Clinic promotes awareness of sexually transmitted disease

BANGOR – To raise public awareness of the need to get tested and treated for sexually transmitted diseases, the American Social Health Association is leading a national awareness campaign about STD testing during the month of April. April is STD Awareness Month across the United States.

This year more than 15 million cases of sexually transmitted diseases will occur in the United States. Many STDs have no symptoms and millions of Americans don’t know they are infected. Left untreated, STDs can spread quickly and can cause serious health problems, including chronic pain, cancer and infertility.

STDs are an epidemic in the United States and Maine is no exception. Two-thirds of all STDs occur in people age 25 or younger. One in five people in the United States will have an STD. However, less than half of adults ages 18 to 44 have ever been tested for an STD other than HIV.

Maine has seen a steady increase in STDs over the last few years. Gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, genital warts, HIV and herpes are a few of the STDs seen here.

Some STDs are curable, such as gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis. Others are not, including HIV, herpes, and genital warts. Complications from untreated STDs can range from mild burning with urination to infertility, emergency surgery and in rare cases, death.

STD clinics and prevention programs help promote consistent and correct condom use for those with multiple or new partners, abstinence from sexual activity and encourage mutual monogamy with an uninfected partner.

The Bangor STD Clinic offers clinics for testing 4:30-6:30 p.m. Mondays, and 9-11 a.m. Thursdays. These are walk-in clinics and the charge for testing is $40; however, no one is turned away because of an inability to pay. No appointment is needed. The clinic also offers anonymous and confidential HIV testing by appointment only. The fee is $25, based on ability to pay.

The staff at the Bangor STD Clinic is available to talk to anyone who has questions about STDs or testing. Clinic hours are 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. For information, call 947-7000.