Dear Queenie,
My boyfriend and I have been together for 3 years, except for a little while when we had a fight and broke up. Pretty soon he came back to me and said he was sorry and he wanted us to get back together and I believed him so I said yes.
Some of my friends told me he had been with some other girls while we were apart, but I didn’t believe them. He told me they were just trying to break us up again and I believed him. But now I am feeling some funny things “down there” and I don’t know what to do.
If I go to our family doctor he will tell my parents for sure and then they will know my boyfriend and I are having sex and they will make me stop seeing him.
Queenie, what do you think I should do?—Scared
Dear Scared,
And so you should be. Obviously you suspect, as I do, that you have caught an STD, and that is definitely something to be scared of. STDs can lead to serious and often painful medical complications, including infertility. And if you have caught HIV, it could eventually be fatal!
Run, do not walk, to a doctor, have yourself tested, and pray that whatever is wrong can be treated!
Furthermore, if you have not been with any other man, you could only have caught an STD from your boyfriend. If it turns out that you have caught one (or more!), that means that he has been with at least one other woman and that he has lied to you about it.
If that is the case, you shouldn’t wait for your parents to make you stop seeing him. Knowing that he can’t be trusted, you should break up with him at once, before his infidelity is the death of you. You should also tell him what you know and insist that he seek medical attention before he spreads the infection to anyone else. If necessary, give his name to your doctor, and give it to the Hygiene Department if they ask for it
