| How many of you actually get tested for STD's? If not why?
Posted: 4/19/2007 3:23:09 PM | I am such a freak about stuff like that (there is a word for it, but I sure as hell cant spell it)... I get tested religiously every 6-8 months.
I do ask my partners about it and most importantly, I never ever double dip (that is, have more than one penis at a time).
Since I am bi-sexual though, I have to be extra careful with the females I choose to sleep with, because, lets face it, that dental dam crap is only good if you are getting a root canal.
But the funny thing is, its not HIV that worries me, its all that OTHER crap out there that we dont even KNOW about... With the way that HIV mutates form person to person, it could be brewing a whole different type of infection or crossed with something else.
Lets face it, there was a time that we didnt KNOW what HIV was and there is going to be a time soon where something new and just as scary is going to pop up.
My advice, dont have casual sex, get tested and tested often and even if you ARE in a serious relationship, you and your partner should get tested once a year together.
*poof*
~jo~ | |
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| How many of you actually get tested for STD's? If not why?
Posted: 4/19/2007 3:29:09 PM | lets face it, that dental dam crap is only good if you are getting a root canal.
LOL-----------------I thought the same thing when I saw one, but to me oral is personal and I have only let one man go there!
I cannot see the dental dam helping in any way except to kill the mood and it definetly would P*ss me off having to hang on to it and so on ................does it really prevent the spreading of diseases as aren;t the fingers used in oral as well? | |
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| How many of you actually get tested for STD's? If not why?
Posted: 10/10/2007 7:53:31 PM | | Girls should definitely get tested for HPV also, and GET THE VACCINE Gardasil, which guards against the 4 most common strains that can cause cervical cancer. While not technically an STD, it is cancer causing and spread through sex. Guys are mostly carriers. There's no test to tell if a guy has it, so far. The only way the guy knows is if they get cancer from it. | |
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| How many of you actually get tested for STD's? If not why?
Posted: 10/10/2007 8:14:14 PM | In response to the guy who said a public health nurse had told him herpes could be contracted from a toilet seat - buddy, you need to check your sources - you are way to gullible and uniformed!
Generally, STDs are not passed by coming in contact with a toilet seat. Most STDs are only transmitted during sexual contact, either by skin-to-skin contact or through body fluid exchange. Crabs, or pubic lice, may be transmitted through sexual contact, sleeping in infected bedding, sharing infected clothing and possibly through sitting on an infested toilet seat. However, lice cannot survive away from the human body for longer than 24 hours. So contracting pubic lice from a toilet seat is possible, but it's unlikely.
Herpes II and I are viral infections spread through direct skin-to-skin contact and sexual contact (oral, anal or vaginal). The main difference between Herpes I and Herpes II is that the Herpes I virus is usually found in the mouth or facial area and the Herpes II virus is usually found in the genital area. In both locations it causes a painful ulcer which can start out as a fluid-filled blister-like lesion. Some other symptoms of herpes are flu-like symptoms, fatigue, fever or swollen glands. Both Herpes I and Herpes II can cause either genital and/or oral outbreaks. The virus remains dormant in the body for the person's entire life between outbreaks.
Oral Herpes (fever blisters, cold sores) usually last at least a week. The fluid they contain has the virus in it and they are contagious as long as there is secretion from the blisters. Kissing, shaking hands and sharing a drinking glass can spread the virus.
It is possible to develop herpes II in the mouth region. A person with an open wound in their mouth having oral contact with someone who has open sores can develop the virus. If sore develops on the mouth and they are open, then the virus could be transmitted to a glass and then to someone else.
and yes, I test prior to starting any new relationship (generally right after one ends) and then I get another follow up test every six months...always have and always will - and my GP is totally OK with it.
XXX Cat | |
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| How many of you actually get tested for STD's? If not why?
Posted: 10/11/2007 5:43:04 PM | I am a strong believer of Condoms and I still get tested yearly. I figure it is only the right and mature thing to do.. My recent tests came back clean as always. It is the best thing to do for yourself and anyone you love!!! Get tested, use rubbers and live long!  | |
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| How many of you actually get tested for STDs? If not why?
Posted: 10/11/2007 6:27:52 PM | The rule of thumb is to use condoms for three months, the window period for HIV, then you both get tested for the usual suspects, gonorrhea and chlamydia, as well as HIV. The test for gonorrhea and chlamydia is a urine test for men. Chlamydia tends to be symptomless for about 50% of men and 80% of women. You can't get tested for HPV, but the women should have regular Pap tests to make sure they don't have abnormal cells on their cervix. The doc can do STI swabs at the same time. Continuing to use condoms is a good idea, because so many people are also infected with herpes and don't know it. Condoms will help reduce transmission.
Getting treated for a bacterial infection like chlamydia has an added advantage: people with untreated STIs have an increased risk for getting HIV from an infected person if they don't use condoms. | |
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| How many of you actually get tested for STDs? If not why?
Posted: 10/11/2007 7:39:47 PM | Absolutely... tested every six months when I am sexually active, and insist on my partners being tested also...and that counts oral sex ...STD's can be passed orally as well (most of them) More so from man to woman, but neither are immune.
