STD Testing Info

Some STDs are worse than others. HIV is arguably the worst one of all to get. Others like gonorrhea and chlamydia are treatable and more or less go away. Then there’s HPV (genital warts) and herpes types 1 and 2. Type one typically considered oral and type 2 being genital although people can have either in either place.

Many people who are out there playing the field or even just playing one on one need to be more informed if they want to remain free and minimize their risk of contracting an STD. Know the ins and outs of all these nasty things out there.

It’s almost a cliche of a line that people in the dating scene use – I’m STD free and tested regularly. How often have you heard that one and wonder just how honest that really is. It’s obvious based on the amount of people out there infected with something that we don’t really know what that means. Did this person get tested for just HIV? Or did they also get tested for hepatitis C, HSV 1 and 2 (blood test), HPV, gonorrhea, chlam. etc…

For example, testing for herpes isn’t usually done unless it is requested by you. Although men can be carriers of HPV, there currently isn’t a test for men with HPV.

Let’s say that you’re reading this and thinking, yeah, this really doesn’t help me now as I’m already infected with something that doesn’t go away. Maybe you’ve just found out or maybe you’ve been living with it for a while. Some people take it hard and some don’t let it define themselves.

When you decide that you would like to still have a healthy physical relationship that includes sex with another person, where can you go? Local support groups for STDs can be found through a search on the internet.

The following 21 dating tips for men are based on research and personal experience. Most of them are exclusive to men and not applicable for use by women, although they may benefit by reading them. The same is true of the ones for women; men may benefit by reading them as well.

Dating Tips for Men #1: Ask her for a date like a man. Pick the day before you call. If she tells you that it’s not a good day, do not negotiate unless she offers a specific alternative that fits into YOUR plan. If she doesn’t offer a specific alternative (This would NOT include, “Call me next week.”), say to her, “Perhaps some other time.” That’s it! If she is interested, she will re-arrange her schedule. Think it over for a week or more and if you feel in your gut that you should give it second try, go for it. If not, move on!

Dating Tips for Men #2: Make dates in advance. Ask her to go out with you well in advance of the actual date. 1-2 weeks is good at the beginning. This strategy gives you time to make arrangements for your date and it also creates romantic anticipation.

Dating Tips for Men #3: Have it all planned. Have the entire date planned, scheduled, and reserved before you pick her up. Not only will she be impressed by your organization, but you’ll also have a better time.

Dating Tips for Men #4: Invest your time and money wisely. There is no sense investing a lot of your time or money until you determine if you like each other. Most women will only become uncomfortable, or perceive you as being foolish, if you spend a month’s pay on the first date.

Dating Tips for Men #5: Use a progressive dating strategy. Start with inexpensive dates during the week and work your way up to more expensive dates on the weekends.

Dating Tips for Men #6: Timeliness is classiness. Be on time to pick up your date. This does NOT mean getting there early. Many women, and men, schedule their preparations for going out down to the last minute. If you are running late by more then 10 minutes, call and let her know when to expect you.

Dating Tips for Men #7: Being yourself is your best act. Don’t try to impress your date with your money, your position, your car, or your body measurements. Using these things to win a woman over will only attract those with superficial intentions. Win them over by showing them the qualities you have inside by simply being yourself.

Dating Tips for Men #8: Be like a movie star. Almost all of the male movie stars who attract an abundance of women on and off the screen have exquisite manners. Women love being treated like ladies. You see these men opening a door for her, letting her walk into a room first, and helping her with a chair. I once witnessed two (2) young army combat veterans instantly stand up when a poor, unattractive teenage girl entered the room. They had no obligation or incentive whatsoever to respond as they did. It was beautiful!

Dating Tips for Men #9: Keep your eyes on the ball. Do not check out other women. Even when done on the sly, women will pick it up. Nothing is more classy and warrior-like than a man who keeps his attention on the woman he’s with regardless of who she is.

