The least wonderful time of the year is upon us — midterm season.
If you study at all like I do, it’s likely that you are reading this from a library or classroom right now, surrounded by textbooks and notes, strung out on whatever substance you’re using to stay awake.
Give yourself a break, put down the caffeinated beverage, and allow me to be your personal Study Edge for a different kind of test — one that you don’t have to study for and that’s OK to fail.
It’s fairly common knowledge that UF offers free STI testing. The testing is offered through the Alachua County Health Department as part of the Get Yourself Tested program. It’s for registered UF students who don’t have any symptoms. Meaning, if a weird rash just showed up that you’d rather not tell your parents about, you’ll have to contact your regular Student Health Care Center medical team.
Getting tested for STIs sounds a lot more daunting than it seems. But if you’re sexually active in any way possible — yes, even if you don’t have penetrative sex — it’s responsible to get tested on a regular basis.
I make it a point to do so at least once a year, usually at the beginning of the school year, so that I can start the year with a clean bill of health.
The STI/STD Testing Clinic in the infirmary specifically tests for gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis and HIV through blood and urine tests. However, the clinic doesn’t test for oral strains of these diseases and also doesn’t conduct physical exams — neither oral nor genital. You’ll need to contact your regular medical team or a clinic like Planned Parenthood for that.
When you get to the infirmary for your appointment, you’ll head down to the basement to check in with the red team. If it’s your first time getting tested in the office, you’ll have some paperwork to fill out.
From there, an Alachua County Health Department employee will take you back to an office for a consultation.
They’ll ask you a lot of questions, so my best advice is to review your sexual health history before you go to the appointment. It’ll save you some awkwardness so you don’t say, “uhhhhh,” after every question, or so you don’t have to count your sexual partners on your fingers — not that I had to do anything like that.
The clinic employee will ask you about previous test results, if you use any form of birth control and if you’ve experienced any symptoms.
They’ll also ask you if you’ve had any prior STIs, when your last sexual encounter — oral, vaginal and anal — was, how many partners you’ve had in the past year, what type of sex you’re having, if you give oral sex, if you receive oral sex and whether you typically use condoms.
Make sure to be honest with the clinic employee about all of these questions. Don’t skew your partner list to sound more reasonable. Don’t say you use condoms if you actually don’t — although you definitely should.
The employee will record all of your answers and then send you on your way to get blood and urine samples.
Drink some water before the appointment, since you do have to provide a urine sample. It’s also a good idea to eat something — and even bring a snack in case you get woozy — since you’ll get your blood drawn.
The good news: The SHCC staff is extremely nice and helpful. I’m laughably scared of needles, but the technician taking my blood was funny and made the process a breeze. I forgot to eat before my first appointment, and when I felt faint after she took my blood, she pushed back her lunch break so she could sit with me while I ate an apple and drank some Gatorade to feel better.
If both you and your partner are getting tested, bring them along for moral, and even physical (read: hand-holding during the needle prick) support.
Your test results are available in two weeks, but the Health Department will call you if you have positive results. The employee told me during my consultation, “No news is good news.”
You can call the clinic for your test results or visit the infirmary to get a printed copy if you really want to show off your health status.
If you’re interested in making an appointment, call 352-294-7465 to set it up Monday through Friday. The appointment slots do get booked quickly, though. The first time I got tested, I had to call four weeks in a row just to get an appointment, so I recommend calling earlier in the week.
The whole process took about 45 minutes for me, which is short enough to fit into even the busiest schedule.
Even though it won’t make or break your GPA, an STI test is still important, so make it a priority to set up an appointment as soon as possible.
Robyn Smith is a UF journalism junior. Her columns appear on Fridays.
[A version of this story ran on page 7 on 10/10/2014]
