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Protect Your Sexual Health: STI Screening Guidance, Simplified

Women's Clinic of the Rio Grande Valley Blog Protect Your Sexual Health: STI Screening Guidance, Simplified

When it comes to sexual health, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are still making their unwelcome rounds in large numbers in the United States. In 2024, the combined total number of reported cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis was more than 2.2 million, which is 13% higher than a decade ago.

Since April is STI Awareness Month, the team at Women’s Clinic of the Rio Grande Valley, under the expert direction of board-certified OB/GYN Dr. Fernando Otero, decided to highlight the importance of STI screening, as well as simple screening guidelines.

Why women especially should screen for STIs

Let’s start with some compelling reasons why women should especially screen for STIs, which we accomplish through simple urine and blood tests:

Protecting your reproductive health

An untreated STI can set the stage for pelvic inflammatory disease, which not only causes pelvic pain, but it can also lead to fertility issues. So, if you want to protect your reproductive health, STI screening is important.

Protecting yourself and others

It’s also a good idea to screen regularly so that you can not only catch an infection in your own body but also prevent spreading it to others.

Early treatment of STIs is preferable

Another reason we recommend regular STI screening is that if we find an infection, we can treat it promptly, preventing further symptoms and discomfort.

STIs can be passed along in many ways

Many people assume that you have to have vaginal intercourse to pass along an STI, but the reality is that infections can be passed through other sexual contact, including anal and oral sex.

STI screening guidelines at a glance

Now let’s get into some guidelines surrounding STI screening, which include:

Bear in mind that these guidelines are just that — guidelines. In practice, we like to sit down with our patients to discuss their sexual activity so that we can assess the risks. From there, we can create a more personalized STI screening schedule that fits your unique needs and circumstances.

We urge you to be open and honest with us, and we will create a safe space for you to do that in. Ultimately, your health is our priority, and the best way for us to monitor it is to fully understand your risk factors.I

f you have more questions about staying one step ahead of your sexual health through regular STI screening or you’d like to schedule a screening, we invite you to contact one of our offices in McAllen or Edinburg, Texas, to schedule an appointment.

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