The Advancement of STD Testing Technology

The testing of Sexually Transmitted Diseases has come a long way. From once being thought of as a mysterious illness in the 19th century to even being mistaken for leprosy in the 16th century, the advancement of scientific research has pushed the boundaries of human understanding, helped us treat our bodies and advocate a healthy and safe reproductive cycle. The story of the advancement of STD testing highlights our persistence, patience, and our unwavering belief for the use of science to preserve and improve the natural human reproductive cycle.

A Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD), also called Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) is any disease that is usually or often transmitted from person to person by direct sexual contact. It can also be transferred to the fetus if the mother contracts the disease during pregnancy. There have been rare cases where the disease has passed on via non sexual means as well, such as kissing. But don’t be alarmed, you are more likely to contract the disease through bodily fluids involved in sexual intercourse. The infection can also be transmitted via blood transfers or from the use of unsanitary or used syringes.

In its early stages, the disease only impacts the genitals but can also very easily affect the reproductive tract, the urinary tract, as well as the anus. If left unchecked for a long period of time, it may also develop into more serious complications that affect vital organs. STDs are considered a slow killer, where they infect the host and wreak havoc slowly over a span of years. An infected person might not even show symptoms of the disease and might look healthy from the outside until the disease takes enough hold over the immune system.

The Venereal Disease

In the early years of STD testing, we only had limited knowledge of the infection and proper testing protocols still needed to be developed for the efficient treatment of the disease. In fact, back then, the disease was not even termed as “STD”, it was called Venereal Disease (VD) that basically clubbed all the diseases that can be contracted via sexual intercourse into one. It was later that we tapered off from the term and settled with the STD or STI moniker. The “Sexually Transmitted Diseases” or “Sexually Transmitted Infection” term was used to sub-categorize a long list of infections such as Syphilis, Gonorrhea, AIDS, or a venereal form of the Herpes simplex.

The earliest records of the well-known STD, Syphilis, is from the 1490s, where it swept over Europe as an epidemic. It is from then that STD testing started to take shape. The technology was understandably limited, and the infection spread rampant. This fueled a group of brilliant scientists to fast-track research and come up with an effective STD testing protocol that tagged the relevant bacteria. It was then that we realized the comprehensive nature of the disease and the different types of bacteria that caused it. This research led to the initial phase of the STD testing protocol that we know today, where we learned how to diagnose the patient and isolate the bacteria that caused the infection.

STD testing was only done in large hospitals where specialized teams were present. It would take a relatively long time just to diagnose the patient and determine the type of STD the host had. Even then, the research and technology for STD testing and diagnosis was limited. For example, it wasn’t until the 20th century that we differentiated between Syphilis and Gonorrhea. Before that they were both considered to be the same infection. This slow progress meant that there would need to be preventative measures in society to lessen the impact of the infection on the population. This is how the condom industry came about and boomed. The goal was to make condoms ubiquitous via aggressive campaigns but despite that, Syphilis and Gonorrhea still remained a major global health concern.

STD Testing Today

As technology developed, we found more ways to diagnose, categorize, and treat the infections. The collective research over the years led to outstanding improvement in the detection of STDs. STD testing became available in small clinics and labs and it became increasingly easy to detect the disease in its early phases due to thorough public awareness. All the years of research, campaigning, and testing led towards a more knowledgeable population that became accustomed to getting regularly tested thanks to more flexible testing methods. Nowadays, you can even get tested anonymously via your local clinic to avoid embarrassment or even test yourself at home using an STD testing kit such as Self Collect. STD testing is so critical in this day in age where promiscuity is at its highest point in history. Don’t wait, get tested today!