In year 9 you’re taught about all the scary and life ruining things that can happen after having sex. A baby, AIDS and even sometimes death were just a few of the buzz words thrown at you in the most awkward lesson ever, normally taught by the creepiest teacher. But by the time you’re at uni, you can name a handful of people that have had a chlamydia, the silent killer (joke). The cold of the sex world, chlamydia is the most common STI you will find at university. 1 in 10 people have chlamydia right now!!! But in a world obsessed with getting freaky, Her Campus is here to debunk some of the myths and limit your time spent at the clinic.
“I would know if I had a chlamydia”
WRONG. Chlamydia is one of the only STI’s that has no symptoms. You literally cannot find out until you’re tested. Some people only discover they have chlamydia after having trouble conceiving.
“I’ve already had chlamydia so I can’t get it again”
Sweetie, this isn’t chicken pox. If you keep allowing yourself to have sex with guys that don’t wrap up or get tested there is a chance that you’ll catch it again. And again. No judgement here if casual sex is your thing you go glen coco but use a condom and save yourself an embarrassing trip to the clinic. There’s nothing sexy about calling up all 3 of the boys you’ve had on rotation to inform them that they may or may not have chlamydia.
“Hopefully it’ll just go away”
Incorrect, you have to get treated or your new buddy is going nowhere. They’ll get a loan, rent a property and set up camp until you finish the antibiotic course. Your immune system is incapable of fighting the virus empty handed so get your shit together as quickly as possible.
“We only had sex once so I should be fine”
if you eat a piece of half raw chicken there’s a chance you might not get salmonella but a much higher chance that you will spend the next week throwing your guts up. If a guy you have canoodled with says he’s got it, there’s a pretty high chance that you will also have it. How romantic right?
This information may seem obvious but as it is written in the old testament of the bible ‘no glove, no love’. There is a massive stigma attached to chlamydia but it isn’t anything to cry over. Just get it sorted and you can pretend it never happened. Give yourself a clap on the back.