Students Encouraged to Take Chlamydia Test
Students Encouraged to Take Chlamydia Test
Students are being encouraged to have a Chlamydia test to ensure they have a clean bill of sexual health. This is because Chlamydia rates amongst students and other young people is increasing.
A statement from NHS Direct has said that the number of people with sexually transmitted infections is on the rise, particularly amongst the younger generation, and fewer people are volunteering to be tested.
One way the National Union of Students is hoping to encourage STI testing is to offer free drinks to those students who have a Chlamydia test. It is hoped this initiative will slow the spread of the disease in the student population.
In the scheme, after their test, students receive tokens that can then be exchanged for alcoholic drinks.
Chlamydia has been found to be the most common sexually transmitted infection in the UK, with 121,000 cases reported last year, two-thirds of which were from those aged between 16 and 24.
However, the idea has drawn criticism from many quarters, including the Department of Health, who stated that the NUS should not be encouraging students to binge drink.
The Conservative MP Ann Widdecombe commented, “Using alcohol to bribe youths into testing is unsuitable, as we’re trying to curb binge drinking not promote it.”
A spokesman for the Department of Health said: “We do not support offering alcohol as an incentive to test for STIs.”
Ben Whittaker, vice-president of the NUS, commented: “NUS encourages students’ unions to run sexual health campaigns in an appropriate and responsible way.”
Of course, you can get a Chlamydia test from your GP or the local GUM clinic. The results will usually take about a week to come through, before treatment can begin.
Chlamydia often presents few or sometimes no symptoms, but, if left untreated, it can lead to serious and lasting health problems, such as infertility in women. Testing is, therefore, very important, especially if an individual has multiple partners or has sex with someone who has had multiple partners.
Fortunately, treatment of the disease is simple and straightforward, and in most cases the infection can be killed off entirely within a week or two with a simple course of antibiotics.
A chlamydia test is a quick and pain-free way of finding out if you have this sexually transmitted disease. Treatment for chlamydia is equally simple, but if left untreated, chlamydia can have serious consequences.
Article from articlesbase.com