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North Iowa nurse: STD’s are on the rise in Iowa!

Check yourself – before you wreck yourself.

From Samantha Smith, RN, Disease Prevention Specialist, Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health:

Sexually Transmitted Diseases are often focused on in health education classes or when talking to youth about sex. April is Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) Awareness Month and the Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health wants to educate the public about the importance of getting tested and treated for STD’s.

STD’s can be transmitted by vaginal, anal, or oral sex. Many STDs do not show symptoms, so people may not know they have an STD. STDs can cause serious health concerns if they go untreated. This is why testing is so important. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) untreated STD’s in women can cause pelvic inflammatory disease and even infertility. Some STDs such as gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis can be treated and cured with antibiotics.

STDs are also a growing problem amongst those ages 15-24. Studies show that 1 in 2 sexually active people will get an STD by the age of 25, yet less than 12% of people age 15-25 say they’ve been tested for STDs in the past year. Therefore, the CDC recommends that people ages 18-24 be tested annually for chlamydia and gonorrhea.

Young people stigmatize STDs, so many of them ignore the idea of getting tested because they’re embarrassed or afraid of what people will think if they test positive for one. Choosing to get tested for STDs should carry the same weight as choosing to have sex.

The Iowa Department of Public health released preliminary data in January stating that last year Iowa saw nearly 1,000 more cases of gonorrhea than in the previous year totaling 2,600 cases.

This is a 142% increase in gonorrhea cases since 2013. This increase could be due to the increase in public awareness to get tested and also the increase in availability of free STD testing services.

The Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health wants to remind you that they offer quick, easy, confidential, and FREE testing to anyone older than 14 years of age.

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*Carver-Kim, Polly. (2018). Gonorrhea Increasing Rapidly in Iowa. Retrieved April 2, 2018, from the Iowa Department of Public Health website: https://idph.iowa.gov/News/ArtMID/646/ArticleID/158198/Gonorrhea-Increasing-Rapidly-in-Iowa-1818

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