Do Not Ignore Even During This Pandemic – Timely Diagnosis & Treatment Of STD Is Essential

Do Not Ignore Even During This Pandemic – Timely Diagnosis & Treatment Of STD Is Essential

Perhaps for the first time after several years, the rates of syphilis, gonorrhea, and other sexually transmitted infections are seeing a sharp drop.

The numbers were slated to hit a record high in 2020, so this abrupt downturn may surprise many.

Is this really welcome news?

Has the Covid-19 pandemic kept people away from nightclubs, bars, and get-togethers and reduced the opportunities for unsafe sex?

But the drop in numbers could be portent of not-so-good news.

The corona virus pandemic has put a brake to efforts that could have mitigated sexually transmitted infections.

Unfortunately, the upshot of this can be disastrous to communities.

Untreated sexually transmitted infections can lead to infertility, inflammatory disease, death in newborns, & even blindness.

“STDs are not on the decline”, says a physician who works at a clinic that offers same day STD testing near Arlington VA. “Contact tracers for sexually transmitted diseases, who as it is are understaffed, have been diverted for Corona virus related tasks”.

It is also possible that many people who otherwise come for come STD screening are afraid to do so because of the fear of getting exposed to Covid-19 virus.

In many places the numbers of testing sites that remain open have sharply dropped leading to a severe slump in the number of people tested.

The effect of intense service cutbacks have been felt especially by doctors and nurses who serve the minority and financially weak patients.

Regular testing is the only way to know if one has a sexually transmitted infection.

Of course people have an option to discreetly test for STDs via home kits available in the market.

In Arlington, trichomoniasis test at home along with other self-testing kits may be seeing an uptick.

It is providing a convenient alternative.

Regardless of the corona virus epidemic, people otherwise may be hesitant to go to a clinic for testing because of the perceived stigma attached to screening.

Doctors say the home test kits are reliable, but their concern is people may not collect an appropriate sample to send to the labs.

Accuracy is of paramount importance in STD testing. But the accuracy in home test kits depends in the manner it is collected.

Many doctors are of the view that many tests for chlamydia and gonorrhea require vaginal swabs or urine samples.

“With our knowledge and experience we know what is needed to get the right sample”, says a physician who routinely tests patients for sexually transmitted infections. “But I am not sure people do the same at home”.

A false negative test means the person with undiagnosed infection will go untreated.

To combat this, a good practice would be to visit an urgent care near you.

There are clinics that offer same day STD testing near Arlington VA.

They are open even in these Covid-19 pandemic days with strict safety protocols in place.

They have precise STD testing systems that provide accurate results. You can visit on a walk-in basis with same day testing and treatment available.

Remember, it is dangerous to ignore an untreated STD infection.