”Partners of people who have a sexually transmitted infection need to be tested and treated as well.”
”She doesn’t have it,” he said.
”And you think so because you are not having sex with her?”
”Of course we are having sex…”
”So do you use a condom?”
”No.”
”So she might have caught it from you.”
He was silent.
”Chlamydia infection can be serious for women, you see. It can cause infertility, constant pelvic pain, miscarriage and ectopic pregnancies.The good news is that it can be easily treated with antibiotics if detected early and then it wouldn’t have a chance to cause the things I have mentioned.”
”Well, this was two years ago and I am not going to drag this up now. My wife will kill me!”
”I understand. We can help though. When a patient has a sexually transmitted infection but is unable to tell their partner, with their permission, we can send a general text to the partner explaining that they may have been at risk of an infection and encouraging them to come for testing. This is called ‘Partner Notification’.
”I see.”
”Would you like us to do that for you?”
”I will have to think about that,” Dike replied.
Feel free to post your comments below and you can also join the discussion on our facebook page facebook.com/swbforblackladies. Have a lovely weekend.
Thanks for that, Emeka! I could not have put it better myself.
‘Fidelity’ ‘faithfulness’ …. words that seem almost lost, archaic even.
We need those words back again in our every day lingo. A generation is coming up that may never have heard or recognise those words. And the effects are evident all around us.
And you are right, good communication is so needful in a relationship.
The secret to a successful marriage is communication. Effective communication does not only build trust but also encourages partners to talk on just any topic. When they talk on all issues, then this will effectively remove all barriers, including that which concerns their health. Communication is made easier when the family makes out time to pray together. When they pray, they share the word of God together, discuss the bible and relate the teachings to their every day life. In the process, their daily experiences are discussed. With this, talking about their love life and any on toward events are discussed, including STDs and HIV/AIDS. There is no gain saying the fact that societal pressures, family disharmony and loss of values contribute a great deal to the pervasiveness and sexual indiscretions, that exposes couples to this most embarrassing scourge of our time, and it takes more than just self control to curb it. The message still remains; “Zip up or use condoms”,”one man one woman”, as fidelity and faithfulness to ones husband, wife or girl friend remains one sure way of keeping the numbers down. EMEKA ILOUNO