STD Testing in Washington DC: 9 Ways to Prevent Getting an Infection

STD testing is a responsible thing to do. It indicates your awareness towards sexual health. It shows you care for yourselves and your partner. You are particular about being safe and healthy, and avoiding the spread of infections.

Whether you choose to stay abstinent or sexually active is your personal choice. However, if you choose the latter, it comes with a sense of responsibility. We know it’s hard to talk about things like sex and STDs with a stranger (doctor). And you would certainly want to avoid talking about your sex life with your family physician. But avoidance does not make you escape the situation.

What if you are infected?

STD testing in Washington, DC, is easy and discreet. This solves the problem of embarrassment. You simply walk in the clinic and ask for a test. Urgent care centers offer anonymous and affordable testing facility that hardly takes 10 minutes. The doctor may prescribe you treatment the same day.

What to expect?

Expect warm and friendly behavior from the staff and the doctors at an urgent care center. You need no appointment. Just walk in and ask for a doctor, in case you are not sure what STD test you must undergo. If you know what STD test you want, simply ask for the test in the lab.

The doctors at walk-in clinics are mature in their attitudes and non-judgmental. They are not interested in your sexual lives, although they may need to ask you your sexual history to decide what test is good for you. Please be honest with the doctor. As mentioned earlier, the doctor won’t judge you, if you are a men having sex with a man or somebody with multiple sex partners. It’s your life. You are here to confirm about your sexual health. This is an appreciable step on your part.

STD testing at a STD clinic in DC is painless. So there is nothing to be scared about. It could either be a blood test or a urine test. In some cases wherein you have genital sores or blisters or mouth sores or discharge from the penis or vagina, the doctor may want to take a swab sample.

How to prevent getting infected?

According to doctors, staying abstinent is the only way that keeps you 100% safe from STDs.

But this may not be possible for everybody. So, if you are sexually active, you may want to take the following preventative measures:

• Use latex condoms while having sex.
• STDs also spread through oral sex. Dental dams are good things to use.
• Being monogamous is a smart decision.
• Before getting married, both you and your partner should undergo STD testing.
• Before you have sex with a new partner, ensure he/she has undergone a test and is healthy.
• Consider pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), which is an FDA-approved drug for decreasing the risk of getting HIV.
• Try to stay as sober as you can. It helps you take better decisions with respect to having sex.
• If you have multiple partners, undergo testing regularly.
• Undergo a test during pregnancy to prevent spreading the infection to your baby.

So, are you ready to take this responsible decision? STD testing in Washington, DC, is available near you.