Q: How do you tell someone that you have an STD?

Three Girls and a Mic

A: First, if you have an STD please seek medical help. Some STDs are curable and others are treatable. If you’re walking around with a curable STD, something is definitely wrong with you and you don’t deserve to have sex.

Telling a partner that you have an sexually transmitted disease is not an easy thing to do, but before you participate in any type of sexual act you MUST tell the person or people you plan to be intimate with. If you don’t inform your partner(s) and you infect them you could spend some time in jail. The law on this varies from place to place. However, regardless of possible jail time it is your responsibility as a decent human being to inform your possible sex partners about your STD status.

How to do it is to pick the right place and time. Don’t blurt it out during a first date unless the topic of sex comes up in conversation. I think it would be better to discuss any topics about sex in private face to face conversation. You stand a large chance of not becoming intimate with the person because of your STD status, but at least you are honest and your karma is in place.

It’s also a good idea to educate yourself on the STD that you’re infected with because your partner may have questions, such as, “If we have protected sex is there a high risk that I will be infected?”. Don’t you want to know the answer?

Finally, while you’re being honest, be sure to ask your partner if they have or have ever had a sexually transmitted disease. Asking first and getting their reaction may also be a great way to break the ice about your own STD status.