Dating Tips for Men #10: Cleanliness is coolness personified. Be sure that all areas of your body are clean and fresh. This includes your hair, ears, body, and especially your teeth. Bad breath, which is often caused by a dental or periodontal problem, is usually not noticeable by the person who has it. Nothing is more of a turn off than bad breath. If you haven’t had your teeth cleaned in the last six months, get it done!

Dating Tips for Men #11: Hold your flattery. Save your compliments about her beauty for the right time. Although you might be intoxicated by her beauty, do not reveal the full extent of your feelings on your first few dates. Save that for the right moment several dates down the road. Just say, “You look very nice this evening.” and leave it at that. In regard to sexual innuendoes, they have no place during the early stages of dating.

Dating Tips for Men #12: Put it in your autobiography. Don’t tell her your whole life story and all your secrets right away. In fact, always try to maintain some degree of anonymity in some area of your personality or life, as it naturally provokes more excitement. Mystery is a mental aphrodisiac!

Dating Tips for Men #13: One night to stand. Do not expect to have sex on your first date. Consider these scenarios: If you do have long-term interest in a particular woman and your main focus is sex on the first date, her opinion of you will be lowered. If you do NOT have any long-term interest in a particular woman and she willingly has sex with you on the first date, she has probably done it before! Maybe several times, maybe hundreds of times! Having sex with a woman like this GREATLY increases the chances of you contracting a sexually transmitted disease (STD). Here’s my advice: Take the pressure off yourself and don’t expect sex on the first date. This will enable you to more clearly evaluate the person and you’ll have a better time.

Dating Tips for Men #14: Sex without full mutual agreement is rape. Do not pressure a woman to have sex. Regardless of how you feel about a particular woman, it is inappropriate to pressure a woman to have sex at anytime.

Dating Tips for Men #15: Patience equals unimaginable pleasure.. Do not rush a woman to have sex. If you’re really interested in a long-term relationship with a particular woman, do NOT rush her to have sex with you based on any kind of “timetable.” If you want to have the BEST sexual experience of your life, become best friends FIRST and then have sex. I assure you, it is worth the wait!

Dating Tips for Men #16: Romance is the key to receiving a woman’s best. Women love romance! They need it in order to feel complete. It literally fulfills a part of their sexual needs. It’s what they require for true satisfaction. So, include romance into your dating plans.

Dating Tips for Men #17: Be a creative romantic. The traditional methods for creating romance remain unchanged. These include buying her flowers, candy, jewelry, perfume, and romantic music; sending her love letters and notes; taking her to dinner at unique restaurants; taking her dancing at nightclubs; and taking her to movies, operas, or plays that depict a love story. The key to having the outcome that you want, however, is to come up with your own unique twists to these ancient practices. In other words, be CREATIVE!

Dating Tips for Men #18: Keep your grip. Do not get lazy about your relationship or you might get a letter from her one day that says, “Goodbye.” Keep yourself looking your best. Keep the relationship alive by continually telling her and showing her how much you care. And don’t ever forget to do something for her birthday and any other holidays that are important to her.

Dating Tips for Men #19: Warrior’s goodnight kiss. Don’t liger after the goodnight kiss at the beginning of your dating activity with a particular person. Kiss her once to the duration that feels right. Then say good night, turn, and walk away. Do not linger, talk more, try to kiss her again, or ask her for another date! This practice creates the mystery/romance that women love and prevents you from getting catch up by the heat of the moment and acting like a fool. Take a deep breath and go home. Take a few days to think things over. Is she right for you? Do you want to see her again or move on? It’s a lot easier to move on at the beginning than down the road.

Dating Tips for Men #20: Trust your gut. Do not continue to date a woman if you know she’s not right for you. Don’t keep her around until you find someone better. That’s not fair to her or you. Don’t waste your time. Do what’s right. Have the courage to move on!

Dating Tips for Men #21: Smart moves pay lifetime dividends. No matter how truthful, safe, and healthy your partner/friend seems, make certain that an adequate birth control method is being used, and that you both get tested for sexually transmitted diseases (STD) BEFORE your first sexual encounter. If you don’t have medical insurance to cover these expenses, most local health departments offer birth control counseling and STD testing for free or at a nominal fee. One bad choice in this area can instantly ruin your life forever!

