Don’t give Chlamydia as a Gift this Valentine’s Day

The ‘Don’t Sweat It’ campaign, part of the ongoing work undertaken by ruClear from NHS South East Essex, is bringing information and free chlamydia testing to Southend High Street throughout February.

Although this is traditionally a time of year when romance is on everyone’s mind, the aim of this campaign is to remind young people that chlamydia often has no symptoms for those carrying it.

However, the friendly ‘Don’t Sweat It’ team will be visiting Southend High Street, inviting young people to take the quick and painless test for themselves, right there and then, so they can know for sure.

The location and dates of the screenings in February are:

  • Southend High Street – Friday 18 February – 7.30pm to 10.30pm
  • Southend High Street – Saturday 19 February – 7.30pm to 10.30pm
  • Southend High Street – Friday 25 February – 7.30pm to 10.30pm
  • Southend High Street – Saturday 26 February – 7.30pm to 10.30pm

Over 180 young people took the quick and painless test using the mobile testing lounge in January, with even more screening dates planned for March, giving young people the chance to get tested.

Simon Ford, Chlamydia Screening Lead at NHS South East Essex said:

“We hope young people who are out in the town when the outreach team are on the High Street will take up the opportunity to test for Chlamydia. The test is easy to do and the facilities that have been made available make it even easier to do there and then.”

The events are supported by a raft of promotion across the area, with buses throughout Castle Point, Rochford and Southend carrying the high-impact orange and blue advertisements. Similarly, at the heart of the campaign is a central website, www.ruclear.nhs.uk, which has all the information you could ever need about Chlamydia. The site includes information on where you can get tested – including an online order form for a free and confidential home test kit – as well as details on how to get treatment and even the risks of what could happen if you don’t get checked out.

If you want to find out more, simply head online to www.ruclear.nhs.uk. Alternatively, you can follow @CaSH_news  on Twitter or visit their pages on Facebook.

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