I never thought I’d have anything to do with STDs

I never thought I’d have anything to do with STDs. After my breakup, being single sometimes felt a bit tough to adjust to. To cope with the loneliness, I started using a dating app, hoping to meet new people.

On the app, I chatted with a lot of people. Most of the time, when things got physical, we used condoms, but there were a couple of times when we didn’t. One person, someone I had known for a while and felt I could trust, was one of those exceptions. But this didn’t happen often, just once or twice.

Whenever we didn’t use protection, I’d take emergency contraception and do a pregnancy test, just to lower the risk. But once, I noticed something was off “down there”—I felt itchy and there was some weird discharge. I started to worry, wondering if I had caught an STD. At first, I thought it might just be a yeast infection, so I bought some over-the-counter meds to see if it would get better. It improved for a day or two, but then the symptoms came back. After two weeks of this, I couldn’t take it anymore. I went online for help and finally reached out to an NGO.

A worker there suggested I get checked at a government clinic, which is free. Honestly, I wish I had gone sooner instead of spending money on meds that didn’t work. The staff were really nice—they did a pregnancy test, checked me out, and gave me advice, telling me to always use condoms. I eventually went to the clinic, and it turned out I had chlamydia. I had never even heard of it! The doctor explained a lot about sexual health and protection, helping me understand how to better protect myself and others. Luckily, chlamydia is easy to treat, so they told me not to stress. But they did remind me to always use condoms, no matter what, because STDs don’t always show symptoms.

This whole experience made me reflect a lot. I realized that even with someone you trust, you can’t let your guard down. Protecting yourself is super important, and we need to take care of our health.