I wish you much dating and relationship success!

There are various forms of this commonly spread HIV myth: It was developed by the CIA, the Russians or in Hitler’s labatories to be used in germ warfare or to wipe out a minority. Unsurprisingly, none of these are true, and many of them date back to times when so little was known about the disease that such rumours seemed plausible. It is now believed that HIV is a mutation of a disease carried by Chimpanzees – Simian Immunodeficiency Virus – and that it was probably transferred to humans via blood contact through the hunting of an infected animal. The first recorded instance of an HIV death was recorded in 1959 in the Congo.

Swallowed bleach will prevent HIV infection

According to an Associated Press article from earlier in the year, some teens in Florida are under the mistaken belief that swallowing bleach will kill the HIV virus. Whether or not any teens genuinely believe this bizarre AIDS myth, it’s important to restate the fact that swallowing bleach will not kill the virus – but might very well kill you. While using bleach on shared needles is advice direct from the Centers for Disease Control, swallowing it is going to do no good whatsoever, and may well do some bad…

Madmen are leaving syringes filled with HIV positive blood where they will infect random people

There are all sorts of AIDS myths around syringes containing HIV infected blood either deliberately or accidentally infecting innocents who come across them. Movie theatre chairs, gas pump handles, coin slots on payphones and random injections at nightclubs have all be touted, but none of them amount to a real threat with no recorded instances of people contracting the virus through any of these methods. The forwarded emails these are typically spread through are mischief making scare mongering according to various sources, and there are two sources of comfort to take if still worried: 1) The HIV virus cannot last for very long outside of its host, so discarded needles are unlikely to be a threat, and 2) Even if injected with a syringe of fresh HIV infected blood, there is around a 1 in 200 chance of becoming HIV positive (though this increases with the volume of blood involved)

Mosquitos can transmit HIV

not spread in that way.It’s an HIV myth that you can get AIDS via mosquito bites. Because mosquitoes do not inject blood into their prey, they cannot spread HIV in this manner. The way they can spread the likes of malaria and yellow fever is through the insect’s saliva but HIV is  If the insect has HIV infected blood in its gut, there’s a slim chance that swatting it, and then scratching the itch could lead to infection, but it’s such a long shot that this has never been recorded.

HIV can only infect gay men and drug users

This is an age old AIDS myth that just won’t go away. The HIV virus can infect anyone of any age, ethnicity or sexual orientation. While it’s true that anal sex carries a higher risk of infection, most penetrative sex acts carry a risk of transferring the virus.

An HIV infected mother cannot have children

HIV does not affect fertility – though it’s possible that in its later stages women will have a higher chance of spontaneous miscarriage. The chance of transferring the disease to an unborn child is 15-30% normally but reduced to 2-3% if they follow medical guidelines.

There were plans to kill a Sesame Street Character with AIDS to teach children about death

When Jim Henson died in 1990, rumour spread that Ernie from Sesame Street would be killed off, either because Jim Henson did his voice and no-one else could be found, or to teach children to deal with death. Despite the studio’s denial, these rumours continued to spread and one of the explanations was that he would either die through terminal illness – AIDS, cancer or leukaemia – or via some kind of traffic accident. None of the muppets on the show have ever passed on, although when the actor who played Mr Hooper died in 1982 the show dealt with the situation honestly, and culminated in the adults helping Big Bird understand that his friend wouldn’t be coming back.

However, one HIV related Sesame Street story is true – in 2002, it was announced that the South African version of the show was to introduce a female muppet who was HIV positive to fight stereotypes of people with the virus. It may seem an odd area to introduce into a children’s show, but with 1 in 9 people HIV positive in South Africa, the importance of working against the stigma of females with the virus is an issue that they felt needed to face head on.

Hopefully listing these AIDS myths will help people better understand a disease that has much misinformation spouted about it! Although we still have no cure for AIDS, if you are concerned that you may have become infected, getting HIV testing as soon as possible is very important. Not only will you be able to prevent the spread to other people, but scientists have developed many ways of improving the quality of life for sufferers and an early diagnosis can really help.

