by Haylie Greene
Watch out! Gonorrhea and Chlamydia are on the rise in New York City. So if you live in the Big Apple, are sexually active, and feel you may be at risk, you may want to visit one of your local STD testing centers to be screened.
According to a report released recently by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, in 2009, Chlamydia had risen to 59,522 cases reported through the 4th quarter in 2009. This number is up from 56,448 cases in 2008.
Similarly, gonorrhea cases are also on the rise in New York City. In 2009, 10,980 cases were reported. Up from 10,483 cases in 2008.
Even though in the U.S. Chlamydia is 3 times more common than Gonorrhea, the two diseases often occur together. If you think you have been infected with either sexually transmitted disease, you can easily be screened.
Symptoms to Watch Out For
It is important to understand that some people can have chlamydia and/or gonorrhea and present no symptoms at all. However, here are the general symptoms of both diseases.
Symptoms in women—Infected women may have a yellow or green cervical discharge from the vagina. If the tube that eliminated urine (the urethra) is infected, you may experience pain while urinating.
Symptoms in men—Infected men may have a white, yellow, or green penile discharge or find urinating quite painful.
Both sexes can get a sore throat from gonorrhea (from oral sex), or an anal infection (from anal sex).
For more specific symptoms on each disease you can check out the CDC’s website.
Getting Tested
If you think you may have an STD, it is essential for your health that you get tested.
Of course, you can call your doctor to set up a screening. But, if you either can’t afford, or don’t want to go to your doctor for a test, you might want to consider visiting one of the STD Testing Centers in the New York City area.
With everyone trying to tighten their budgets, direct lab testing has become very popular over the past few years. These testing centers essentially cut out the doctor visit. Instead of visiting your doctor who then will send your test off to a lab, you go directly to the lab testing facility. Direct lab testing is advantageous for a few reasons.
-First, it keeps your results confidential and off your permanent record.
-Second, it saves you time. No payment for an office visit to the doctor. In some cases, you can save 50% if you opt for direct lab testing.
-Third, your results usually come back faster. You don’t have to wait for your doctor to call you with the results.
Testing has gotten less intimidating over the years. Now, a urine sample is all that is taken to determine if you have either disease.
Seeking Treatment
If you test positive for gonorrhea or chlamydia, both diseases are 100% curable and you can seek treatment right away.
In most cases, they are treated with a regimen of antibiotics.
