Facing a fresher-fuelled boom in STI’s, Lincolnshire health workers will tackle the growing problem throughout Friday night this week.
In an NHS Lincolnshire backed scheme, workers of the sexual health charity Terrence Higgins Trust will be handing out chlamydia self-test kits.
These are aimed at people aged between 15-24 and will be distributed at Lincoln’s Lucy Tower Street car park between 8pm-12am on Friday, October 15th.
Michele Presbury, chlamydia screening co-ordinator for NHS Lincolnshire, said in a release: “We are always looking for new ways to make it easier for young people to get tested for Chlamydia… The test is so easy — males just pee in a pot and girls take a self swab… There really isn’t an excuse not to get tested.”
According to a student health survey, 50% of students across the UK indulge in unprotected sex. With one in twelve young people carrying chlamydia, there is a potential thousand infected University of Lincoln students.
Chlamydia has been the most common sexually transmitted disease in Britain since 2000, with around 120,000 young people affected by it every year. The infection can lie seemingly dormant in the body with no sign of symptoms, but can cause serious complications for those who contract it, including infertility in women.
To order a self test-kit go to www.doyouhaveit.co.uk.