Toledo is a charming Midwestern town with nearly 280,000 residents. This northwest Ohio metropolis is part of the larger Lucas County area, home to over 433,000.1 There’s plenty of history to be found around town, like the Collingwood Art Center and the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center. Toledo strikes a balance between traditional and modern, and it also sees the rise of commonly reported sexually transmitted diseases like HIV, chlamydia and primary and secondary (P&S) syphilis.2-5
Getting tested for STDs and treated, if medically accurate, is a simple and effective way to lower the rate of these infections in the Toledo and Lucas County. Making an appointment with your primary care doctor for testing can often mean waiting a while before getting seen, and the waiting room at a free clinic could be crowded potentially. STDtest.com offers the same FDA-approved tests, delivered to you on your schedule. Read on to learn more.
There’s no shortage of fun to be had in Toledo, like catching a game with family and friends at Fifth Third Field. While it’s great to have fun, the rise of sexually transmitted diseases in this metropolitan statistical area is something to take seriously. It’s also important for those at risk for these infections to get tested, either as soon as possible or every so often. Who should get tested right away? Anyone who has recently had unprotected sex, anyone sexually active who has never been tested, anyone in a relationship with an STD-positive partner, or anyone who, for any reason, suspects they have been exposed to an STD.
There are certain groups at risk that should get tested often to prevent illness or recurring illness. For example, sexually active young women under the age of 25 (or older women with risk factors) are recommended by the CDC to get tested yearly for chlamydia. Not only are women more susceptible to this sexually transmitted infection, an STD like chlamydia, left untreated can lead to more serious medical consequences like infertility.6&7 If you’re feeling nervous, embarrassed or even ashamed about getting tested for STDs, it doesn’t need to feel that way. With STDtest.com, a dedicated team of Care Advisors is available 7 days a week from 6 am to 10 pm CT to answer all of your questions and help to give you peace of mind. You never have to feel alone.
According to current reports from the Ohio Department of Health, STD Surveillance Program. The sexually transmitted disease that saw the most noticeable increase year-over-year in the Toledo area was primary and secondary syphilis. Between 2013 and 2014, the number of syphilis infections rose from 5 to 30, an 83.3% increase. Of the 31 Lucas County cases reported to Ohio Department of Health in 2014, 30 of them were from the Toledo area. Another STD currently on the rise in Toledo is chlamydia. From 2010 to 2013, the number of chlamydia cases in the city steadily increased, followed by a decrease in 2014. The number of chlamydia infections reported once again rose from 2,330 in 2014 to 2,656 in 2015. In the greater Lucas County area, 2,605 chlamydia infections were reported in 2014 compared to 2,605 in 2015. Also on the rise in Toledo is the number of reported HIV infections, increasing from 30 infections to 43 between 2014 and 2015.2-5
One sexually transmitted disease currently on the decline in Toledo is gonorrhea. In 2015, 702 new infections were reported to the local health authorities compared to 740 the year before. From 2010 to 2014, the highest number of gonorrhea cases reported was 1,133 in 2012. In Lucas County, 735 gonorrhea infections were reported in 2015 compared to 783 in 2014. 8-9 Continuing to get tested and treated, when medically appropriate, helps to improve the overall sexual health of the Toledo and Lucas County area.
Sexual education in the state of Ohio and in the Toledo area is starting to change.according to the Guttmacher Report detailing state-by-state sexual education policies, current state law promotes an abstinence-stress as well as an abstinence-outside-of-marriage curriculum. However, pending legislation detailed in Senate Bill 101 and House Bill 132 demonstrates that educators and lawmakers in the state are looking to make comprehensive sexual education the curriculum choice in Ohio. Comprehensive sexual education is age-appropriate, medically-accurate sexual education that uses a more balanced approach by focusing on a variety of topics, including discussing both abstinence and condoms and other contraceptives as effective methods to prevent sexually transmitted disease, HIV/AIDS and unintended pregnancy.10-12
Another important part of comprehensive sexual education is focusing on emotional health. Teaching young students healthy decision making skills and knowing how to recognize and get help when they are in a hurtful or abusive relationship is essential for students in building confidence and better self-esteem. Providing this population with the knowledge of the risks, testing and treatment options helps to lessen the stigma should their sexual health be compromised. According to the CDC, young people age 15-24 account for nearly 50% of the estimated 20 million STDs estimate each year in the United States.13
Young people are affected by the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, and teenagers and adolescents in Ohio are no exception. According to recent reports shared by the Ohio Department of Health, the 15-24 year old age group represents 69.6% of all chlamydia cases reported to local health departments in 2015. Looking at the data for gonorrhea, the 15-24 year-old age group accounted for 54.9% of total reports that same year. In 2014, the age group that accounted for the majority of reported primary and secondary syphilis is the 20-29 year-old population segment. Regarding HIV, 20-24 year olds account for the highest number of virus reports as of 2014. 2-9
Gender also plays a variable in the demographic distribution of sexually transmitted diseases across the state of Ohio. In the state, as well as all across the country, women experience far more chlamydia diagnoses than men, with 70.2% of total infections reported to the health department attributed to women compared to 29.8% attributed to men. When it comes to the spread of gonorrhea in Ohio, men and women are affected at about the same rate, with men accounting for 48.9% of reported infections compared to women with 51.1%. Two STDs that commonly see significantly more male than female infections are HIV and primary and secondary syphilis, with 86% of HIV diagnoses in 2014 and 86.2% of primary and secondary syphilis that year as well. 2-9 Reaching out to risk groups and continuing to educate and encouraging testing and treatment when needed is an important method of continuing to promote better community health not just in Toledo and Lucas County, but across Ohio and all throughout the United States.
Why not spend your sweet free time in Toledo taking in a show at the Valentine Theater rather than feeling stressed and overwhelmed by an unknown STD status? Getting started with STDtest.com is simple. The first thing to do is answer a few medical questions online or by phone to receive a personal doctor’s recommendation for the tests you should take. Then, you’ll select a testing option. You can pick the lab most convenient for you from a national network of thousands for a short visit (usually 30 minutes or less) to collect your test samples, no appointment required. If available in your area, we can bring the lab to you with an In-Home Collection House Call. With only an hour’s notice, a trained Lab Collection Specialist can arrive at your location of choice to collect your test samples, for an added element of privacy.
For both options, test results are usually available in three business days or less. Our medical
team is also available for follow up to answer any questions you have, to discuss your diagnosis and even to prescribe treatment, if medically appropriate and if allowed by state law. Get tested. It’s for your better health.