Sexually Transmitted Infections are more common among university-aged adults than any other age group

Mike Treadgold

It’s Saturday night and a massive kegger. The music is pumping, the beer is flowing and you strike up a conversation with that cute girl you’ve been checking out in your economics class. Perhaps under more sober circumstances, you didn’t have the courage to talk to her, but now, with a few pops under your belt, you’re suddenly Joe Cool. And more amazingly, she seems interested!

Mid-conversation, a war cry erupts from the backyard: “Flippppp Cupppppp!” You smile at her, she nods back and a partnership is formed. Twenty half-cups and two near-puke experiences later, you’re feeling it, ditto for her. It’s getting late, and she’s ready to go home. Are you going to man up and walk her back to residence? Absolutely.

After 20 minutes of mostly stumbling back to Johnston Hall, you’ve finally arrived. Her roommate went home for the weekend and she invites you in. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see where this is going, but for one thing: you don’t have any condoms. In your state of drunkenness, you pass this off as no big deal – no need to be a buzzkill, right?

Wrong.

Because scenarios such as this may be ripe for Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STIs). You don’t know each others’ backgrounds and pre-existing conditions and you’re both too horny to care.

Without a doubt, the above scenario is but one example of how one-time carelessness can lead to a permanent situation. Men and women with any and every sexual preference are just as susceptible to STIs, and this is a very real situation among hormonally charged university students who may be experiencing such sexual freedom and accessibility for the first time.

It may sound like overkill, but with each different sexual partner – remembering that you don’t need to have intercourse to transmit STIs – it can never hurt to have yourself checked out. Student Health Services provides STI checks for every student, free of charge and completely confidential. Most checks are done via a simple blood test with results provided soon after to clear your mind and remove any level of uncertainty. Remember, just because you’re not showing symptoms doesn’t mean you haven’t already contracted an STI.

“Testing usually consists of a simple blood or urine test. It is not complicated now to know what is going on in your body,” said Dr. Andrew Lange. “But if you don’t get tested you are putting yourself and your loved one at risk. If STIs are caught in the early stages they are easier to treat. You want to take care of these infections before they begin to undermine your health.”

As many as one in five university students have an STI and people aged 15-24 are the most at-risk age group. This statistic may shock you, but it should also serve as a warning about how seriously you should take this issue. Incorrect feelings of invincibility among adults in their 20s have led to the recent increase in the frequency of syphilis and chlamydia.

By and large, university students are sexually active adults. No one is going to tell you to abstain, and really, why should they? But, we each have a clear level of responsibility to be smart, educated, honest and prepared.

If you have questions about STIs or other matters concerning sexuality, the Wellness Centre and Student Health Services in the J.T. Powell building on campus will provide you with everything you need: information brochures, medical advice, testing, contraceptive devices, etc. Like so many other critical resources on campus, these services are free for students, who should all be encouraged to make good use of their availability.

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