Brought to you by WBIW News and Network Indiana
Last updated on Friday, May 6, 2016
(INDIANAPOLIS) - Sexually transmitted diseases are not the most comfortable topic, but according to new numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it’s a conversation you need to have with partners. Whether you’re monogamous or not, the diseases don’t discriminate.
"Anyone that's sexually active. It doesn't matter how much money they make, what they do for a living, or whether they think they're in a monogamous relationship. Every sexually active person is at risk for an STD," said Dr. Cherrell Triplett of Southside ObGyn told FOX59 News.
For the first time in 10 years, chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis cases have reached record rates with no sign of slowing down.
"Each year there's probably 20 million new cases of STD's in the United States," said Triplett.
Triplett says the responsibility to care for yourself comes from two sides. First go to the doctor to get routine screenings and then doctors must share the proper knowledge with you.
"Anyone under the age of 25 (should) get tested annually for gonorrhea and chlamydia. It's recommended that women over the age of 30 have their pap and get tested for HPV," said Dr. Triplett.
A local patient talked to us about his experience with gonorrhea as long as we didn't reveal his identity.
"I literally was so sick I couldn't keep anything down," the patient said.
He got the venereal disease not once but twice.
"I thought I could cure itself with these antibiotics and I had to be prescribed other things to cure it, it was so painful."
According to the Indiana State Health Department, in 2015 there were more than 3,000 cases of gonorrhea, more than 8,000 chlamydia cases and 62 people had syphilis. Triplett says proper condom use is still the go-to safety measure. And since all STD's don't come with visible symptoms, just because you can't see it doesn't mean it's not there.
"Long term untreated gonorrhea or chlamydia can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease which has long term consequences for someone's fertility as well as their sexual health," said Triplett.
HPV is the most common STD and nearly all sexually active men and women will get it. And although there is no screening for men, it is important for all women over 30 to get regular HPV screenings.
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