{"id":5420,"date":"2019-12-06T06:00:38","date_gmt":"2019-12-06T06:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.better2know.co.uk\/blog\/?p=5420"},"modified":"2020-11-24T12:36:07","modified_gmt":"2020-11-24T12:36:07","slug":"why-you-should-never-self-diagnose-an-sti","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.better2know.co.uk\/blog\/why-you-should-never-self-diagnose-an-sti\/","title":{"rendered":"Why you should never self-diagnose an STI"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Research suggests\nthat many individuals are now turning to social media and online platforms to\nobtain a \u2018crowd-diagnosis\u2019. <\/strong>[1]<\/strong><\/a> This can lead to misdiagnosis, ineffective treatment and further\nspread of infection. The only way to know whether you have an STI is to get\ntested.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Thanks to the Internet, we can now find an answer to pretty\nmuch any question imaginable in a matter of seconds. The social media site\nReddit, which boasts 330 million monthly active users, has hundreds of health\nforums including one dedicated to \u201cstories, concerns and questions\u201d about\n\u201canything and everything STD-related\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using a random sample of 500 posts from this subreddit, a recent study found that 58% requested a crowd-diagnosis, and 31% included an image of suspected symptoms. Of those requesting a crowd-diagnosis, in one out of five cases the individual aimed to gain a second opinion after previously receiving a diagnosis from a healthcare professional. [1]<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Total number of STD crowd-diagnosis posts per month
(Nobles, Leas and Althouse et al., 2019)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

What questions\nare users asking?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

On the topic of STDs, Reddit users have asked questions such\nas:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHelp! What is this? In the past month I have developed\nthese papules on my butt close to my vagina. Normally my skin is very clear.\nCan anyone help identify this? Is this herpes?!\u201d <\/em>[1]<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI went to the clinic to get tested. I\u2019m really scared\nbecause they said my results showed \u2018HIV-1 Confirmation\u2019. I have to go back and\nget another test but I\u2019m wondering is the doc wrong, do you think I have HIV?\u201d <\/em>[1]<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are\nthe risks of self or crowd-diagnosis?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The only way to know whether you have an STI and if so, which STI it is, is to get tested. Symptoms such as genital blisters or blemishes can resemble many different STIs such as Syphilis, Herpes or Genital Warts. The treatment for these STIs differs substantially so an accurate diagnosis is very important to ensure that the infection is treated and managed correctly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A self-diagnosis puts not only your own health at risk but also your partners\u2019. If an STI is left untreated, it can damage your long-term health and fertility, and you are likely to pass it onto another person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asking peers for their opinion may also lead you to believe\nthat you have an STI when, in fact, you don\u2019t. You may have developed a sore or\nrash in your genital area simply from shaving or wearing tight underwear. If\nyou may have been at risk of an STI, however, getting tested is the only way to\nbe sure of your sexual health status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m worried\n\u2013 Can I send a photo to Better2Know?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We know that having your private areas examined can be\nembarrassing and uncomfortable. With our photo consultation<\/a>\nservice, you can send a photo of your symptoms to be reviewed by a medical\nprofessional who will then advise you on the next sensible steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can I\nget tested?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It is important to get tested if you are worried about your sexual health, whether this is through your nearest Better2Know clinic<\/a> or your local GUM clinic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you don\u2019t want to wait for your results, we offer instant testing<\/a> in\nmany locations. This is where you can get your results within 20 minutes while\nyou wait in the clinic. Think about it \u2013 you could spend the same amount of time\nwaiting for a false diagnosis online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contact us\ntoday<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Our highly trained Sexual Health Advisors are available by\nphone 24 hours a day, seven days a week to listen to your problems and help you\ndecide on the most appropriate STI testing option for you. Our live web chat is\nalso open now for any STI-related queries you have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sources<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

[1] JAMA Network: Requests\nfor Diagnoses of STDs on a Social Media Platform<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Research suggests that many individuals are now turning to social media and online platforms to obtain a \u2018crowd-diagnosis\u2019. [1] This can lead to misdiagnosis, ineffective treatment and further spread of infection. The only way to know whether you have an STI is to get tested.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":""},"categories":[20,16],"tags":[2337,2338,2339,476],"yst_prominent_words":[761,2331,2335,746,568,661,755,902,1418,2334,924,2333,570,563,2332,564,571,725,705,641],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.better2know.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5420"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.better2know.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.better2know.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.better2know.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.better2know.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5420"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.better2know.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5420\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5789,"href":"https:\/\/www.better2know.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5420\/revisions\/5789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.better2know.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.better2know.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.better2know.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5420"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.better2know.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=5420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}