Chlamydia is a nasty one because it can cause cervical cancer, PID and serious urinary and uterine infections and scarring...and most of the time people don't even know they have it. Syphilis sounds archaic today, but it's still around and if not caught early can cause everything from blindness to insanity to death..it spreads throughout the body. HPV rarely has symptoms in women...
Like the post.."is anal sex dangerous without a condom?" Good grief..umm.. oh, hell ya. The rectum was not made for sex and tears easily (easy access to bloodstream)..it also does not have the lubrication and acidic environment of the vagina...which kills a lot of bacteria and such. ALSO.. it has feces in it...let's think about this one...ummm... it's a perfect environment for nasty organisms (no I did NOT say orgasms..LOL get your minds out of the gutter...were talking safe sex here !). I hope most people out there know that going from anus to vagina without a thorough antibacterial cleansing it just really dangerous.
I grew up in the eighties, and those who did also can probably relate ....it was before we ever heard of HIV, condoms were a joke, and "safe sex" wasn't a term we knew, it was also a pretty "party hard" decade..The big word I heard about STD's then was "the Clap".. and we all knew it was only a course of antibiotics to fix it right up, plus only guys who had been with hookers, and sailors were supposed to have that. (it's easy to blame the pro's, everyone looks down on them, but they are probably more careful about sex than a lot of other people, they have to be..) Then people started getting sick and dying. First in the gay community..but only because unprotected anal sex makes it a little more likely to contract the virus ... but soon after in the straight community as well. Scared the crap right out of me and a lot of my friends... but we still thought we would never get anything like that. Well..it hasn't turned out that way for a lot of people. I am happy to say I made it through the eighties (and early nineties) Clean as a whistle.
What I have noticed is that in this thread the vast majority of those who admit to testing (and safe sex), are strong advocates of it, and seem to be quite literate with the subject seem to be women. Why is that?
Could be a lot of reasons ( I won't "assume")...though I will give you a hint boys...this issue has a huge amount of brownie points in it. Disease-free and committed to remaining that way is really really sexy. Really | |
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| How many of you actually get tested for STD's? If not why?
Posted: 10/11/2007 8:48:07 PM | | Personally I was raped when I was sixteen and since then have been tested regularly even if I used protection... but havent in a while since I have been monogomous with my fiancee/Boyfriend for quite some time but otherwise I would be getting tested every 6months . | |
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| How many of you actually get tested for STDs? If not why?
Posted: 10/12/2007 8:58:53 PM | ToWoman1 - not sure if things are different where you live but there are actually three types of tests for gonorrhea (and the urine test is the least efficient):
Swab sample. A swab sample from the part of the body likely to be infected (cervix, urethra, penis, rectum, or throat) can be sent to a lab for testing.
Urine test. Gonorrhea in the cervix or urethra can be diagnosed with a urine sample sent to a lab.
Gram stain. This is done right in a clinic or doctor's office. A sample from the urethra or a cervix is placed on a slide and stained with dye. It allows the doctor to see the bacteria under a microscope. This test works better for men than for women.
Further to that, the Syphilis rate is on the rise in the US and left untreated (and it can be treated and cured) it can lead to serious medical problems including death.
....you know, there are those of you that have been cheated on and were at risk for an STI or STD, but please don't assume that will happen to everyone in a committed, long term relationship! There are some good and decent people out there and once their committment to each other is established...it's up to them to determine when they stop using condoms and change the frequency of their STI and STD testing - not a bunch of vocal yokels on POF trying to tell them otherwise.
XXX Cat | |
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| How many of you actually get tested for STD's? If not why?
Posted: 10/13/2007 3:24:34 AM | | tigress! i was wondering if the virus is in dormant stage while you are been tested does it go undetected and how accurate is testing these,s day,s if someone got a virus from someone they slept with 10 years ago i take it they have not been tested in ten years or can it stay dormant that long! i get tested once a year! and the pap smear hurts thinking about it. | |
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| How many of you actually get tested for STD's? If not why?
Posted: 10/15/2007 12:13:35 AM | A pap smear does not test for certain viruses.
Herpes and HIV are examples of these. Herpes for instance can lie dormant, and often does, for years, and for some people never ever show symptoms, not even initially, but it is still contagious due to asymptomatic shedding. (This is true for both oral and genital herpes).
YES, It is always detectable in a blood test (after antibodies are formed) - which can take up to 6 months after getting the virus. Unfortunately many doctors here in Canada will not test for herpes. They say that if everybody actually ook the blood test, almost everyone will show positive for hsv1 or hsv2. (Both of which can be either oral or genital). BTW - Herpes and Hep B are not usually part of standard STD testing procedure unless specifically requested - in the States and Canada.
If youare getting blood work done then you should be aware that there are only a few reliable blood testes for Herpes. The IgG and The Western Blot. (The IgM which was and still is quite commonly used has been proven to be pretty much unreliable).
SNF
"Are you positive you're negative? Get Tested!"
www.club462.com
www.racoon.com/herpes | |
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| How many of you actually get tested for STD's? If not why?
