Hot Gophers Get Tested

Originally Published on Boynton Health Website

Every student agrees, getting tested sucks. Especially if you don’t know if you’ll pass the test. It can be intimidating to see that you got a positive for something potentially dangerous. And don’t even get me started on how embarrassing it is to ring up everyone and tell them your score! However, getting tested for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is important to make sure you and your partners stay healthy. If you don’t, the only thing you’ll be spreading is infection. But don’t just take my word for it, listen to expert Dawn Brintell who has been working as a nurse practitioner for ten years and has been treating Boynton students for over seven years and who we brought in to answer your burning questions and explain the importance of testing as well as what Boynton is doing to help keep you and your partners protected. 

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What am I even getting tested for?

You are getting tested for STIs, which stands for sexually transmitted infections. They can be caused by bacteria, parasites, or viruses, but the important thing is that they are transmitted through sexual contact. Often the symptoms are mild or completely asymptomatic, so it is important to get tested often. As Doctor Brintell says, “The most common symptom of an STI is no symptoms.”

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I am young; why does it matter if I get tested? Won’t my immune system fight it off?

As we hinted before, ensuring you are tested is important to you and in keeping the community at large safe. Your silence is the necessary link to cause a campus epidemic. We all have experienced what happens when an epidemic hits, and no one wants to return to those dark days. Even if you think you will be safe, there may be some whose immune systems won’t be and cause a more severe reaction than just a rash. This is especially important because those in the 18-24 bracket transmit the most STIs out of any other age bracket. 

Doctor Brintell agrees stating, “Young people are the population with the highest incidence of STIs, and so it is especially imperative that folks between the ages of 15 and 24 are tested regularly. The CDC recommends at least annual testing or testing any time you have a new partner.”

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But I am not going to get pregnant-are STIs really that serious?

Yes, they are really that serious! Some can lead to cancer and even death. For example, HPV is the cause of cervical cancer and an untreated HIV infection can lead to mortality. Others are not as severe but can lead to lifelong infertility problems such as chlamydia. In general, untreated STIs lead to more pain and more expensive hospital bills later down the line.

Doctor Brintell goes into the issues further, stating, ““So it depends on the infection you're talking about. With untreated infections like chlamydia, or gonorrhea,there is an increased risk in folks who were assigned female at birth of upper reproductive tract infections (sometimes is called PID–pelvic inflammatory disease) which can cause an increased risk of infertility in the future. Undetected or untreated, STIs also increase your risk of transmission of things like HIV, a more serious, sexually transmitted infection and so you want to make sure that you are aware of your status. Additionally, there's the public health risk of transmission to partners and increasing the infection burden in the population.”

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Do I still need to get tested if I use condoms?

Condoms are a great start, as using them regularly during sexual intercourse is not only a good way of preventing pregnancy but also of preventing yourself from catching STIs. However, even with them, there is still a chance of infection as condoms do not cover all the areas that can be infected or that can infect you. Infections such as Herpes, HPV (which you can get vaccinated for at Boynton), and syphilis, to name a few, can not be protected against just by using a condom. Even the STIs that condoms protect against can infect you if the condom is not put on correctly. That does not mean condoms are ineffective or you should not use them. However, it does mean to practice safer sex, you need condoms and STI testing.

Brintell agrees on wearing condoms, but she states,”“condoms are our best method to reduce risk of transmission of sexually transmitted infections but it is still important to get tested because some infections are spread simply by skin to skin contact. Unless you have a head to toe latex body suit, you are likely to have some skin to skin contact when you are having sex with a partner.”

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But my partner and I have never been with anyone else-do we need to get tested?

Yes! You or your partner may have STIs that you were born with and may be undetected due to one of you being asymptomatic. Even if you have been tested years ago, you may still have contracted an STI from other places, and it’s always important to check and ensure you don’t have anything. The best medicine is prevention, and catching STIs early keeps them from becoming a worse problem later down the line. We all know the stress of procrastinating an assignment, and trust me, it's way worse when it's your body.

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But I hate going in regularly to get tested!

Don’t worry you only have to get tested after every new partner. Otherwise, if you have had no new partners or don’t ever plan on getting any, once a year is perfect to make sure you have not contracted any new STIs. This can be done at the same time as your regular checkup.

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What else should I know about STIs and Boynton Health Services?

Doctor Brintell gives a comprehensive list of what all Gopher students need to stay safe in her interview with me, including who is at a higher risk and how to help you protect yourself against STIs and keep you safe.

How can Boynton help students take care of their sexual health?

So sexual health is a super important topic because sexual health is part of overall health, so there are many ways to support sexual health. From the provision of safer sex supplies that are available to students free to comprehensive STI testing in the context of clinic visits. We do also have a drop in gonorrhea and chlamydia screening that you can just go to the lab and you don't have to see a clinician. Additionally, if people are having issues with sexual dysfunction, either pain with sex or in the ability to achieve an erection, or whatever sort of sexual health problems someone might be experiencing, we have people at Boynton who are experts in these areas. Additionally, we have a pelvic floor physical therapist, which is a crucial part of helping the folks who are assigned female at birth when they are having pain with penetrative sex.

How does Boynton ensure the patient feels safe opening up to doctors-especially about something as embarrassing as sexual history?

Here's the deal. We ask everyone what their sexual history is, and we're not asking it because we're nosy. It's because that information helps us assess your risks for STIs are. Additionally, it helps us figure out what tests we should focus on with your visit. So providing correct information is super important because it helps us know how to best care for you. And yeah, we're asking deeply personal questions. We all understand that. I acknowledge upfront that I’m about to ask you a long list of deeply nosy and private questions. We all do this all day, every day. We are not here to judge you or the choices that you are making. We want to make sure that you are healthy and as safe as possible because we don’t want anything deleterious to happen.

Sounds great! But where do I get tested again?

I won’t make you scroll up to the beginning of the page to find the answer. You can get tested at Boynton Health, which has walk-in testing for chlamydia and gonorrhea. For HIV, syphilis, and non-genital gonorrhea/chlamydia testing, you must make an appointment to get your blood drawn. In general, Boynton Health is happy to answer any questions that you may have about any infection, plus provide free condoms and other supplies you may need to keep you and everyone else protected for a fun season!

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Works Cited

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Brintell, Dawn. “STI Testing Interview.” 6 June 2023.

“Condom Fact Sheet in Brief.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 14 Sept. 2021, www.cdc.gov/condomeffectiveness/brief.html.

“Sexually Transmitted Infections (Stis).” World Health Organization, www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/sexually-transmitted-infections-(stis)#:~:text=STIs%20have%20a%20direct%20impact,increase%20the%20risk%20of%20HIV. Accessed 11 June 2023.