Get Yourself Tested

Knowledge is power and never was this more evident than in the fight against sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

April is STD Awareness Month; a time set aside for concentrated efforts to educate and inform the public on the prevention and treatment of STD. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging health-care providers to begin having frank discussions about sexual health with patients, particularly younger people.

Americans under the age of 24 are more likely to have their health affected by STDs and it is estimated that half of all sexually active Americans under the age of 25 will contract an STD and many won’t know it.

Every year STDs cost the U.S. health-care system $17 billion, to say nothing of the financial and emotional costs to individuals. Screenings and vaccinations both serve useful purposes in keeping young people healthy, but STD Awareness Month was created to spark a conversation about sexual health and the prevention of new infections.

For more on this story, see the April 26 issue of the Navarre Press or subscribe online.