Posted: 10/15/2007 3:47:39 AM | Its really suprising how many people have NEVER been tested!
I've never really slept around......but I HAVE dated (and Obviously, since I have ex
's there was more than one person I was intimate with! LOL) and I get my doctor to make sure everything is all peachy keen when I go in for my yearly visit - I have athsma so I need perscriptions and stuff filled anyway. Better to be safe than sorry - and if anyone ever asks me if Im clean I can damn well say with 100% certainty YES. Plus - if I do manage to end up wtih something - I can trace it back to the exact person directly! heehee.
Its just......a good idea cause you never know.  | |
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| How many of you actually get tested for STD's? If not why?
Posted: 11/5/2007 4:32:11 PM | When I'm sexually active,I get tested every 6 months.
But I haven't been sexually active for over 2 years,so there is no need for me to
get tested right now.
Luckily,I have always had a clean bill of health. | |
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| How many of you actually get tested for STD's? If not why?
Posted: 11/5/2007 6:01:47 PM | My ex husband cheated on me so I got tested every few months after we broke up. Now I get test once a year and don't engage in any risky behaviors.
Word of advice...if you are really serious about someone and plan on having a relationship with them that don't include condoms, go get tested together. it eliminated all doubts and it is a bonding experience. | |
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| How many of you actually get tested for STD's? If not why?
Posted: 11/5/2007 7:49:50 PM | I get tested for them every 6 months. But before I start a relationship and I know where he is at. I strongly insist on a current and complete test.. Or I refuse to be intimate with them. period.
I raised my kids with if you are going to do it. Then there is nothing out there worth dying for. I actually am a little bit over board. I don't even do any kissing unless it is done. | |
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| How many of you actually get tested for STD's? If not why?
Posted: 11/6/2007 10:28:00 AM | | i get tested before every surgery over the pass few years and im very clean but i knew i didn't have anything do too not having any sex sence 2002 god its almost 2008 boy do the years fly by when not getting any....lol | |
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| How many of you actually get tested for STD's? If not why?
Posted: 11/6/2007 11:03:43 AM | | i haven't had it done because i have a phobia to needles and i refuse to imunity shots to dieases as well because of my phobia...i never had anything strange happen to my body and i don't ask questions like that for any sexual partner either since i wouldn't expect them to since my phobia to needles and hospitals is so sever | |
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| How many of you actually get tested for STD's? If not why?
Posted: 11/6/2007 2:53:59 PM | I've been tested. after my first year university i realized that i had to be more careful. I've never really got around either but that doesn't really make a difference when STD's and STI's are becoming so common, especially on campus... anyway i came out clean and boy was i happy, only to find out that those tests don't cover everything and they aren't 100% reliable. There are no "commercial" tests for HPV/warts for women and none for men. so you could be peachy and confidant that you are clean when that's not entirely true. unfortunately, hpv is the most common one, but you don't really know until you pop out a wart or have an abnormal pap smear. Since i don't have the dangerous type of HPV (which can be tested for upon request) i'm suitable for the vaccine.
But still, after all this talk of STD's i'm starting to see the benifits of waiting until marriage. Giving that serious thought now. | |
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| How many of you actually get tested for STD's? If not why?
Posted: 11/8/2007 8:48:50 AM | | My whole family is in the Medical feild. there is about 15 drs and8 nurses in my immediate or close family. We always talk about how very few people actually get tested. Some of these std's can harbor themselves in the body and the person never show symptons. Condoms arent the 100% answer. I find it commical that people say they get tested and are safe and picky but will jump in the sack if there is a condom involved. Just because you test yourself and your partner and start having unprotected sex, there is always that chance something was missed or the other partner is on the prowl. It is reported that more that 50% of people carry some strain of the Herpes Virus. THAT IS SCARY. im not saying quit having sex, but it is getting more scary. Just to add fuel to the fire. if you sleep with a guy that has slept with 20 girls, she has slept with 20 people and they all did the same, Look at the risk just for that one person. So if we go through several/multiple/lots of partners each year, that really is roulette. its like sleeping with 400 people each time we sleep with one person. DANM, I really am a man whore if I use those figures. Next time a girl ask me my number and I throw out some number in the 1000's. i wonder if I can run fast enough to catch her to explain? | |
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| How many of you actually get tested for STD's? If not why?
Posted: 11/8/2007 9:02:12 AM | | Yes, of course. I realize that it's not 'romantic' to assume you need to--but it's modern times--I do at least yearly, or more if I am active. I go periods without partners, so obviously it's not as pressing in those times, but always safe rather than sorry. I am not in love with the safe-sex restrictions, but it's too important to ignore completely. There are more issues than HIV/AIDS to consider as well. It's not some conquest-macho notion not to "need" to be tested or whatever. It's that insidious "cascade" effect of partners being with others, etc. When you are casual or dating, especially, you can't pretend it doesn't matter. I have dodged all bullets, to-date. I wouldn't assume I am immune to anything--even good judgment can fail you if you assume too much. This isn't the free love '60s (I bet those who lived in that era wouldn't call it "free" anyway). Sigh, technical love matters .... | |
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