Tim Leach is the Marketing Manager of USA Lab Testing, providers of local HIV testing.

The stigma and discrimination in the society associated with HIV and AIDS usually places a lot of inhibitions in the mind of a person when he or she arrives for an HIV test. Therefore, these tests are conducted very confidentially and under strict privacy to protect the identity of the person being tested.

There are a few organizations like the HIV Antibody Testing Services, which provide anonymous and confidential tests to their clients. The tests include blood tests, urine tests, or saliva tests. In addition, there are also home testing kits available in the market, released by reputed companies which yield accurate results. Blood collection is done at home by the individual himself and the sample is mailed to the private diagnostic company for testing. The individual can find out the result of the test over the telephone.

Similarly, there is also a confidential antibody testing facility provided by an organization named Confidential HIV Antibody Testing Services, which conducts the tests on the person’s name but keeps this information strictly confidential. The test records of an individual are kept hidden from public domain, and only the concerned doctors, health personnel or the State health department people will know the fact about the HIV status of the person.

Similarly, another national agency involved in proving anonymous and confidential testing facility is the Anonymous HIV Antibody Testing Services. Here, the best part of the facility is that the individual’s name is not attached to either his sample, results or for records purpose. A unique code number is allotted to each individual and this code number itself is used instead of the name for all references or communications made. Therefore, only the concerned individual knows about his status and it is his personal choice whether he wants to share this information with any one or not.

Many people have confidently used this anonymous testing facilities and therefore, more and more such centers are being opened in many states and territories.

I have met literally hundreds of surrogate mothers, both traditional and gestational (although I readily admit that most were gestational). The women who tried to match themselves “independently” were the most interesting to talk with because they #1 had the most issues/problems #2 failed to actually complete a surrogacy and #3 some ended up going with an agency. Now I know of a very few who have had a great experience matching themselves and I was happy and relieved to hear that they had a great experience. However, more often then not, there wasn’t a happy ending.

The question I had to women who want to be surrogates but did not want to go through an agency is WHY NOT? What is wrong with agencies? I know why some Intended Parents don’t want to hire an agency and #1 is money but why do surrogates avoid agencies? Here are some of the top reasons women ‘go independent’:

#1 Potential Surrogates feel that they are saving potential IPs money

#2 Potential Surrogates can set their own base fee without an agency interfering and if the IP is ‘saving money’ (see #1) it can be given to the Independent surrogate

#3 Surrogates don’t have to go through the screening an agency requires. Examples:
A. BMI higher then 30 would be “OK”
B. Not parenting their own children would be “OK”
C. On public assistance would be fine
D. No Insurance is OK because they could be on public assistance
E. No Background Check because IP’s don’t want to spend the money
F. No psychological evaluation unless required by the clinic
G. Taking certain medications for anxiety for example might be acceptable
H. Hazardous working conditions can be overlooked
I. A ‘retainer fee’ can be requested
J. If Traditional and in-home insemination then No IQ testing, No STD testing, no waiting for sperm quarantine

#4 Going through an agency requires too much time and paperwork

Are these REALLY the type of women that IP’s want to carry their child? NO! But then again I don’t think that Intended Parents who want to save time and money know what they are getting themselves into when they don’t ask the right questions or require the most basic of background information.

Something to think about!

As a two time gestational surrogate mother and an author, as well as having many friends in the surrogacy community, I often hear women ask this question. Herpes is very common today, and does not automatically disqualify you from becoming a surrogate mother.

All clinics will require potential gestational surrogate mothers to undergo extensive physical and psychological testing prior to becoming approved as an acceptable carrier. Part of this testing is complete STD panels for both the surrogate and her partner.

Some clinics and intended parents will automatically disqualify any woman as a surrogate who has Herpes, but this is not a hard and fast rule. With proper arrangements, Herpes can become a non-issue.

The main problem with the Herpes virus is that it can be transmitted to the baby at birth. The simple solution for this is that the surrogate mother delivers the baby via c-section instead of vaginally.

