Prevention · Education · Support · Referrals

Serving the mountain communities of Banff, Canmore, Kananaskis
Lake Louise, Exshaw and Morley

Free
condoms
are
available
at the
following
locations:

AIDS Bow
Valley

The
Living
Room

The
Banff
YWCA

The Banff
Centre

Lube and
dental dams
are also
available at the
AIDS Bow Valley
office
302 Buffalo St.

WHY SHOULD I GET TESTED?

Many sexually transmitted infections exist inside your body without any visible symptoms.

A person who is infected can spread the virus to other people even when they have no visible symptoms

Gonorrhea and Chlamydia
These pesky infections can lead to lifelong complications if they go untreated. They can prevent someone from having kids later on in life.

Herpes and Genital Warts
These two annoyances are caused by a virus that stays in your body. A visual exam can determine if you have any outbreaks. Warts will not be painful so you may not notice if they are present.

Syphilis
Syphilis develops in 3 stages with the first being a sore on the genitals that goes away on its own. A person still has the virus even when this sore goes away. Syphilis can be fatal!

HIV/AIDS
HIV is a virus that exists in bodily fluids such as blood, semen, vaginal fluids and breast milk. There aren’t likely to be visible ways that show HIV, a blood test will determine if the person has the virus. HIV leads to AIDS which is fatal. The sooner a person knows their status, the sooner treatments can begin to delay the onset of AIDS

 

*The above information is courtesy of the HIV/AIDS Legal Network www.aidslaw.ca  

WHEN SHOULD I GET TESTED?

If you are having vaginal, anal or oral sex, it is a good idea to get tested regularly (once a year) but you should get tested right away if you have had unprotected sex (ie. without a condom)

*THE LENGTH OF TIME IT TAKES EACH STI TO SHOW UP IN YOUR BODY VARIES*

 

CHLAMYDIA AND GONORRHEA:

- Will show up in your body in days or a couple weeks after sex. You may not have any symptoms, but if you did they would include:

• Pain during urination, extra wet vagina
• Discharge from the penis/foul-smelling discharge
• Irregular/difficult periods
• Pain during sex

**IF YOU HAVE ANY OF THESE SYMPTOMS GET TESTED!!!**

 

HERPES

- Symptoms begin to show 2-20 days after coming into contact with someone who has them. These include:

• Water-filled blisters that break out on your genitals
• May be accompanied by a headache and/or fever

**NOTE:  A CONDOM WONT ALWAYS PROTECT AGAINST HERPES.
IF YOU NOTICE ANY SORES IN THE GENITAL REGION YOU SHOULD GO GET EXAMINED AT THE CLINIC **

 

SYPHILIS

- Three weeks after infection, a sore will develop on the genitals. This virus is VERY CONTAGIOUS at this point.

- In the second stages of syphilis a body rash will develop. A visual exam or blood test will determine if syphilis is present.

 

HIV/AIDS:

- The test is not testing for the virus itself, but for the antibodies that your body has created to defend against it.

- The antibodies can take 3-6 months to show up in a person's body. Getting a test prior to this time will not produce accurate results