(Willful) Ignorance Is Bliss

Many doctor and scientists refer to sexually transmitted diseases as the hidden epidemic. STDs are sneaky. They can often lurk in your systems for years, not causing any symptoms, while unprotected sex spreads one person’s infection to two, to four, to eight, to 16… to thousands. The depressing thing is that, with the exception of herpes and a few other highly contagious diseases that spread by skin-to-skin contact, the STD epidemic is largely preventable. That’s why it’s fortunate for the bacteria and viruses that humans have evolved a maladaptive trait that will probably allow them to keep spreading until the end of time—willful ignorance.

People don’t want to know whether or not they are infected with sexually transmitted diseases, they don’t want to think their partners might carry and STD, and they don’t want to worry that their sexual behavior could have lasting consequences. Because of this, they often do everything they can to avoid finding out if they have one. After all, if you don’t know they’re infected, you don’t have to deal with the infection. You don’t have to disclose to your partners; you don’t have to potentially avoid sexual activity during the healing process, and you don’t have to deal with the effect that an STD diagnosis can have on self-image. It’s much easier simply not to know.

Getting an STD screening should not be a big deal. It should be routine, like a dental check-up or eye exam. After all, just as with those types of screening, STD screening is a preventative measure. If doctors can catch an STD before it becomes problematic, then it not only improves an individual’s health, it reduces the chance of them transmitting the disease to their partners. The only problem is with the results.

Needing a new pair of glasses, or a root canal, doesn’t normally make people feel differently about themselves—or make doctors feel differently about them. The same can not be said for an STD. Our society has so many issues around sexual health that it can be difficult to discuss sex and STDs with an authority figure without feeling judged. This may be why a lecture about proper flossing seems to be less of a big deal for most people than a lecture about proper condom use.

The fact is, that it is incredibly easy not to know if you have an STD. Outside of public health clinics and campus medical centers, many doctors don’t regularly screen patients for sexually transmitted diseases unless their patients ask—which is a shame, since it can be hard for even the most educated and sexually confident people to be proactive in regard to testing. Requesting STD testing requires a willingness to not only admit to yourself that you might be at risk of infection, but to talk to your doctor about sex and your sexual history.

One reason that doctors don’t reliably screen patients for STDs is that they are often just as uncomfortable talking about sex as their patients, and so they frequently fail to ask the right questions. They may assume, incorrectly, that their patients are not at risk, but they may also want to avoid an awkward conversation about sex and STDs that might ensue should they bring up the question of testing. This may particularly be an issue with patients whose sexuality makes their doctors uncomfortable—whether it is because they have same sex partners, are physically different, or are simply over the age of 25.