Health News.

THE TREATING SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS AND PROMOTING SEXUAL HEALTH: REGULAR STD CHECK-UPS

Because regular STD check-ups are an important part of maintain where you feel comfortable discussing issues of sexual health.

All adolescents and adults must have a health care provider with whom they can talk. The person you choose to provide you with medical advice in the area of sexuality may or may not be your regular health care provider. Sometimes people do not feel comfortable bringing up these issues with a long-time health care provider or someone who also provides health care to other family members. Another consideration in choosing a medical person to advise you in the area of sexual health is that certain family practitioners, internists, and pediatricians who don’t specialize in STDs may not have access to the most up-to-date information about them.

Clinics that specialize in treating sexually transmitted infections and promoting sexual health may be a good alternative to the family physician. You can find listings for them in the phone book for your community under “sexually transmitted diseases,” or you may want to contact one of the national hot lines in the reference section of the book, which can assist you in finding a local provider. There are family planning clinics, state and county health department STD clinics, infectious disease clinics, women’s health clinics, and private STD clinics from which to choose. Many clinics offer these services at reduced fees or on a sliding-fee scale.

It’s extremely important to feel comfortable with your health care provider and to trust that person to provide sound advice and good medical care. Only under these circumstances can you be honest about what’s worrying you and about your symptoms. And only if you are honest can a health care provider help you. Health care providers aren’t mind readers—they make decisions about your care based not only on what they find during the examination, but also on what you tell them. Keep in mind, too, that your health care provider is bound by the rules of practice to protect your privacy. This also goes for adolescents: All adolescents in the United States have the right to diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections without the consent or knowledge of their parents.

Testing can be done confidentially or, in some instances, anonymously. Confidential testing means that your medical records are not released to anyone without your written permission. Most medical records are confidential; however, the people who work where you were tested, and possibly your insurance company, will have access to your records. Anonymous testing means that you do not use your whole name when you are tested. You may use only your first name, or you may use a name other than your real name. You will usually be assigned a number that corresponds to the number on your tests, and you must give this number to receive your results. In this case, there is complete anonymity, and only you know that you are being tested and what the results of the testing are.

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