I knew the stats.   

Three million teenagers get infected with a sexually transmitted disease (STD) each year. Nearly one million teen girls get pregnant. HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, infects young people faster than any other group. One-half of all new HIV infections hit people under 25.

 

I didn’t want to become another statistic. So, here’s what I did:

 

Monday, 9:15 a.m. 

 

I decide against going to my family doctor because he knows me and my family too well. I figure I’ll find a free clinic in Philadelphia (not far from where I live). I’ll be less likely to run into someone I know.

9:30 a.m. 

Call the Philadelphia City Hall to find a free clinic. They transfer me to the director of health and free clinics. The guy explains the process to me. He talks to me as if I already have a disease. Jerk. But he does give me the info I need and tells me how to get to the clinic.

 

Wednesday, 2 p.m. 

 

Jump into my car and head for Philly. I find the clinic, circle the block and park. When I step out of the car, my mouth goes dry, my stomach queasy.

2:05 p.m. 

Walk into the clinic and feel like everyone’s wondering, What’s he got? Feeling really nervous now and questions reel through my mind. What are they going to do? How are they going to treat me? Just get it over with, I tell myself. I head for the reception desk. 

The receptionist tells me they don't take “walk-ins” ’til 4 p.m. Great. Two hours to kill. I take in a few sights.

4 p.m. 

Back at the clinic. The receptionist gives me a form with two blue tickets attached to the top. They both have the same number on them. I fill out the form, which asks for basic info: name, address, etc. I give her back the form. She hands me one ticket and keeps the other. Now I’m just a number. They don’t use names to track your test results.

I wait. A video about STDs plays in the waiting room.

4:45 p.m. 

The nurse calls out, “163, 164, and 165, please come with me.” That’s me: 163. I follow her into the back with two other patients. The nurse calls us into the room one at a time. She takes two vials of blood—a needle stick and it’s over. The clinic will use one vial to test for HIV. The other for syphilis. Back to the waiting room.

5:10 p.m. 

Another nurse calls me in. She starts asking some really personal questions. “Do you have sex with females, males, or both? When was the last time you had sex? How many partners have you had in 30 days? Do you always, sometimes, or never practice safe sex? Have you had an HIV test in less than or more than six months?” I swallow hard and tell the truth.

My answers determine which tests I’ll take. I’ll get four—oral, rectal, urethra, and physical.

“Any questions?” the nurse asks.

“Just one,” I say. “That urethra test, I hear it hurts, you put a needle-like instrument in the tip of the penis?” 

“It stings,” she says, “but not too much.”

Yeah, right.

5:30 p.m. 

The doctor finally comes into the room with a warm smile and says hello. I really wasn’t expecting a woman, but she makes me feel comfortable. She explains all the tests, which basically tell if I have different STDs, including gonorrhea (most people call it “the clap”) and chlamydia. Both can cause sterility and other health problems, and you can sometimes have them without knowing it. The physical exam is to check for urinary problems.

5:40 p.m. 

The tests start. First, the oral test—a simple swipe with a cotton swab on the back of my throat. A breeze. Next comes the rectal test—swiping the anus with a cotton swab. Definitely a little uncomfortable, considering the position, but not painful. Then the urethra test, which is basically what I expect. Painful, but not unbearable. Last is the physical exam. The doc pushes on the groin and testes areas and asks if there is any pain. It feels kinda like a little tummy massage. 

The whole time, the doc is talking, making me feel comfortable, like all this awkward testing is totally normal. She finishes and asks if I have any questions. I thought, yeah, I have a few.

“Do condoms protect me from all STDs?”

“Condoms, as with any disease- or pregnancy-prevention method, are not 100-percent effective. They can break,” she explains, but adds that condoms are still the best protection for people who are having sex.

“Is there a wrong way to use a condom?”

“Yup,” she says, and hands me a brochure that tells me the right way. It also shows different types of condoms and when you should use them. It says to use condoms even during oral sex. Never heard that before.

5:45 p.m. 

Next stop, a social worker, who explains the whole HIV-testing thing to me. 

5:55 p.m. 

I get the results to the syphilis test. Negative. Pheweee. The doctor tells me keep it that way.

“Always practice safer sex,” she says. “That means using a condom every single time and choosing partners carefully. The more partners, the greater chance of getting an infection.”

“No problem,” I tell her.

We set an appointment time for me to come back to get the results of the other tests. Then she hands me a bag of about 30 lubricated, spermicidal condoms. That should last me the next 100 years. 

6 p.m. 

It’s over. Relief. Driving home, I think about the whole experience. It was more comfortable than I expected. OK, not completely 100 percent comfortable. When the tests were being performed, I definitely felt awkward and a little embarrassed. But everyone made everything seem normal. Hey, maybe it was. It’s just not something I’m used to.

I realize, too, how important it is be responsible and healthy. I really didn’t think I had an STD or anything, but there’s always a slight chance. Some infections go undetected and you may not find out about it until it’s way more serious. But later, after I get my other test results, I’ll know I’m OK. And that eases my mind. Not to mention my partner’s. 

 

Editor's Note: To find a family planning clinic near you, call Planned Parenthood at 1-800-230-PLAN (7526), or find a confidential clinic near you online.

“It's important for teenagers who are having sex or considering having sex to visit a doctor or clinic that screens for and treats sexually transmitted diseases and provides birth control,” says Dr. Barbara Snyder, chief of adolescent medicine at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Young women should go at least once a year when they reach 18 or become sexually active.

You should go more often if you have health problems or if you have several sexual partners. Some doctors require females to have a pelvic exam to get birth control pills and other types of contraception, but others don't. Either way, all doctors agree it's important for females to have regular pelvic exams. 

For guys, the routine is a little different—but no less important. “Unfortunately, most guys don't go to the doctor unless they're having problems,” Snyder says. But guys should get screened routinely if they're having sex.