Shauna Watson
Editor | Online Features
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Bathroom doors are known for their literary insights in any public facility but students in particular have an array of thoughts to share. ?The Laws of the Universe? scribbled on the back of one door in the Arts block women?s bathrooms is a favourite of mine as students ignore any philosophical musings to slam one ?stupid bitch?s? contribution of E=MC2 which is OBVIOUSLY the law of relativity and not of the Universe.
While I?m not encouraging graffiti (that?s all legal aspects of this article covered) one message caught my eye recently; ?I put the STD in student.? I almost clapped my hands at the door itself I was so impressed with the author?s wit. Finally something original, something I?d never seen written before. But was it the cleverness of the joke or because of the fact that STDs aren?t necessarily a hot topic that I was so taken aback by?
SHAG week (Sexual Health and Guidance week) diminishes the stigma associated with sex and makes it ?cool? to talk about it but why do we drop our heads and lower our voices when it comes to talking about STI checks, symptoms or treatments. I decided I was going to write about getting an STI check in the Trinity Sexual Health Clinic during SHAG week for The University Times but the question was would I be so open about sharing my experience if it wasn?t for the responsibility of honest journalism associated with writing this particular article?
People discuss their blood tests, operations, injections and scans regularly but there are never mentions of STI checks. Granted, people may not want to divulge their sexual activity with their closest friends or family but when 60% of people with STIs in Ireland are aged between 20-29, maybe it?s time for students to open up more. Discussing STIs, symptoms, causes, preventions, treatments may not only encourage people to become more aware of their own sexual health by sharing ?does this happen to you too? experiences but it will render an STI check a less daunting exploit and prevent whatever you are potentially carrying from being contracted by 1/2/10 other partners.
The two types of STI checks available in the Trinity Health Centre are a mini check and a full screening. The full screening is advised if a previous sexual partner has tested positive for an STI or for men who have intercourse with other men. I booked my appointment for a mini check in the Trinity Health centre a week in advance and had a preconceived notion about how I would be cool and causal but in reality I arrived feeling more nervous than I anticipated.
?Shauna Watson here for an appointment for the sexual health clinic.? ?Sorry can you speak up please I can barely hear you?? was the response of the receptionist as I concentrated on attracting minimal attention to the type of appointment I had and struggled to mask my embarrassment. I met Clare, one of the sexual health nurses. Addressing me as ?my love? multiple times relieving some anxiety, she explained clearly what the check would involve and asked whether there was anything in particular I was worried about. She indicated that she wouldn?t be testing for genital warts, or herpes as they?re diagnosed from the symptoms of the patient. First, she took a blood test to check for HIV, Hepatitis B and Syphilis. She then took a sample of mucous from my throat (if you have a strong gag reflex, be wary of this one) and then told me she was going to take a vaginal sample and left the room so I could remove the bottom half of my clothes, lie down on the table and cover myself with the ?modesty blanket? provided. Both the throat swab and cervical swab would be sent to the laboratory in St. James?
hospital to test for Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, Thrush, and Trichomonas. I must admit, myself and Vaginia weren?t too comfortable with the speculum Clare was using (google image it and you?ll know what I?m talking about) to spread the love device in order to take the sample but it was bearable for the 30 seconds it was there. Following the test, Clare indicated whether she could see anything unusual but said the microscopic results would tell us more if anything were wrong. She verified my mobile number to ensure family members on the home line weren?t the first to hear the results (that?s a conversation avoided).
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The test in the health centre costs ?15 which goes towards the transportation of the samples to James? and isn?t covered on the medical card, but is some mighty beans less than UCD?s health centre charge of ?80.
The results take 2 weeks to come back and because of the timely date of SHAG week this week, I?m not going to wait and include my results in the article. I may be open about sharing my experience of the test but I would need a large monetary incentive to divulge the results.
A report conducted by the HSE?s Health Protection Surveillance Centre found there were 13,259 notifications of STIs in 2011, an increase of just over 12% since 2010. Cases of Gonorrhea increased by over one third making it 7.8% higher than the European average as well as being the highest incidence ever recorded in Ireland.
Being open and honest about STI symptoms and facts and more proactive about getting a check can have both an increasing and decreasing affect on those figures; more checks carried out by those who are sexually active will increase the diagnosis of STIs, which allows for earlier treatments and initiates the decrease in any further spread. If positive outcome stemmed from this experience (besides the results, obviously) I?d rejoice because the truth is, unless you visit a clinic how can you be sure that you?re not one of those students the previously cited graffiti ?artist? claims to put the STD in?
Get checked.
Source: http://www.universitytimes.ie/2012/11/20/i-put-the-std-in-student-get-tested/
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