The risk to the infant is only if there is an active Herpes infection present during delivery, though intended parents might ask for a mandatory c-section with a surrogate who carries the STD to be on the safe side.

The most important thing for you to do as a potential surrogate mother who has Herpes is to disclose this information during the matching process to the set of potential intended parents that you are interviewing with. You will also need to disclose this to the clinic before they have done any testing on you.

This way, if there is a problem, any relationship can be ended immediately, which will save everyone valuable time and money. Plus, this shows that you are honest and forthright with information, even derogatory information, which is vital in a surrogacy arrangement.

If you do not disclose this information in advance of testing, and it is found later, it could be a very large black spot on your relationship with both the clinic and the intended parents. STDs are not something to be taken lightly. They can have permanent and damaging effects on any unborn child.

It is important to note that Herpes is usually the only exception when it comes to carrying any sort of STD and still qualifying to become a surrogate mother. Because Herpes is only contagious when the baby passes through the birth canal, as opposed to being contagious in vetro, and because Herpes is so common in America, clinics and intended parents may turn a blind eye towards it.

Do not get offended if a clinic or intended parents reject you based on your Herpes status. These parents undergo a very expensive and emotional journey trying to become parents. They are usually extra cautious and extra sensitive to such issues.

But for every set of intended parents who may reject a Herpes carrier, there is another set of intended parents who simply do not care, so long as the proper safety precautions are taken. Good luck in your surrogacy journey!

In today’s age, everyone has heard of herpes. There are two common types among ten variations of this disease:

· Genital herpes
· Oral herpes

While the seriousness of both is different in society, the outbreak and the fact that both are so common make them very close family.

Similarities

There are many similarities to both types.

· Both are contagious and can spread as easily as a common cold
· Both can be spread to any surface and can lay dormant on towels or sheets
· Both have the ability to migrate to parts of the body where they are not supposed to go
· The virus that causes both look identical under a microscope
· Both types infect mucuosal areas of the body such as the genitals and the mouth
· You can have either type and not know you have herpes
· Both genital herpes and oral herpes travel along the nerves so oral herpes can break out anywhere along the face while genital herpes can appear anywhere in the upper area of the legs
· There is no cure to completely rid yourself of either form of herpes

Differences

Here are the differences.

· Oral herpes unlike genital herpes is a skin rash, or cold sore contracted by about 80% of adults from when they were children
· HSV-1 (oral herpes) likes to settle in a group of merve cells by the ears and when there is an outbreak the virus has traveled to the area around the mouth
· HSV-2 (genital herpes) likes to establish itself at the base of the spine and when this breaks out it has traveled to the genital region
· The social stigma is the opposite to genital herpes
· The treatments to each are different and must be treated differently

Testing

Although testing for both genital herpes and oral herpes is grouped under testing for STD’s, the testing for herpes is not automatic with STD tests. Always ask your doctor about the following when being treated for STD:

· Know what you are being tested for
· Know what you are not being tested for
· Know what you can be tested for

Both genital herpes and oral herpes are very common and cause more embarrassment than pain. If there is one outbreak, there will be others. Once you have an outbreak of either form, consult your doctor about treatment options and be sure to inform those closest to you so it does not spread.

Painters, composers and genocidal maniacs – it takes all sorts to die of syphilis! In fact, about 15% of the earth’s population in the 19th century contracted the dreaded venereal disease at some point in their lives.

These days a positive STD test would lead to treatment for this curable disease but for many who contracted the disease in those days it could prove deadly. Here are the ten most famous historical characters suspected to have suffered from the sexually transmitted disease.

10 – Scott Joplin

Scott Joplin, known as the ‘King of Ragtime’, wrote the famous piece of music ‘The Entertainer’. However, Joplin’s final hours would have been far from entertaining – he died in a mental institution suffering from the physical and mental influences of syphilis.

9 – Casanova

Casanova used a condom made out of sheep’s gut and tied on with a tasteful pink ribbon. However, the sexually prolific Venetian adventurer and author wasn’t as careful as he could have been and, as a result, suffered frequent bouts of venereal diseases including syphilis.

