If you are sexually active, getting tested for sexually transmitted diseases, also commonly referred to as sexually transmitted infections (STIs), is one of the most practical steps you can take to protect your health.
In fact, the CDC recommends regular testing.
Even so, many men and women put off testing, assuming they would feel something if anything were wrong, or worrying about the cost and privacy of getting checked.
At Pathways Clinic, we offer free STI testing so that you can prioritize your health without those concerns standing in your way.
Here are three important reasons to be tested for STIs.
1. Many STIs Cause No Symptoms
A common assumption is that an STI would announce itself.
The reality is that many of the most widespread infections, including chlamydia, gonorrhea, and HPV, can live in your body for months or even years without producing a single noticeable symptom.
You or your partner could have an active infection right now and not even know it. Even when symptoms are absent, the infection can still harm your body and be passed between partners.
Testing is the only reliable way to know your status, and it replaces guesswork with answers you can act on.
2. Early Detection Protects Your Long-Term Health
When STIs are caught early, treatment is usually straightforward.
Bacterial infections like chlamydia and gonorrhea can be cured with a round of antibiotics, and the parasitic infection trichomoniasis is also curable.
Viral infections like HIV and HPV cannot be cured, but early diagnosis opens the door to therapies that manage symptoms and reduce the chance of passing the infection to a partner.
Left undetected, STIs can lead to serious complications, including pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility, chronic pelvic pain, heart disease, and HPV-associated cervical and rectal cancers.
Knowing your status now gives you the chance to address problems before they become permanent.
3. STI Testing Is Critical During Pregnancy
If you are pregnant or think you might be, STI testing should not wait.
Some infections cross the placenta during pregnancy, and others are passed to your baby during delivery. The consequences can include miscarriage, preterm birth, low birth weight, newborn eye infections, and pneumonia.
Getting tested and treated early protects both you and your child. If you are weighing your options, including abortion, testing first is also essential because an untreated infection can spread through the reproductive tract during a procedure and lead to additional complications.
Free and Confidential STI Testing at Pathways Clinic
You should not have to choose between your health and your privacy. Pathways Clinic offers free and confidential STI testing, along with free pregnancy testing and ultrasounds.
If you test positive, we will talk through the results with you, share trusted treatment resources, and help you find the right next step on the pathway forward.
You are brave. You are strong. You are enough.