STD Testing

Every once in a while, I post on my various email lists information about local STD testing centers.  It's time for me to get tested again, so I'm making a post here too, even though many of you are not local.  As a sexually-active ethically-non-monogamous woman, I feel very strongly about STD testing, even though I have not always been diligent about testing regularly in the past.  So much of what plagues us in the STD arena is preventable and treatable that it is just dumbfounding to me that we still suffer from so many of these infections and diseases.  Most of those in The Squiggle (my romantic family) keep abreast of the latest information regarding STDs, like  smoocherie's website http://www.smoocherie.com and I'm honored and privileged to be part of a network with such conscientious partners like  smoocherie and  tacit and all of their various sweeties.

I have been living in the Tampa area for the last 6+ years, so I was utilizing the Hillsborough County Clinc, which is quite reasonably-priced for all that they offer (http://24.173.147.140/std/std_main.htm).  "Each client receives a thorough exam focused on spotting signs of STD infections. Testing is offered to all clients for HIV, Syphilis, Gonorrhea, and Chlamydia. Anonymous HIV testing is available if requested. Herpes tests can be done if lesions are present. Women are also tested for bacterial vaginosis, candidiasis and trichomoniasis. Testing and/or vaccination for hepatitis are provided for clients at higher risk for these infections" all for a low price of $30, which also covers treatment of any STDs found.  For an additional $30, a full PAP/Annual Gynecological Exam can also be done.  The down side is that it's on a first-come first-served basis with no appointments.  If you're not there by about 10 AM, you probably won't get seen.  They do, however, keep your records on file for quite a long time and automatically provide a copy of all the results for you to take home, which I show to my potential partners before breaking HPV barriers for the first time.

I just moved to Orlando a couple weeks ago, and I didn't want to have to drive all the way to Tampa, especially for such an early check-in time, so I started researching local clinics.  I found the Orange County Health Department has a comparable program to Hillsborough County, although their website is not as informative (http://www.orchd.com/STD/index.asp).  When I emailed asking for clarification, this is the response I received:

We have 2 programs through the Orange County Health Department which you may access and be tested for most of the items you are requesting.

 One program is our Women's Health Department.  In order to access services through this department you must be able to have children (no previous tubal ligation or hysterectomy) and desire to be on a form of birth control or be pregnant.

 If you are pregnant, you must go through our eligibility department and apply for medicaid.

 

If you would like a method of birth control, you may either go through eligibility or be classified as "full pay".  The charge for this would be approximately $70 and would include the following:

                                    Complete physical exam

                                    Thin prep pap smear with HPV DNA if indicated  (denotes Human Papilloma infection)

                                    Clinical breast exam  (no mammogram)

                                    Vaginal test for gonorrhea, chlamydia, bacterial vaginosis and any other vaginal infections present

                                    Visual exam for Herpes and genital warts

                                    Pelvic exam to determine evidence of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease

 

Blood testing would include the following:

                                    Syphilis

                                    HIV  (confidential)

                                    Hepatitis B

 

The following would not be performed at either of our clinicis unless there was evidence of current infection:

                                    Chancroid

                                    Hepatitis A

                                    Nongonococcal urethitis  (primarily seen in men)

 

You may access our Sexually Transmitted Disease clinic and have all of the above tests performed except the complete physical exam.  The charge for this would be approximately $45.

  

Pat Nolen

Women's Health Program Manager

Orange County Health Department

Orlando, Florida

407-836-2605 or 407-249-6232 ext 234

I included Pat Nolan's information because (s)he was so complete in the information I requested that I would like to pass along the name to anyone else who can't find what they're looking for on the website.

I was not nearly as impressed with Planned Parenthood, although I remember the one in California in the '90s being reasonable.  Each PP office pretty much runs itself, so there is no nationwide standardization for how things are done or how much it costs, or so they tell me.  More and more, I am finding PP clinics that do not accept donations (as I remembered them doing as a teenager) but charging nearly as much as a private physician.  Orlando's PP website is http://www.ppgo.org/.  I was unable to find any concrete information on their cost, but I seem to remember hearing that it was over $100.  If I find out otherwise, I'll change this post.  PP does, however, have a comprehensive page on HPV that I would like to pass along:  http://www.plannedparenthood.org/news-articles-press/politics-policy-issues/medical-sexual-health/HPV-6359.htm

I think I will try the Women's Health program at the Orange County clinic and say I want the pill, although I have no intention of taking it, since it's only $10 more than I was planning to spend at Hillsborough and I'm way overdue for a physical and gyn exam.  Who knows, maybe I'll qualify for the cheaper rate?  Otherwise, $45 isn't bad for all the same stuff minus a physical, which is really just for my peace of mind anyway and not really STD related, and which apparently *still* covers the PAP and breast exam, for which Hillsborough clinic lacks in their STD program.  

I recommend utilizing the county services as long as they provide the services required so that the government will continue to fund these clinics for low-income people to take advantage of, and to pass the word along and encourage as many people as possible to get regular testing.  These STDs should not be as big of a problem in this day and age as they are, and really all it takes is a little education and some responsible maintenance.