8 – Tolstoy

The Russian literary giant, author of ‘War and Peace’ and ‘Anna Karenina’ Leo Tolstoy suffered from syphilis during his youth, which was cured using arsenic treatment. In his novels, Tolstoy vividly examined the relationship between life and death.

7 – Ivan the Terrible

Ivan’s sexual promiscuity with both sexes, his last illness and many features of his personality support a diagnosis of syphilis. It was often ‘treated’ with mercury and he died of mercury poisoning. However, it cannot be determined if Ivan’s terrible problems were physical or psychological, and with anonymous STD testing yet to be invented in Ivan’s era we may never find out the truth.

6 – Nietzsche

Friedrich Nietzsche was a nineteenth-century German philosopher and philologist who had a major influence on philosophy, particularly in existentialism and postmodernism. A popular, though hotly disputed, story about Nietzsche is that he went insane after being infected with syphilis.

5 – Mussolini

Benito Mussolini exploited a grenade wound in the First World War to cover up syphilis, according to research which would explain the Italian dictator’s uncharacteristic refusal to boast about his heroism at the front. The syphilis theory fits with rumours which circulated in Italy during his rule – and his chronic gastric problems, a symptom of the sexually transmitted disease.

4 – Henry VIII

The gradual mental deterioration and paranoia which Henry VIII developed as he grew older was possibly the result of late stage syphilis. However, This well known theory was probably first promoted about 100 years after his death.

3 Beethoven

Whether Beethoven actually had syphilis has been debated for decades. Since anonymous STD testing was not available at that time we probably won’t find out. However, the composer was known to associate with prostitutes, and propagators of the theory often claim that the disease is what caused him to become deaf.

2 – Hitler

Adolf Hitler’s tremors and irregular heartbeat during the last years of his life could have been symptoms of late stage syphilis, which would mean he had had the sexually transmitted disease for many years. His many symptoms included encephalitis, dizziness, neck pustules, chest pain, an accentuated heartbeat and frequent paranoid rages.

1 – Shakespeare

After a close examination of William Shakespeare’s writings, the Infectious Diseases Society of America published an article suggesting that Shakespeare most probably had syphilis, and that his sickness could possibly explain several events in his later years.

Tim Leach is the Marketing Manager of American Lab Testing, providers of anonymous STD testing.

It’s a conversation that nobody wants to have – the admission of having a sexually transmitted disease to a partner. Whether you’ve been with somebody for years or have only just met, the revelation is never easy to make, so it’s important that you impart the information carefully.

Whatever you do, keeping quiet about your sexually transmitted disease is not an option. It’s within your partner’s rights to know of any potential risks that sexual contact will present, so that he/she can make an informed decision on precautions to take or whether to proceed! The only instance when it is okay to keep quiet is if you have previously had a curable disease (Chlamydia, Gonnorhea or Syphilis), have taken the appropriate anonymous STD test and got it treated. Even then, in the interests of full disclosure you should consider it – and if there’s any risk that he/she caught it off you before you got treated, you must (if not for the moral reasons, then for the subsequent chances of re-infection!)

Broaching the subject and the consequences involved are subtly different depending on whether the partner you’re telling has previously had sexual contact with you. If they have, then there’s the double shock – you have the disease, and they will need to take an anonymous STD test to find out whether they do too. Remember in this case that a new STD doesn’t automatically mean a person hasn’t been faithful to their STD-free partner: some take a long period of time to develop symptoms, so any resentment may be unfounded. If you haven’t had sex with the partner yet then they will still have a shock, and may make unfair assumptions about your sexual history. In either case, the way you should broach the subject remains largely the same.

The first lesson is simple: don’t bring it up during, or just before a sexual encounter. For starters, the chances are it will draw a halt to proceedings anyway! Secondly, emotions may be running high and your partner may feel extra venerable. In short, it’s not the best place to impart delicate news, no matter how relevant!

