Brock students can get free, confidential STI and STD testing from the security of their campus.
Contracting a sexually transmitted infection or disease (STI/STD) is often an uncomfortable and awkward affair. Those who are sexually active, especially those active with more than one partner, are always at risk of catching something.
According to Planned Parenthood, unexplained sores or bumps around the genitals, strange discharge, burning when you urinate, having to urinate a lot, flu-like symptoms like fever, body aches and swollen glands, and itchiness, pain, irritation and/or swelling of the genitals can all be signs of an STD and warrant getting tested.
Luckily for Brock students, getting tested for STDs is as easy as dropping in at the Wellness HUB and giving samples via the Student Wellness and Accessibility Centre (SWAC). Complete privacy is ensured while students interact with Niagara Public Health Nursing staff. This is a completely free service, and students have the option to give urine, blood or both depending on what they want to be tested for.
Most STDs don’t have accompanying symptoms yet can cause serious health problems or make it easier for you to contract other STDs like HIV if left untreated. STDs are also incredibly easy to transmit to other sexual partners, meaning not getting tested can put not only yourself but others at risk.
HIV is one of the deadliest STDs, lowering your immunity and opening you to other infections like pneumonia and tuberculosis. In its worst stages, it can also lead to AIDS, an auto-immune disease in which ordinary infections can be life-threatening. AIDS can cause neurological complications including numbness and dementia.
Syphilis is another STD that evolves the longer it goes untreated, with the capability to kill you or change your way of life forever.
Neurosyphilis, for example, occurs when the bacterium causing the disease infects the brain; cardiovascular syphilis can cause inflammation of the blood vessels, leading to aortic aneurysms and aortic regurgitation, which can lead to heart failure or aortic rupture.
Hepatitis is an STD characterized by its effects on your liver, with the most extreme cases leading to liver cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer.
However, even the worst STDs can be cured or mitigated if caught early on. Many STDs are easily treatable with medicine, and those that can’t be cured can be managed using treatments that reduce symptoms and lower your chances of passing it on.
In all circumstances, the sooner you know you have an STD, the better, and definitively knowing you don’t have an STD is important if you’re sexually active. Engaging in unprotected sexual activity or learning that your partner or someone you’ve previously engaged with has tested positive are also good times to get tested.
Getting tested for STDs doesn’t have to be a monumental task, nor does it need to be a source of discomfort and stigmatization. Ensuring your sexual safety should be the same as having regular checkups with the doctor or dentist, and the Wellness HUB makes this process as easy as taking 15 minutes out of your day between classes.
The Wellness HUB can be found at TH134 via Market Hall, and drop-ins run every Wednesday from 11 a.m to 3 p.m.