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Health

Just Because an STD Is Curable Doesn’t Mean It Can’t Mess You Up

Here's the scary truth.
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Most sexually transmitted infections (STIs) seem like no big deal—you get the clap, no shame, just get your doctor to prescribe dose of cipro, right? Even HIV can be controlled with medication now. And while stigma around incurable conditions like herpes still lingers, there's generally a blasé attitude toward most STIs—I'll get tested when I get a chance, or if I think I might have something.

According to the CDC, the rate of reportable STIs is on the rise—and therefore, so are things like HPV and herpes, which aren't reported to the public health department when they're diagnosed. Perhaps we're being a little too casual when it comes to STIs.

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If you're not getting regularly tested (that's every three months to a year, depending on your age and sexual proclivities) you might want to rethink your stance, because you could actually be putting your sexual health and that of your partners at risk.

Here's the big problem: Leslie Kantor, vice president of education at Planned Parenthood, says many people may be infected without realizing it. Those horrifying pictures you saw in ominous slide shows during sex ed? Yeah, those are extreme cases—you can be infected, and infect others, without even knowing it, which is why you can't wait for signs of an STI to appear before you decide to get tested.

If an STI isn't diagnosed and treated, it can have serious long-term consequences. For cis women, for instance, some infections carry a risk of causing pelvic inflammatory disease, a painful chronic illness that can potentially compromise your fertility. Nearly 24,000 cis women develop infertility because of untreated STIs every year. In cis men, chronic infections can cause a variety of complications that interfere with fertility and potentially increase the risk of impotence.


More From Tonic: The Silent HIV Crisis Sweeping the American South


HPV can cause genital warts, but is also associated with some cancers, including not just cervical cancer, but cancers of the throat in both men and women. (Thankfully, many high-risk types of HPV are vaccine-preventable.) Untreated STIs can also increase the risk of HIV infection. Heather Corinna, founder of youth sex education site Scarleteen, notes that there's another reason to get tested—if you've got access to health care, you're looking out for those who don't. You're also protecting people with compromised immune systems who could get really sick from that thing you can treat with a quick course of antibiotics.

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Given the uncertainty surrounding health care policy in America, it's worth delving into the issue of health care more deeply for a moment, too. Republicans are pushing to defund Planned Parenthood, a leading provider of sexual health care. The organization estimates that it offers 4.2 million tests and treatments for STIs annually across the country.

Meanwhile, changes to Medicaid and private insurance may force people off the insurance rolls, making it harder to access sexual health care from other providers. If you think STIs are easy to resolve with a quick trip to the clinic, are you sure that clinic is going to stick around, or that you'll have insurance to cover your next visit?

Think about it this way: People mock anti-vaxxers for unscientific thinking and putting everyone else at risk with their bizarre refusal to take advantage of amazingly safe and effective ways to prevent horrific diseases. So why wouldn't we take advantage of all the great options for preventing, testing, and treating STIs?

"People who want to have sex with you are likely to say yes when safer sex is on the table, because it's just not that big of a deal," says Corinna, who notes that safer sex itself can actually be sexy if you make it part of the sensual experience. "It's seeing somebody get out the lube, or reaching into the condom basket—you're with somebody who clearly knows what they're doing, and that's sexy. That's exciting." Read This Next: 6 Things People Still Get Wrong About Sex