Spreading awareness, not disease — Get Yourself Tested campaign begins on campus this week

The Vandal Health Education Office will table the Health Hut April 16 in the Idaho Commons, as part of the Get Yourself Tested campaign to spread awareness of the importance of STD testing. 

According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, one in two people will contract an STD by the age of 25.

This statistic shocked Bailey Hewitt, a Vandal Health Ed intern, and led her to search for more facts about STDs.

Hewitt said there are many misconceptions people have about STDs. She said one of the most dangerous misconceptions is that someone with an STD will always show symptoms. Often people with STDs don’t show symptoms and can pass the disease on to other people, Hewitt said.

Another misconception she mentioned is that doctors will automatically screen their patients for common STDs without being asked. Hewitt suggested for patients not to assume they don’t have an STD just because their doctor didn’t call them back after getting tested, and urges people to follow up with their doctors.

Hewitt said she thinks many college students don’t get tested, because they are afraid it will show up on their parent’s insurance. According to Hewitt, there are multiple ways to avoid a test showing up on insurance records. She said there are laws that provides the person getting tested a certain amount of control.

Hewitt said she thinks if students aren’t scared about talking about the subject, then they instead label the topic as too awkward. A strategy used by Vandal Health Ed is comedy to make people more relaxed about the subject, she said.

“The best way, I think, to market to people is laughter,” Hewitt said. “Because it just relaxes you. And it’s a nice way to hand them something without them feeling like they were left out … or uncomfortable.”

Hewitt said the most common STD students at the University of Idaho contract is chlamydia. She said this STD is contracted by students at many college campuses across the U.S. Chlamydia is a bacterial infection of the genital areas. If left untreated, chlamydia can cause pelvic inflammatory disease in women, and an increased risk of infection of other STDs, including HIV, in both men and women.

Another commonly contracted STD by college students is Genital Human Papillomavirus (HPV), Hewitt said. HPV is a viral infection of more than 40 types that infects genital areas and can cause warts and cancer.

Sarah Clark, another Vandal Health Ed intern, said STDs can lead to infertility if ignored. Clark said all STDs are treatable and most are curable, so there isn’t a reason not to get tested.

“If you’re worried about having an STD, that’s stressful,” Hewitt said. “And in college we already have so many stressors on our plate. You could be stressing yourself out about something you don’t even have and all you’d have to do is go into your doctor’s office, talk to them, get tested, and then that’s one less thing you have to worry about.”

Hewitt said she can’t emphasize the importance of getting tested enough. She said that you either have an STD or you don’t, so choosing to not find out your status is pointless.

“It’s not something to be ashamed about,” Clark said. “I mean, a lot of people have sex, and so you just want to take those precautions and make sure that you’re safe, the people you’re with are safe and that is something that you should be proud of.”

Erin Bamer can be reached at [email protected]