Whether you are a girl who has decided to start having sex with your boyfriend or a guy who has decided to start having sex with his girlfriend, the first thing you both should do is to go have a test to determine if either one has been exposed to an STD or Sexually Transmitted Disease.
Sometimes this can be a difficult topic to talk about, some people have no problem with the topic, but it is a topic that needs to be discussed and if you cannot discuss this with your boy/girlfriend, then maybe you are not mature enough to be having sex.
To begin with, couples should not be having sex until after they are married, but in today’s world unfortunately that happens very rarely. If you are in a couple that is engaged to be married, whether it is an older couple or a young couple and you have not yet had sex, you still need to have the STDs talk and be tested before you get married or have sex. This is because neither one of you knows for sure that people you may have been with in the past are clean of STDs. No matter how much you love and trust your husband or wife to be; boy or girlfriend, you still need to get tested.
Before you sit down to have the talk, do yourself a favor and learn the facts about STDs. Sometimes knowing that STDs are a medical problem that comes with serious health risks makes having the talk a little easier. Having this knowledge will give you the confidence you need to answer any questions your boy/girlfriend or husband/wife to be may have.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to know if a person has or does not have an STD by looking at them or knowing what their relationship history is. It is imperative that you make it clear that you will not get married or have sex without first getting an STD test.
It is easy and sometimes free to get tested for STD’s. Some of the places you can go include your doctor’s office, an STD clinic, health department, or the CDC website for more information or options.
Each STD requires different test. Your doctor or the health department or STD clinic will either go by your symptoms, or your medical and sexual history. Testing may require a physical exam, blood sample, urine sample, mouth swab, genital swab or swab from any discharge or sores.
The following is a list of STDs you should be tested for:
- HIV
- Human Papilloma virus/ Genital warts
- Syphilis
- Genital and oral herpes
- Hepatitis B
- Gonorrhea
- Chlamydia
Comments