Instead, a quiet, private place to tell all is vital – it’s especially important that you won’t be interrupted. Try to stay as calm as possible. Explain that before you have sex (in the case of a new partner) he/she needs to know that you have a sexually transmitted disease and some information about it. At this point, you can explain what it is, what its side effects are, whether it’s curable and if using a condom will prevent its transfer. If you have a brochure on the disease (many clinics carry these), then passing one over will give your partner the chance to read about the STD in his/her own time.

Be as honest as possible – while nobody wants to go into details about their sexual history, you need to tell your partner whether you contracted it through sexual contact or through other means (drug use, for example).

As to how your partner will react, it’s simply impossible to predict. They will almost certainly be shocked, but this may manifest itself in many different ways: fear, anger, or a reluctance to talk about it. However they react, give them time and don’t push them into making a decision on the future of your relationship right away.

There’s no denying it: admitting you have an STD to a partner is a horrible experience. However, by being open and honest about it, you avoid a lot of long term complications and can be sure that if things turn out okay, the honesty involved can only make your relationship stronger. If you have previously been having sex, make sure both of you take anonymous STD tests to know your present situation and avoid re-infecting each other.

Tim Leach is the Marketing Manager of USA Lab Testing, who can provide people with an anonymous STD test.

The STD epidemic is not limited to today’s youth – oh no. Some STDs (and their painful, scientifically dubious treatments) date back several hundreds of years. Let’s take a look at some of the older ones and the myths about them that caused some pretty unorthodox treatments throughout the history of STDs:

Herpes

Herpes has been around since ancient Greek times – in fact, we owe the Greeks for the name, which roughly means “to creep or crawl” – presumably a reference to the spread of skin lesions. Although local STD testing wasn’t available until long after the virus was identified in 1919, early civilisations could see that it was a real problem – the Roman emperor Tiberius introduced a ban on kissing at public events to try and curb the spread. Not much is known about early attempts to treat the disease, but be grateful you weren’t around during the physician Celsus’ experimental phase: he advocated that the sores be cauterised with a hot iron!

The problem certainly never went away – Shakespeare referred to herpes as “blister plagues”, implying the extent of the epidemic. One common belief at the time was that the disease was caused by insect bites, which seems like an obvious explanation given the sores that the sexually transmitted disease creates.

Syphilis

Mercury was the remedy of choice for syphilis in the middle ages – the understanding of the sexually transmitted disease’s routes and this treatment gave birth to the expression: “A night in the arms of Venus leads to a lifetime on Mercury”. This was administered orally or via direct contact with the skin, though one of the most unlikely methods involved fumigation, where the patient was placed in a closed box with only their head poking out. The box contained mercury and a fire was started beneath it causing it to vaporise. It wasn’t hugely effective, but was very, very uncomfortable. Because Syphilis sores have a tendency to vanish on their own after a while, many people believed they were cured by just about any remedy in the STD’s history!

As the sexually transmitted disease became better understood, the ability to cure it increased. In 1908, the arsenic based drug Salvarsan was developed and, while not 100% effective, was a massive step forward. Its lack of effectiveness in the tertiary phase of the STD led to another disease being used as a cure: malaria. Because it seemed that those with high fevers could be cured of syphilis, malaria was used to induce an initial fever, which was considered an acceptable risk because malaria could be treated with quinine. Penicillin eventually confined both these treatments to STD history.

Gonnorhea

Before the days of local STD testing, Gonnorhea was often mistaken for Syphilis, as without a microscope, the two had very similar symptoms and were often silent. Of course, if you were “diagnosed” with the disease, you were in for an unfortunate treatment. According to some, the syringes found aboard the Mary Rose was designed to inject liquid mercury down the urethra of an crew suffering from the disease. By the 19th century, silver nitrate was a widely used drug, later to be replaced by Protargol. A colloidal silver replaced this, and was widely used until antibiotics came to the rescue in the 1940s.

So if you think that local STD testing and treatment is a painful process now, give a thought to the poor folks who had mercury or arsenic treatment all those years ago – and thank God for antibiotics!

Tim Leach is the Marketing Manager of USA Lab Testing, providers of local STD testing