Colorado Springs is a picturesque city in El Paso County, Colorado, featuring stunning natural wonders like Pikes Peak and Red Rock Canyon. Home to nearly 675,000 people,1 this paradise near the Rockies still sees it’s share of sexually transmitted diseases in the area, including a rise in the rate of HIV infections.2 Getting tested and treated for STDs in Colorado Springs should be simple and helps to make the area even healthier of communicable disease. If you’re worried about waiting the few weeks it may take to visit your primary care physician or you’re wary of the potentially crowded waiting room at a free clinic, STDtest.com offers an option with the same standard of exemplary care that’s also fast, convenient and keeps your personal schedule in mind. Read on to learn more.
While Colorado Springs and El Paso County currently sees a decline in the rate of new infections in the area, the numbers reported still reflect some of the highest across the state. Colorado is considered a rural state, which translates to a concentration of several counties, known as the Front Range counties, receive the majority of the cases reported all throughout the state. The counties with the most population density and in turn the most heightened presence of sexually transmitted disease include Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Denver, El Paso, Fremont, Jefferson, La Plata, Park, Pitkin, Pueblo and Summit. This area accounts for 90.2% of all HIV infections reported in the state.3
Getting started with STDtest.com is simple. You can answer a few brief questions about your sexual health and history in the comfort of your own home, rather than in the waiting room of your primary care doctor’s office or a free clinic. Following the intake, you’ll receive a doctor recommended panel of tests, customized for you. You’ll then be able to visit a local lab for a brief 30 minute walk-in visit to collect test samples. No appointments are needed and same-day options are often available. Your test results will be available usually within three business days or less. A dedicated team of Care Advisors is available 7 days a week from 6 AM to 10 PM to answer any questions you have and to guide you each step of the way.
According to a report released by the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment, the number of chlamydia, gonorrhea and primary and secondary (P&S) syphilis show declining trends from 2010 to 2014. 2,512 new chlamydia infections were reported in El Paso County in 2014, compared to 2,596 the year before. In the 2010-2014 time period, the year with the highest number of infections was 2012, with 3,024 total in the statistical reporting area. Gonorrhea exhibits similar downward trends, with 514 new infections in 2014 compared to 535 in 2013. The highest number and rate reported in El Paso County from 2010 to 2014 was 2013. Primary and secondary syphilis is reported in far lower numbers in Colorado Springs than chlamydia and gonorrhea, and it continues to see a decrease as well, with 6 new cases reported to the CDPHS as of 2014, compared to 12 the year before.2
New infections of HIV in Colorado Springs and El Paso County represent one of the commonly reported sexually transmitted diseases currently on the rise. In 2014, the county reported 38 new infections compared to 29 in 2013, with a rate elevated from 4.4 to 5.7 year over year. In the 2010-2014 data set, the highest rate of infection was documented in 2014.2 While the rate of HIV is relatively low compared to other counties with similar populations across the United States, getting tested is the most definitive option for gaining knowledge of one’s sexual status and paving the way for better sexual health in the greater Colorado Springs and El Paso County area.
Colorado state law mandates age-appropriate, medically accurate sexual education in all of it’s public schools. Grant funding from the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE) requires comprehensive sexual education curriculum that is evidence-based. Comprehensive sexual education includes curriculum based on STD and HIV/AIDS knowledge and prevention, both contraceptive methods and abstinence as methods for preventing teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease, as well as lessons on building healthy relationships, recognizing dangerous and unhealthy behaviors in dating relationships and establishing the foundation for strong self-esteem. To help enforce the standards of this curriculum, the youth sexual health team was created within the CDPHE to oversee programming and to answer any questions from educators.4
This approach to curriculum exists as an extension of the CDPHE’s findings in a study on sexual health in the youth of Colorado. A thorough investigation of the challenges facing the adolescent health in the community was published in Fall 2012 and outlines a few significant targets for the betterment of the sexual health of young adults across the state. It impels mentors, teachers and parents to shed light on the many options available to support healthy decision making, consistent condom use and other tactics to help continue the decrease of STDs and unintended pregnancy.5 With young adults accounting for nearly half of the STDs reported each year in the United States,6 a discussion- and knowledge-based approach is key for encouraging young people to be aware of the best possible decisions for their sexual health.
Females in Denver and El Paso County are the most likely gender to be infected chlamydia, with 1,710 (68.1%) new infections reported in 2014. Men in comparison reported 802 (31.9%) new infections that same year. The racial/ethnic group most consistently affected by chlamydia infections is the Caucasian population. This group is responsible the highest percentage of all infections each year, from 2010 to 2014. The gender gap between men and women in Colorado Springs and El Paso County is slightly smaller than that witnessed with chlamydia. Women accounted 237 new cases in 2014, compared to 277 reported in men. Once again, Caucasians account for the highest number of infections, accounting for 32.5% recorded in 2014. Men are the gender primarily associated with contraction of primary and secondary syphilis. In 2014, 5 out of 6 new diagnoses were attributed to this demographic group.2
HIV is another STI in Colorado Springs that impacts men in more numbers than women. Compared to 82.8% in 2013, 86.8% percent of all infections were reported by men. Women reported 17.2% of all infections in 2013 and 13.2% of all infections in 2014. The age group reporting the highest numbers of diagnoses were the 30-34 age group and 40-44 age group, each with 18.4% of all infections, respectively. One group at particularly high risk for HIV in Colorado Springs and El Paso county are men who have sex with men, who reported 59.7% amount of all infections in the metropolitan statistical area in 2014. Getting tested is important and getting linked to care is essential for reaching the goals of HIV elimination strategy in the county, Colorado and across the United States.2
Why not spend your free time enjoy the nature all around Colorado Springs at landmark locations like the Garden of the Gods rather than waiting for STD testing? With same-day test sample collection options and results available within usually three business days or less, this confidential, affordable and fast service will make more time for the things in life you love most. Once you answer a brief questionnaire and receive your doctor recommended panel of tests. Next, you’ll choose a testing option. You can visit a local lab from a national network of thousands to collect your test samples, no appointment needed. If available in your area, you can can get tested at home, work or another convenient location with In-Home Collection that same day with only an hour’s notice.
For both options, you’ll be notified of test results usually within three business days or less, and the medical team is available to answer any follow up questions you may have or even to prescribe treatment, if it’s medically appropriate or allowed by state law. Get tested. It’s for your better health.