eTopical Precious Finds
In the United States, 1 out of every 5 Americans currently has a sexually transmitted infection (STI). However, these risks can vary greatly based on your profile. For instance, people who abuse substances, such as alcohol or cocaine, have a much higher correlation with riskier sexual behaviors, STI diagnoses, and positive HIV status. But what are some other lifestyle factors that put you at risk for an STI?
If you use a dating app, you are 1.2 times more likely to get screened for an STI and 1.3 times more likely to have one. Per 10,000 sexual acts without protection, between 51% and 64% of people got syphilis. With gonorrhea, this number sits at around 20%, and for chlamydia, it is around 4.5%. Riskiest of all, if you have 5 or more sexual partners, you are more than 8 times more likely to have an STI. So, what kinds of methods are there to protect yourself against this?
Firstly, you can get pre- or post-exposure vaccines with risk reduction varying between 26% and 98%. Using physical protection, such as internal or external condoms, also sees a risk reduction of up to 98%. However, getting STI tested before a relationship is the most effective risk reduction, besides abstinence. Fortunately, eNational Testing makes it easy to find a testing center. By using their website, you can easily find a center near you that will safely and accurately get your testing done. Regardless of how sexually risky you are, getting tested by eNational Testing is the best way to keep yourself safe from STIs.
