STDs tend to have a very harsh stigma attached to them and those who may have any one of them. Like most other issues, especially health and medical related issues, a lot of the time people tend to develop these negative connotations because of ignorance or a lack of knowledge. A lack of responsible sexual behavior can most certainly lead to the development of STDs but many people don’t take into consideration, the number of other ways that can lead to this same result. It is very unfortunate that those who may have developed an STD due to a blood transfusion, unknowing come into contact with infected blood or bodily fluid, a medical worker at a hospital for example, or been transferred an STD by their mother during the birth process. Another type of person who may develop an STD that people may not consider are those who are committed and monogamous to their partner, practice safe sexual practices and uphold high values but, unknowingly to them, their partners have been unfaithful and contracted an STD and infected their partner because they were not honest. This situation is the hardest to deal with. If people would encourage their friends or loved ones to be fully informed about the status of their health. If I were to ever be in that situation and had someone close to me tell me that they thought it was a possibility that they could have an STD I would infatic about encouraging them to get tested. I would tell them some of the many problems that they could be causing if they didn’t. I would tell my friend that, by prolonging getting tested they could very possibly be causing significant and possibly irreversible damage to their body. Many STDs, if left untreated, can cause many side effects and a lot are irreversible and/or can be very serious like infertility or cervical cancer. If a person is not certain that they do not have an STD they could very possibly be responsible for the spreading of that STD. Honesty is extremely important to me and that includes honesty to your partner about the health risks they might have as well as honesty to themselves by having a complete understanding about their bodies.
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I too would promote the person to go and get tested. So many complications can occur when an STD is left untreated. Some people see STDs as emarrasing. Some people receive STDs even when they are faithful to their partner. For this reason the person should not feel of guilt because they are not at fault. It is important that everyone get tested on a regular basis even if they feel that they can trust their partner.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I think testing should be encouraged and that perhaps like the HIV testing in Africa, where the tests are automatically performed unless the patient denies it, our country could more easily combat the increasing rates of STDs with a medically based subjective norm.
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