testing and other health services,” she suggests. “Additionally, addressing barriers that we know prevent adolescents from seeking STI testing services, such as cost, transportation and stigma, are important.”
Dr. David Rosenthal, medical director of the Center for Young Adult, Adolescent and Pediatric HIV at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New York City, reviewed the findings.
“This report underlines what we’ve seen in practice for a long time,” he says.
Rosenthal says many STIs, including HIV, are seen among adolescents, which is why screening is vital.
“I always tell the young people that knowledge is power and if you know your status, you can treat something — if you don’t know what’s going on you can’t take care of your own health,” he adds.
Rosenthal notes there are a lot of very easy treatments for gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis.
But, he adds, if you don’t know you have an STI, you run the risk of significant illness and, in young women, pelvic inflammatory disease. And, of course, you can transmit these infections to others.
“The way I look at it is that by knowing your status, you’re not only taking care of your health, you’re also taking care of the health of people you love,” Rosenthal says.
Protecting yourself
To protect against getting an STI, Rosenthal recommends using condoms.
“It’s very effective in decreasing both pregnancy, transmission of HIV and STIs. But we realize that sometimes that doesn’t happen,” he shares. “If that’s the case, it’s really important that you go see a provider and that you can get tested for STIs.”
People have sex in different ways, Rosenthal adds.
“So, it’s really important that when you go to your doctor, you don’t just pee into a cup to look for STIs,” he says. “If you have anal or oral sex, you should also get swabs for gonorrhea and chlamydia and a blood test to look for HIV and syphilis.”
He recommends screening at least once a year.
“If you have a risk situation or if a condom broke or if you aren’t sure about someone’s status,” Rosenthal says, “it always is fine to get an extra test at any time.”
Many teens are reluctant to get tested for STIs, he says. It’s a combination of not wanting to talk about sex with their doctor, not seeing a doctor at all, or doctors not asking patients if they are sexually active, he adds.
“There was a great quote from the Institute of Medicine saying, ‘It’s easier to be sexually active than to talk about sex,’ and I think that’s true,” Rosenthal says.
Frank doctor-patient conversations are all part of making sure that people take ownership and responsibility for their sexual health, he says. He adds that it is important for patients to know that their health care provider understands not only their sexual health and activity, but also their sexual orientation and gender identity.