In the beginning, we at the STD Test Express news desk had a difficult time telling our friends and families that we help people get tested for STDs.  There was the vague “We provide a health service.” or the more vague and less true “I work for a bank.” This vaguery makes no sense because, of course, we know that screening for sexually transmitted infections saves lives and prevents serious health consequences.  Full stop.

But we’re products of our puritanical culture – a culture that believes in the equation “sex = bad + disease = punishment”.  We’ve sinned by having sex and punished with an STD.  The deep shame this cultural attitude spawns prevents us from talking to our doctors and getting screened and, in turn, prevents us from preventing serious health risks.  In short, this is the thinking that leads to 19 million new STD cases a year and millions more going undiagnosed.

When we associate STDs with blame and shame, it’s no wonder that people aren’t getting screened and, more importantly, treated.  Dr. Abigail Zuger, an infectious-disease physician in Manhattan, wrote a great essay in The New York Times recently. She points out that historically we’ve always associated disease with blame. “Centuries ago we burned witches and torched infidels for poisoning our wells; diseases were the fault of our enemies (in the 15th century, syphilis was simultaneously the Italian disease in France and the French disease in Italy).”  The fact is, the rate of STD infection is alarmingly high.  And why is that?  In part, as Dr. Zuger points out, generations of Americans have now grown up believing that sensible, good people “play safe,” implying that if you catch a sexually transmitted disease, you are not sensible and reckless.  And you got what you deserve.

STDs are a fact of human life.  We can diagnose and treat them before they cause further harm.  Getting tested should not be a shameful experience but one that we can be proud of the same way we feel when we get our cholesterol levels screened and take other preventative measures to ensure our health.

From all of us, we at STD Test Express are here to help people save lives.  It’s time we stop covering our mouth, our eyes, and our ears and start covering our private parts with condoms!

We’d love to hear from you!  Tell us what’s on your mind.