In Santa Ana, there’s no shortage of sights to see, and you can take in the whole city when you visit the Discovery Cube Orange County. This scenic California town is peppered with gorgeous historic buildings and other similar charms that make Orange County great, like the beautiful Bowers Museum. Santa Ana and the greater Orange County metropolitan statistical area is home to 3.21 million residents (Santa Ana accounts for nearly 10% of the county population).1 This sunny city also sees a rise in certain commonly reported sexually transmitted diseases like chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis.2-4
Getting tested for STDs at your primary care doctor’s office often means scheduling an appointment weeks in advance, and the waiting room at a free clinic can potentially be crowded and overwhelming. STDTest.com offers an alternative featuring the same FDA-approved tests and exemplary patient care, that is more tailored to your personal schedule. Read on to learn more.
Orange County is one of California’s most enviable destinations, with record days of sunshine all year round. It’s easy to adopt the carefree lifestyle of Santa Ana, with its charming architecture and stellar location on the Pacific Ocean. For stressful situations like STD testing, we can help you breathe a sigh of relief. With STDtest.com, you can get tested the same day with results available usually within three business days or less. If you have questions or you’re not sure how to get started, a dedicated team of Care Advisors is available 7 days a week from 6 am to 10 pm CT to answer your questions and help you out each step of the way.
Orange County, relative to other counties in California, ranks around average or below when it comes to comparative rates of sexually transmitted disease.5 Keeping sexually transmitted disease rates from going up on staying the path on a continued decline requires that residents are aware of the risks that can cause the transmission of these infections, how to get tested and how to get treated or even cured, in the instance of chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and trichomoniasis, and in some cases, hepatitis C. Incurable infections like HIV and hepatitis B can be managed with medicine, but a diagnosis is needed to start an effective treatment regimen.6&7
The most commonly reported sexually transmitted disease in Santa Ana and all throughout Orange County is chlamydia and its numbers continue to climb, according to the most recent reports released by the California Department of Public Health. From 2013 to 2014, the number of new infections increased by 7.8%. Gonorrhea also saw an uptick in new infections in the area, with 1,452 reported in 2013 compared to 1,796 in 2014. Both for chlamydia and gonorrhea, the highest reported number of new diagnoses from 2010-2014 occurred in the most recent year of reporting.1&2
According to the CDC 2014 National STD Surveillance Report, the state of California ranks 4th in the nation for the number and rate of primary and secondary (P&S) syphilis infections. In Santa Ana and Orange County, the numbers for this sexually transmitted disease continue to rise as well year over year, with a 2.9% increase from 2013 to 2014. HIV in the Orange County medical statistical area continues to see a declining number of infections year-over-year, with a decrease of 261 reported in 2014 compared to 306 new diagnoses reported the year before. Most often, the only symptoms of an STD are no symptoms at all, so it’s important to get screened periodically or yearly, depending on your risk factor, to improve the overall sexual health of the Santa Ana community.4&10
Comprehensive sexual education is mandated by California state law in all of its public schools, those in Santa Ana and Orange County included. This is a relatively new law that went into effect in the area on January 1, 2016. It calls for a multi-faceted approach to providing all California public school children with age-appropriate, medically-accurate curriculum with a focus on the facts and preventive methods to protect against sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS and unintended pregnancy. According to the California Education Code, while the mention of abstinence as an effective method of avoiding STDs and teen pregnancy is allowed, it is against the code to teach “Abstinence-Only” sex education in this setting.11
This progressive stance on sexual education in school works to empower students with the skills to make healthy choices, and the information to recognize risky or unhealthy relationship behavior. Starting with an open discussion of what the realities are about human development, sexuality and the risks of certain behaviors in a way that provides the full picture can only help young adults make confident decisions. Knowing what are resources available should they find their sexual health compromised helps to ease the burden. Getting tested, resulting positive and getting treated can save a young person from the medical complications of an un-tested or untreated sexually transmitted disease down the road, like pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) or even infertility.11&12
Santa Ana and Orange County sees a varied distribution of sexually transmitted disease between various age, gender and racial and/or ethnic groups. For example, women in the area consistently are diagnosed with higher numbers of chlamydia with 67.5% of 2014 infections, compared to men with 32.4%. The gender divide regarding gonorrhea infections reflects nearly the inverse, with men diagnosed with 67.1% of all infections in 2014 compared to women with 32.7%. Typically, men are infected by primary and secondary (P&S) syphilis by a wide margin compared to women, accounting for 94.6% of new infections from the most recent years’ reporting. HIV also affects men predominantly, reporting 86.4% of new infections, according to the Orange County Health Care Services.10&13
Young people in Santa Ana and Orange County are affected by the spread of sexually transmitted diseases in large numbers, namely chlamydia and gonorrhea. The 15-24 age group accounted for 58.5% of all Orange County chlamydia cases in 2014, as well as 40% of all gonorrhea cases. The average age for primary and secondary syphilis is the 20-44 year old age group. The average age of those impacted by new HIV infections is 40+, which skews slightly older than the other infections previously discussed. Making sure to spread the word to these at-risk populations to get tested and treated to care, if medically appropriate, is essential for lowering the rate of STDs in the Santa Ana and Orange County medical statistical area.10&13
Enjoy life to the fullest in Santa Ana even when those famous Santa Ana Winds are gusting down, by taking control of your sexual health and getting tested. Once you know where you stand, you can either get treated or cured, lifting the burden of the unknown. Getting started with STDtest.com is simple. By answering a few brief medical questions online or by phone, you’ll receive a doctor-recommended panel of tests customized to your personal history and symptoms. You’ll then select a lab or, if available by you, request lab testing at home, for a brief visit to collect your test samples.
For both options, results are usually available in three business days or less. The medical team is available for a follow-up consult to discuss your diagnosis, answer any remaining questions or even to prescribe treatment, if medically appropriate and if allowed by state law. Get tested. It’s for your better health.