More about HPV prevention

What makes this exciting is that this product is already available in sex lubes!  Ask for it's name "Carrageenan" in the stores.  Thanks to

tacitfor the information:

Seaweed extract protects against cervical cancer: Algae compound surprisingly effective at preventing cancer-causing viral infection
13.jul.06
News @ Nature
Narelle Towie

http://archives.foodsafety.ksu.edu/ffnet/2006/7-2006/ffnet_july_17.htm
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/47275.php
http://pathogens.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.ppat.0020069&ct=1

Just a tiny amount of a common food additive has been found, in lab tests, to guard against the virus linked to cervical cancer.

Scientists have discovered that carrageenan, a compound extracted from red algae and used as a thickening agent in everyday products such as toothpaste and yoghurt, is highly effective at preventing the spread of the sexually transmitted human papilloma virus (HPV). The cheap ingredient was found to be effective at a concentration 100 times lower than the best HPV inhibitor currently on the market.

"We were screening different compounds for potential HPV inhibitors in vitro, and carrageenan, which is an inexpensive, widely available product, came up as being extraordinarily potent," says Douglas Lowy, a researcher with the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland.

Carrageenan was already known to be an inhibitor against the AIDS-causing virus HIV, and is currently undergoing clinical trials for that.

The compound is also already used in a variety of sexual lubricants because of its gelling properties. Lowy and his colleagues, whose paper is published in the journal PLoS Pathogens1, found that some of these over-the-counter products are decidedly effective against HPV transmission in the test-tube.

Carregeenan, which is an inexpensive, widely available product, came up as being extraordinarily potent.

Douglas Lowy
National Cancer Institute, Maryland

"The exciting thing is it is already available in various lubricants," says Anne Szarewski, a clinical consultant for the Cancer Research UK Centre in London. The compound is easy to come by, and is classed as "generally regarded as safe" by the US Food and Drug Administration. "A topical microbicide may not actually be light years away from reality," says Szarewski.

But controlled clinical trials need to take place before any of the products could be recommended as HPV inhibitors, notes study leader Christopher Buck, also with the National Cancer Institute.

Carrageenan, Irish for 'moss of the rock', is produced by boiling red seaweeds found in abundance along the rocky coasts of North America and Europe.

Buck's team found that carrageenan acts like a border control, sticking to proteins on the human papilloma virus and preventing the virus from interacting with, or entering, the cells of the cervix.

It seems to have a protective effect with some other viruses too, including the cold-sore-causing herpes simplex virus (HSV), they report. But HSV has an extra protective membrane that makes it less susceptible to carrageenan; a dose a thousand times greater was needed to achieve equivalent protection against HSV as was achieved against HPV, the team says.

Another option for defeating HPV may be using a vaccine (see 'Cervical cancer vaccine comes closer to market'). But vaccines currently on their way to clinical use cost hundreds of US dollars, so are unaffordable in developing countries, where screening against cervical cancer is poor and many women die from the disease.

Double whammy

If carrageenan were added to an HIV microbicide, says head of the Indian Council of Medical Research N. K. Ganguly, it could form one of the best preventatives against sexually transmitted diseases available.
More than 5,000 women in South Africa are currently taking part in phase-three clinical trials of Carraguard, a vaginal gel containing carrageenan that has been designed to protect against HIV. These trials are due to end in 2007.

The team hopes that further trials will be designed to explicitly test the compound's effectiveness against HPV transmission. They are also working on developing a mouse model of HPV so that they can study it more closely in the lab.

References
1. Buck C. B., et al. PLoS Path. 2, e69. 0001 - 0010 (2006).

Uses

• Desserts, ice cream, milk shakes, sauces — gel to increase viscosity
• Beer — clarifier to remove haze-causing proteins
• Pâtés and processed meat — Substitute fat to increase water retention and increase volume
• Toothpaste — stabilizer to prevent constituents separating (Tom's of Maine uses this)
• Fire fighting foam — thickener to cause foam to become sticky
• Shampoo and cosmetic creams — thickener
• Air freshener gels
• Shoe polish — gel to increase viscosity
• Biotechnology — gel to immobilize cells/enzymes
• Carrageenan has also been used to thicken skim milk, in an attempt to emulate the consistency of whole milk. This usage did not become popular. It's used in some brands of soy milk
• Diet sodas
• Lambda carrageenan is used in animal models of inflammation used to test analgesics, because dilute carrageenan solution (1-2%) injected subcutaneously causes swelling and pain.
• Sexual lubricant and microbicide

More about carrageenan:

http://www.lsbu.ac.uk/water/hycar.html - really technical stuff ... on the molecular level even
http://members.aol.com/carragel/myhomepage/product_list.htm - more stuff with carrageenan in it
http://www.a-womans-touch.com/product/148/1668/Carrageenan_Lube.html - where to buy the Carrageenan sex lube
http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=154689&catid=682&trx=PLST-0-CAT&trxp1=682&trxp2=154689&trxp3=1&trxp4=0&btrx=BUY-PLST-0-CAT - another place to buy the lube

lots of articles about the studies so far:
http://pathogens.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.ppat.0020069&ct=1
http://www.nih.gov/news/research_matters/august2006/08112006hpv.htm
http://www.nih.gov/news/research_matters/july2007/07162007hpv.htm