Friends Don't Let Friends Get Chlamydia Alone

Friends Don’t Let Friends Get Chlamydia Alone….

Shayla and Niki had been best friends since elementary school. They knew everything about each other. They liked the same foods, shared the same favorite songs, and even planned to get matching cars when they could afford it. The only thing they didn’t share was boyfriends. Years ago, when they were twelve, they made a pact to never let a guy come between their relationship. No matter what! For over five years, they had stuck to that pact. Shayla was there for Niki when her boyfriend Justin broke up with her last summer. He had been her first love and she was devastated to find out he had been cheating on her. Niki had spent practically the whole summer catering to her friends emotional needs. She vowed not to get involved with anyone until Shayla was ready too again. About three months ago, right before the New Year, Shayla met someone new. Niki followed her friends path and hooked up with one of his friends. His name was Chance and he was well worth the wait. Chance and Niki immediately hit it off. The two couples started hanging out together all the time. Shalya and Parker and Niki and Chance. One night, when they were hanging out at Chance’s house, they started talking about past relationships. Even though Shayla was well over Justin, Niki still worried about her bringing it up. When she finally did, she could have never guessed what happened next. Come to find out, Chance’s ex girlfriend had hooked-up with Justin a few times last summer! That’s what really tore us apart, he told them. He thought they heen exclusive. A few months after summer ended, so did their relationship. After that night, nobody talked about their ex’s again. It was almost a taboo topic. When spring arrived, Niki and Shalya decided they were going to get on birth control. Niki had a close scare when Chance’s condom broke a couple weeks prior. To support her friend, they made an appointment. But, when the time came to go, Shayla’s period started again. Her period had been acting all freaky for the last few months. Her mom told her she was probably stressed and it was normal for a young women to have irregular periods. Since she couldn’t get an exam, she had to cancel her appointment. She didn’t want that to stop Niki, however, and so she went along with her. The doctor did an exam and started her on the pill. Niki left feeling confident, but a few days later, she got the worst call ever. The doctor’s office told her she had chlamydia. At least it was curable, but telling Chance scared her to death. She had only been with one other guy in her life. But, like a champ, they both took their meds at the same time, and waited a week before having sex again. Shalya and Parker weren’t as lucky. A couple weeks later they decided to call it quits. Shayla forgot all about rescheduling her appointment. She could have never realized at the time, the significance of the mistake she was making.

See the diagram below for the answer.

If Shayla had gone to her appointment, she would have found out that she also had chlamydia. She had been infected long before Niki. Chlamydia usually has no symptoms. A change in periods is commonly mistaken as normal, but can actually be a sign that the infection is beginning to move up into the reproductive tract.

By the time Shayla was diagnosed with chlamydia, it had turned into pelvic inflammatory disease. It caused one of her fallopian tubes to swell up, causing her severe pain. The fallopian tube became so infected that it grew scar tissue. Because of this, Shalya will most likely have a harder time getting  pregnant when she is ready. The sad truth: This happens all the time!

Shayla and Niki may not have shared boyfriends, but they still shared chlamydia. Get your friends tested too! Get tested together!

Sexual History Map

This is an example of how disease spreads within a social network. Think of all the people you know who have had sex with one of your friends, or two of your friends?