Should I be tested?

Typically, once an individual has become sexually active, periodic testing for HIV and other STDs is highly recommended.  Especially those with multiple partners.  As the number of sexual partners increases, so does the risk for contracting an STD. As the likelihood of contracting an STD increases, the need for testing for all STDs is extremely important.

Sexually active adults should keep in mind that a partner may unknowingly transmit an STD to them due to the lack of noticeable symptoms. Lack of symptoms, however, does not eliminate or even reduce transmission of an STD from one person to another and it certainly does not mean someone is STD free.  Chlamydia, gonorrhea, genital herpes, and especially HIV are a few of the STDs that can be transmitted when no symptoms are present.

It is estimated that more than 50 million Americans, 20% of the population, suffer from allergic diseases.  Allergy is a common cause of acute and chronic illness, accounting for approximately 16.7 million physician office visits annually and an estimated 4 million days of lost time at work and school.  In addition to producing chronic respiratory problems, allergy can interfere with normal growth and development, may cause physical disability, and poses substantial social and economic burdens, the latter of which have been estimated in the US to exceed $6 billion a year for allergic rhinitis alone.