissing or direct skin-to-skin contact, as well as bodily fluids such as blood, semen, or vaginal and cervical secretions.

More than half of us will have an STD at some point.

There’s no doubt about it, sexually transmitted diseases are a risk for anyone who is sexually active. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that there are 19 million new infections reported each year, and almost half of them are among young people ages 15 to 24. The Guttmacher Institute states that by the age of 17, most teens have had intercourse (vaginal sex). Arizona Department of Health reports show that our rates of chlamydia are increasing and gonorrhea and syphilis rates are remaining fairly steady, especially among teens and young adults. The American Social Health Association says that more than half of all people will contract an STD at some point in their lives.

Left untreated, STDs can create health problems for those infected. Untreated chlamydia and gonorrhea can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, increased chances of tubal pregnancies, and chronic pelvic pain. In the worst-case scenario, these infections can lead to permanent infertility. Continue reading →

Planned Parenthood Services for Men: We’ve Got You Covered

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At Planned Parenthood, we’re passionate about women’s health, and indeed, our health care centers are well known for their top-notch services aimed at the female population. But not a lot of people associate Planned Parenthood with men’s health — despite the fact that we offer a wide range of services for men, ranging from those you expect (like condoms) to those you might not expect (like smoking cessation).

Planned Parenthood offers cancer screening and family-planning options for men, as well as an array of services that include cholesterol screening, diabetes screening, and even smoking cessation.

Sexually active people should be screened for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) — even if your partner has negative test results, that doesn’t mean you’re in the clear, so you can’t rely on your significant other to provide your STD screening “by proxy.” Especially because so many STDs are asymptomatic, it’s better to get yourself tested. We can screen and treat for STDs, as well as offer preventive vaccines for hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and human papillomavirus (HPV). Most people associate the HPV vaccine, Gardasil, with females, since HPV is behind 99 percent of cervical cancers. But males can benefit from Gardasil as well. Not only will they be protecting their partners, but they will also be protecting themselves from the viruses that can cause precancerous penile lesions as well as the majority of genital warts and anal cancers.

Men’s services also include life-saving cancer screening — we can check you out for prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, or testicular cancer. We can also evaluate penile lesions, which might lead to penile cancer if left untreated. These might not be the kind of check-ups anyone looks forward to, but they represent the kind of preventive health care that can save your life — or just your money — down the road. Continue reading →