New Year, New Start
The New Year is often seen as a time for a new start - a time for change. Many people set themselves New Year’s Resolutions to help them get improve at certain things and generally become better people all round.
According to the University of Scranton, the top 5 news year’s resolutions for 2014 were to: lose weight, be more organised, save up more money, enjoy life to the fullest and stay fit and healthy. Researchers at the university also found that those who set themselves a couple of New Year’s Resolutions are ten times more likely to change their life than those who don’t make any at all.
Getting more exercise and eating better are up there in resolutions to stay fit and healthy, but how many people resolve to improve their sexual health too? Like plenty of New Year’s resolutions people make, sexual health covers so many different things.
A survey by Lloyd’s Pharmacy Online Doctor found that 21% of 18-24 year olds admitting that they’ve ignored possible STI symptoms because they’re too embarrassed to go to their GP. On top of that 1 in 12 people who get tested for STIs find that they’ve got one, even if they thought they didn’t. It’s clear there’s still some misinformation and embarrassment attached to STIs and STI testing that needs dealing with.
On 14th January, is STI Awareness Day 2015 – that’s two weeks after New Year, the recommended time to wait before taking an STI test, and one month before Valentine’s Day. The awareness day was launched to encourage young people to take a moment to think about their sexual health – to ask questions, to get rid of the embarrassment and to get tested.
Next Wednesday, we’ll be using #STIDay2015 to tweet STI facts and answer any questions you’ve got about STIs and STI testing. Even if you don’t want to ask a question yourself for whatever reason, it might already be answered somewhere if you search the hashtag. We’ll be doing the same over on our Facebook too.
Visit www.stiday.uk for more information on STI Day 2015. Alternatively you can find it on Twitter and Facebook.